Author Topic: What about Tanning? (Read 10616 times)

Blixer · « **on:** June 09, 2006, 01:42:00 am »

I've never been big into tanning but did some tanning in a tanning bed last year before going on a cruise (prior to HIV diagnosis. Now I'm no meds (Sustiva, Epivir, and Videx EC). I've not read anything about sun sensitivity with the meds. Does anyone know if this is a potential problem? Is it safe to do some tanning in a tanning bed? I was going to ask my doctor but haven't had the chance.

Oceanbeach · « **Reply #1 on:** June 09, 2006, 01:54:27 am »

Excellent question David,

With Summer being here and everyone out to play in the sun, tanning is of importance. I lived in Hawaii for years and went to the tanning salon on a weekly basis. The only time a doctor told me not to tan was a few yeas ago because I had shingles and she said the tanning would make the scars from the shingles stand out more.

I am on Sustiva, have been on Videx and have been on Epivir. I live on a river in a resort community and do plan on getting sun this year as always. I have labs on Monday morning so I do plan on asking the nurse then if there might be a problem. I drive a convertible and the top is down until September. We should probably both check for interactions here on AIDSmeds also. Have the best day
Michael

www.Commission-on-AIDS.org

edfu · « **Reply #2 on:** June 09, 2006, 05:32:31 am »

I know there is a definite sun-sensitivity problem with Bactrim (SMX-TMP), which is one of the drugs you might take to help prevent PCP when your CD4 count is under 200. You can turn bright red, as if you had a severe sunburn.

JohnOso · « **Reply #3 on:** June 09, 2006, 02:00:16 pm »

Bactrim definitely has sun sensitivity as a side effect, and when I first started taking it I couldn't be out in the sun at all. However, now, since I've been taking it a few months my sensitivity to it seems to have disappeared.

My question is the longer-term effects of tanning, i.e. skin cancers and HIV. I don't wanna really look at the Lessons because I love my (kind of) tan (which I think I've earned dammit from MILES of hiking).

Take care,
John

jkinatl2 · « **Reply #4 on:** June 09, 2006, 02:19:08 pm »

Whenever you tan, you are initiating an immune response. Depending on how stressed your immune system is already, you can have zero symptoms, or full-fledged glulike symptoms for days afterwards.

I used to tan regularly, but when my CD4s dropped, I noticed that tanning put me in bed for a day or two afterwards. Like any reasonably retarded dog, it only took me a few weeks of repeating this before my doctor and I got the connection.

It really depends on the integrity of your immune system, but realize that you are asking your system, already fighting a tremendous battle, to work even harder. Maybe it won't burn through your defenses, maybe it will. But it's a choice we have to make with HIV. Every concession to this disease needs to be fought, in my opinion, until such time as it is impossible to ignore. But then again, I'm a semi-retarded dog here when it comes to stuff like that. And by the time it's impossible to ignore, well, damage that's done might not be so easily undone.

I discovered something similar during my attempt to return to hardcore weightlifting. I was having severe fevers, headaches, body aches, nausea, the whole flu-like thing each time I overdid it on the weights - because weightlifting, like tanning, is an intentional injury to the body to jump-start a healing process. I've had to seriously ease up on the weights and make do with a body that's a lot different than the one I had a few years ago. Same goes with tanning. I have learned to embrace my pallor <grin>, because between the Bactrim (that red face, btw, is not uniform. I looked like a Rand-McNally Atlas) and the stress on the immune system, I found myself, more often than not, the most tan patient in the clinic. Yay to be me <g>.

Seriously. Just realize you are using your immune system for cosmetic purposes. Make sure that expenditure is within your immunological budget. And sometimes the only way to tell, is to try it. I submit that since you have a long history of tanning, the impact on your system might be far less than the one, say, on my own. My people come from EuropastyLand. Brown is not our natural color. I'm atually a pair of red eyes away from being mistaken for albino.

