Risky business: tanning rays, gym bacteria, carbon monoxide at home
Tuesday, December 9, 2008 4:30 PM PST
By Lindsey Minnema
The Washington Post
Printable version
E-mail this articleThe days of being teased by mild fall temperatures are over, and icy weather is officially here in full force. You may be tempted to crank up that heater, but before you do, check that you aren’t accidentally exposing yourself to harmful carbon monoxide gas. Colorless, odorless and tasteless, carbon monoxide is an invisible threat that can make you sick. It can even be deadly, the American Association of Poison Control Centers warns.
Furnaces, space heaters, fireplaces and wood-burning stoves are all potential sources of carbon monoxide. Typical symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include aches, dizziness, headaches and flu-like symptoms. Follow these steps to protect yourself and your family:
• Have your furnace, chimney, fireplace, wood stoves and flues inspected. Take care of any needed repairs.
• Do not use charcoal grills indoors for cooking or heating, and do not use your oven for heating your home.
• Don’t leave your engine running in an enclosed garage, even if the door is open. Install a carbon monoxide detector outside every sleeping area in your home.
To find a poison control center near you, call 1-800-222-1222, and visit www.aapcc.org for more information about carbon monoxide poisoning.
Is your local gym hazardous to your health? Possibly.
According to the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, the gym can be a breeding ground for the bacteria that cause skin problems such as athletes foot, ringworm and staph infections. To help keep you from getting any of these infections, sanitize all gym equipment before and after you use it. Yoga mats trap sweat that can turn into infection-causing bacteria, so invest in one of your own. Always wear flip-flops in the shower and locker rooms.
Most importantly, monitor your skin and visit a dermatologist if you have a persistent irritation or infection.
The next few months will be too cold for sun bathing, so if you’re looking for that summertime glow, a tanning bed provides an easy treatment. Easy, that is, if you’re looking to get as much as 12 times more ultraviolet radiation than you would annually get from normal sun exposure. That is how much radiation exposure the Skin Cancer Foundation warns that frequent tanners can get when using new high-pressure sunlamps.
Every year nearly 30 million people — 2.3 million of them teen-agers — use tanning salons, the foundation says. But it is a bad habit to get into. One in five Americans develop skin cancer, with melanoma — accounting for 75 percent of skin cancer deaths — being the most deadly. First exposure to tanning beds in youth increases melanoma risk by 75 percent. So embrace healthy skin, wear sunscreen and walk on by that tanning salon.
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