Julio Cortez/AP
Patricia Krentcil, 44, waits to be arraigned at the Essex County Superior Court, Wednesday, May 2, 2012 in Newark, N.J., where she appeared on charges of endangering her 5-year-old child by taking her into a tanning salon.
In all my years of treating patients as a dermatologist, I have never encountered anything like this.
Going to a tanning salon 20 times a month, frankly, is insane, especially with all of the public education and awareness campaigns on the dangers of tanning beds and skin cancers.
It may be she has an addiction to tanning, which actually now has a name tanorexia. She may need help to treat not only the damage to her skin, but also what is going on with her psychologically.
A lot of these people may also suffer from body dysmorphic disorders, where they look at themselves in the mirror and are always unhappy with their appearance. Patients like this are constantly having elective cosmetic procedures either surgeries, laser treatments or Botox and fillers.
Patients who feel they need to have tan skin may fall under this category as well.
Going to a tanning salon even just one time is dangerous. Tanning booths are considered a Class 1 carcinogen by the World Health Organization. This is the same category that plutonium is put in!
Dr. Joshua Zeichner is the director of cosmetic and clinical research in the dermatology department at Mount Sinai Medical Center.
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