Do you know what the word “contraindication” means?
If you take prescription medicine, you probably know. According to the U.S. National Library of
Medicine, a contraindication is a specific situation in which a drug, procedure, or surgery should not be used because it may be harmful to a person. An example to consider: Loperamide. You may have used this to treat diarrhea; but did you know that the contraindication could be paralysis of the intestines, liver problems, infectious diarrhea, bloody … WOW. Uh, I’ll just stay with what I got!
One of my pastimes is scanning the news – lots of it – including medical news that relates to our industry. So, I offer for your consideration this month a bit from the news source, PRWeb, a release that says the U.S. Court appointed a lead plaintiff attorney in a case involving melanoma … and Viagra. Huh? Yes, Viagra. I will assume, at this point that you missed this release.
A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine in 2014 found that men who used the erection-enhancing drug sildenafil (Viagra) over a period of ten years were 84% more likely to develop melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, So does that mean that if you take Viagra you have a huge chance of getting melanoma?
I surfed the web a little more and found a blog on the subject. In it, the writer, Daniel Pendick, sort of waves off the connection, saying that it is “probably coincidental.” But he also points to research which “demonstrated that the drug mimics key parts of a process that lets melanoma cells spread to other parts of the body. Skin cancer that spreads (metastasizes) is hard to control and can end in death.” You can read more on this at the Harvard Health Blog post “Erectile dysfunction drugs and skin cancer – should you worry?” from June 5, 2014.
Pendick also bends the topic back to avoiding overexposure to UV and using a broad spectrum sunscreen. Same old, same old. He adds that “an estimated 76,000 Americans (more than half of them men) will be diagnosed with melanoma this year, and almost 10,000 will die from it.” Well, did you know that, actually, over 43% of melanoma occurs between 55 and 74 years of age? The majority are male. Only about 6% are between 20 and 34 years old (“SEER Stat Fact Sheets: Melanoma of the Skin,” National Cancer Institute).
But let’s get back to the JAMA release. According to it, “[…] more than 150 federal cases from around the U.S. are consolidated in litigation alleging Pfizer, Inc. failed to sufficiently test a potential link between the use of Viagra and the risk of deadly melanoma before the drug was approved by the FDA. Additionally, Plaintiffs allege that even when studies indicated a potential link between Viagra and an increased risk of melanoma, Pfizer Inc. failed to warn users about the risks associated with Viagra use” (PRWeb, June 17, 2016).
Well, that ladies and gentlemen, is slightly more information than, “put on sunscreen and go easy on the UV.” Have you even heard of this study? Or the court cases involving Viagra and melanoma? It seems that the deck is always stacked when it comes to the media and tanning.
It’s so important that you and your team to continue to share your knowledge with salon guests and people in your community regarding UV and specifically, moderate indoor tanning. Keep reading IST Magazine and check out Sun is Life® Training and Certification for this factual information!
It’s so important that you and your team to continue to share your knowledge with salon guests and people in your community regarding UV and specifically, moderate indoor tanning.
