Can people contact AIDS or herpes from tanning beds?
(A) ABSOLUTELY NOT! The HIV virus dies upon exposure to oxygen and would not survive on a tanning bed. The U.S. Center for Disease Control says the odds of contracting any virus from a tanning bed are virtually impossible. Professional tanning salons sanitize their tanning equipment before every session with an anti-bacterial disinfectant which kills any and all viruses and bacteria which could be harmful, including the HIV virus. MYTH: I heard a woman fried her internal organs from too much tanning. (A) The legend of the “Roasted Tanner” is a farce. Ultraviolet light from the sun or from a tanning unit cannot penetrate your skin. It is physically impossible to “FRY” any internal organs in a tanning bed. The “urban legend” started in the early 1980’s when some people believed the rays emitted from a tanning bed were like microwaves. Most people understand that ultraviolet rays emitted from tanning equipment are the same as found outdoors from natural sunshine.