PS: I'm 40, and can pass for 30, because I have no wrinkles. Just saying. I am always aghast when I see all the guys who never gave me the time of day 15 years ago at the dance club, and now they all look like my social studies teacher from junior high, only less hot.

whizzer · « **Reply #5 on:** June 09, 2006, 08:43:32 pm »

My dermatologist told me that sunlight, and thus tanning, has an immunosuppresive effect. That's why folks with Psoriasis get better when they get UV exposure - the sunlight reduces their overactive immune response. So if you're already immune suppressed, tanning might not be the best thing for you.

That being said, when summer comes I get outside and can't help but get tanned, but then, I tan real easily. I have given up baking in the sun like I used to though. And tanning beds are completely out of the question.

Life · « **Reply #6 on:** June 09, 2006, 08:56:10 pm »

hay ya - whitey!! As much as you ride that bike, you should be golden!

Love

edfu · « **Reply #7 on:** June 09, 2006, 09:50:10 pm »

I was diagnosed with basal-cell carcinoma on the tip of my nose and had to have it removed via Moh's chemosurgery. Because of its location, I then also had to have plastic surgery. Whether this was due to (or aggravated by) my HIV and low CD4 or the result of my 50+ years of sun worship (a deep tan every year, summers at the beach, 8 trips to Hawaii, trips to the various beaches of Mexico, Rio, Tahiti, Caribbean islands, etc.) neither my dermatologist or HIV doctor could say with certainty. I have given up on the sun completely now (to my enormous sorrow) and must have a complete skin examination twice a year because I have many potential cancerous lesions and moles. So in my experience, the sun is like sex: It's fabulous but very dangerous. It's entirely possible I contracted both my HIV and the cause of my carcinoma from 20 summers at Fire Island Pines.

Blixer · « **Reply #8 on:** June 10, 2006, 02:03:05 am »

Thanks for the input everyone. I know that tanning in a tanning bed has always had known risks. Looks like there are added ones for those of us with HIV. And "Ratboy" the biking has created that dreaded "farmer's tan"... Golden arms, ghosty body... I'm way to shy to ride half naked... LOL

DingoBoi · « **Reply #9 on:** June 10, 2006, 02:27:26 am »

i tend to be very sensitive in last year's tanning after being on sustiva and truvada.... no direct reactions, but i burned more easily and get 'hot' in the sunlight more often.

randym431 · « **Reply #10 on:** June 10, 2006, 04:20:00 am »

Another sun worshiper here. I've been back to sunning once a week for a few weeks now. I tan easily so a few hours a day once a week is plenty. I also use a 4 or 6 sun lotion. Since I have been back in the sun, I have felt like a power house (again). To many, the sun makes you feel worn out and drained (hiv or not). For me, its just the opp. A day in the sun is like charging my batteries. Its easy to over-do but my schedule now only allows for a good dose of sun once a week. And too, the weather here tends to 'try" not to co operate.

Its not getting any sun that makes me feel worn and washed out.

penguin · « **Reply #11 on:** June 10, 2006, 05:41:36 am »

if it's colour you're after, fake tan's come a long way...and no UV nasties to worry about.

kate (slapping on the factor 25)

J.R.E. · « **Reply #12 on:** June 10, 2006, 04:58:14 pm »

Well David,

I did the sunworshippping thing many years ago, and unfortunately paid for it through 25 years of Basal cell, and squamous cell cacinoma's. I see the dermatologist twice a year.

I have been cut, frozen, and stitched , so many times I have lost count !

Sooooooo,, when I do go out in the sun, I make sure to use a very good sunscreen, and make sure I keep the shades on.

If I don't get out into the sun, I will look like night of the walking dead. I also feel very rejuvinated, and have a lot more more energy(or at least it feels that way) after spending some time outside. We try to that on Saturdays. Thats our outdoor play day.

Some anti-biotics, and some others types of medication warn about being exposed long term to ultra-violet, so go out and get a little sun, just keep yourself protected.

