Did the Tanorexic Mom Take Her 5-Year-Old Daughter into a Tanning Booth?

Patricia Krentcil, a 44-year-old mother from New Jersey, is such a great believer in the beauty of a creosote-colored skin that she is said to have taken her 5-year-old daughter along to a tanning booth which is against the law.

Sunbeds are addictive and not quite harmless, as is borne out by a number of experts in the field. Talking to NJ.com, Sophie Balk, a pediatrician at New York’s Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, explained that the phenomenon of addiction to artificial sunbathing, known as “tanorexia,” gives the feeling of relaxation that many people develop a habit for. Later they may find it hard to give up the habit and even suffer from withdrawal symptoms. “They may know it’s bad but they can’t cut back,” she concluded, adding that withdrawal causes anxiety and fits of depression. Jeanine Downie, a dermatologist in Montclair, New Jersey, says sunbathing can cause addiction due to the release of dopamine, for this neurotransmitter enhances a sense of well-being. Besides, there are chronic tanners who cling to the belief that dark skin makes them look healthier and more beautiful.

By now it’s common knowledge that too much sunbed lying is fraught with health threat: the danger of developing skin cancer becomes much higher in tanorexics. The Skin Cancer Foundation reports that sunbathers run 4 times more risk of developing melanoma. Dr. Downie says it’s not surprising since tanning beds are about 15 times as ultraviolet active as the sun – therefore a chronic tanner increases his or her chances of melanoma by 75 % with every next tan. According to authorities, Ms Krentcil brought her fair-complexioned daughter with her to a tanning salon, and the child ended up with multiple burns. The girl was 5, whereas the New Jersey law prohibits the use of tanning salon to children below 14.

Ms Krentcil admits to having developed a tanning habit. On the following day the girl’s kindergarten teacher saw the burns covering the girls’ body and called in medical help. Eventually Ms Krentcil was arrested and taken to the Superior Court where she was accused of child endangerment. Ms Krentcil was heard to say before the hearing that the accusation was a “made up” affair. At the court she pleaded not guilty through her attorney.