Ray ( insert sun here)

J.R.E. · « **Reply #13 on:** June 10, 2006, 05:00:42 pm »

PS ... Don't burn your buns

Jena · « **Reply #14 on:** June 10, 2006, 05:29:25 pm »

I go to the tanning bed about twice a week and have done so for a long time. Being a red head, of course I have never had a deep golden tan but I do get a slight color that I believe makes me look and feel healthier. I have alked to my ID doctor and she told me as long as I'm not burning or not doing it more than a couple times a week I should be fine.
Just my 2cents worth...
Jena

AlanBama · « **Reply #15 on:** June 10, 2006, 09:53:44 pm »

Me too, Jena. I have used tanning beds for 10 years or more. I got 'natural' sun last summer, for the first time in many years. Have been out in the sun this year 2 or 3 times.

I am not dark, by any stretch of the imagination. I am so fair, that the tanning bed kind of makes me 'beige' instead of snow white.

Life · « **Reply #16 on:** June 11, 2006, 01:12:03 pm »

Yo! Come up to my altitude (9,000ft) and Ill tan you up reeeeeeeeal goood...

carousel · « **Reply #17 on:** June 12, 2006, 05:44:03 am »

Markmt · « **Reply #18 on:** June 12, 2006, 06:10:09 am »

I know when i was on Dapsone (antibiotic) I was told to stay away from the sun. It wasn't a problem because I dont like staying in the sun anway. I can handle a couple of hours of winter sun, but not the violent one we get in Summer. If I go to the beach it has to be very late afternoon. I think people with very low counts have to watch the sun because it excellerates the chances of getting skin Cancer. I know people who feel healtier and alive being in the sun....like anything else we are all made different.

franfrog · « **Reply #19 on:** June 12, 2006, 07:39:40 am »

I am so glad this topic has come up. I was wondering the same thing. I am as white as they can come and use to always got to the tanning booth when summer was approaching. Last year obviously I could not because I was not feeling good. I know those sunless tanning lotions have gotten much better, but they still streak and just are not even enough. They also do now have that spray on tan at the tanning salon, which is supposed to go on very nice, but face it, I do not need anyone seeing me that stripped down to spray me with a tan.

I know summer is already somewhat here, but I do plan on going a few times to get myself a base tan before I can lay out in the sun. According to my ID when I left the hospital last year, it is not a problem.(aside from the usual dangers for everyone) $:-\$ I am on sustiva and combivir and he said no sensitivity.

pozitivelyfun · « **Reply #20 on:** June 12, 2006, 09:03:56 pm »

As a sun worshiper myself.. this thread is very interesting.. I definitely have cut down on my tanning bed use but still love to go because it makes me feel great! I love lying there completely nude and warm.... like paradise.. and the perks (getting tanned) arent too bad either!!! LOL!!!!!

Matty the Damned · « **Reply #21 on:** June 12, 2006, 10:25:35 pm »

I don't tan. I go bright red, blister, peel and then return to my lily-white glory. Well, lily-white between the eleventy-squillion freckles that cover my pervert hide. Which totally sucks in the blazing hell that is the Australian Summer.

The burdens of the red-head I suppose.

MtD

bobik · « **Reply #22 on:** June 13, 2006, 04:55:04 pm »

Hello

I just love warm weather and sunshine. I don't care much for the tan, it is more that I feel so good when it is warm. I notice that my immunity goes down when I spend too much time in the sun, for example because it re-activates my herpes but on the other hand it makes me feel so good and full of energy.... it is a strange dilemma. I guess for me it works to go in the sun but not too often

Coen

pozitivelyfun · « **Reply #23 on:** June 13, 2006, 07:00:58 pm »

Mtd, you are a riot!!

joemutt · « **Reply #24 on:** June 14, 2006, 01:41:19 am »

I live in the tropics but never go out without my cap or sunglasses

,
and never sun bathe, I sit under a beach umbrella. I like the heat and the humidity but not the rays, I guess.

Sdgirl · « **Reply #25 on:** June 14, 2006, 11:03:53 pm »

I am TOTALLY TAN-OR-EXIC for real!

I asked my doctor and he said it was fine, although I am not on meds.

jkinatl2 · « **Reply #26 on:** June 14, 2006, 11:16:55 pm »

My personal philosophy is: if it doesn't hurt more than the ability to enjoy it, then go for it.

Not grounded in science, but in hedonism

fearless · « **Reply #27 on:** June 15, 2006, 01:06:13 am »

Like most things moderation is the key.

The sun's ultraviolet light wreaks havoc with the DNA in our skin cells, causing them to mutate and become cancerous (tanning beds etc still expose you to UV). Still, we do need some exposure to sunlight in order to get adequate intake of vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential for a range of metabolic processes, particularly those concerned with bone metabolism - and almost all Vitamin D comes from sunlight (a small amount comes from the diet, but not enough to keep us healthy).

In Australia the recommended levels are: in summer, six to eight minutes a day on most days. In winter, it should be half an hour most days. You need to have only 15 per cent of your body exposed - arms, hands and face - to get this exposure. (Further away from the equator you are the longer you should spend in the sun).

Personally, I cannot think of anything more relaxing than lying on my favourite beach, sunbaking for an hour or two early in the morning on a hot summer's day before the Aussie sun roasts my lily white arse.

Not HIV related, but I have noticed that as I get older I burn far more easily than I used to.
I remember the good ol' days (I'm sure Matty will too) when my parents would throw me out into the scorching Aussie sun on the first summery day with nothing more than a smear of zinc cream on my nose and bottom lip. The thinking was throw 'em into the sun, let 'em burn once at the beginning of the season and they'll be hunky dory for the rest of the summer. That's probably why we have the highest rate of skin cancer in the world.

Steve

Matty the Damned · « **Reply #28 on:** June 15, 2006, 08:48:14 am »

Quote

Not HIV related, but I have noticed that as I get older I burn far more easily than I used to.
I remember the good ol' days (I'm sure Matty will too) when my parents would throw me out into the scorching Aussie sun on the first summery day with nothing more than a smear of zinc cream on my nose and bottom lip. The thinking was throw 'em into the sun, let 'em burn once at the beginning of the season and they'll be hunky dory for the rest of the summer. That's probably why we have the highest rate of skin cancer in the world.

Steve

I do remember those days, except I was the loser kid who ALWAYS had to wear a t-shirt in the water. My mother was obsessive about it. And zinc cream. I remember being so excited when zinc cream in Day-Glo colours came out.

The one time I flaunted the rules and went swimming without a shirt (at Blackheath believe it or not), I ended up with a horrifying sun burn. Just hideous. I went to to get pnuemonia and spent all of Christmas and most of January in bed. I was 8. I credit that experience as being key in the development of my bitterness towards the world. Well that and the music of Sinead O'Connor.

Now I only swim at night. In the winter.

MtD

jkinatl2 · « **Reply #29 on:** June 15, 2006, 09:00:04 am »

Matty, swimming in Australia, at night... And they wonder why great whites are scarce

milker · « **Reply #30 on:** June 14, 2007, 09:26:15 pm »

I'm bumping this thread because it's tanning season in the northern hemisphere and everybody should think about the effects of tanning and HIV.

Also, I would like to remind the white sharks in Australia that Matty will now start tanning at night in the southern hemisphere, so beware.

Milker.

leatherman · « **Reply #31 on:** June 14, 2007, 10:36:57 pm »

Coming from NC, and living in Oh now, we get so little sun up here that when it's here, I'm out in it - but only if it's over 70 degrees! Otherwises I shiver in my speedo. LOL Although I've been getting a couple hrs of sun every other day by the pool (reading books when it's only 70; but getting in the water if it's 80 or up), today's adventure to Kings Island Amusement park put a burn on my tan. ROFL

All kidding aside though, except for the first summer on Bactrim (after a bout of PCP) when I itched like a dog the whole time, so far there haven't been any other bad side effects; but alot of good effects from being outside, getting some warmth into my old bones, and breathing in some fresh air.

milker · « **Reply #32 on:** June 14, 2007, 10:46:38 pm »

My ID doctor told me to hold on on tanning.. so I'm tanning maybe 2 hours a day (I work @ home so I can work outside), I tan very fast (and go white very fast too), so after a couple of days i'm already tanned. I'm avoiding burning, and if i'm going to the beach i'll put protection.

My ID said an absolute no-no on tanning salons.

Milker.

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Author Topic: What about Tanning? (Read 10616 times)