Ultraviolet light from these utensils can cause a major public health problem, researchers say.
Ultraviolet light nail dryers can cause cell death and changes in people’s DNA.
This was the conclusion reached by a group of researchers from the University of San Diego, California, motivated by an article in which a beauty queen was diagnosed with a rare skin cancer.
The study
Using different combinations of human and mouse cells, the researchers found that a single 20-minute session with an ultraviolet nail polish dryer caused the death of up to 30% of the cells in a petri dish.
Three consecutive 20 minute sessions saw 65 to 70% of the exposed cells die. Among the remainder, the researchers saw evidence of mitochondrial and DNA damage , as well as mutations that have been seen in skin cancer patients.
“Our experimental results and previous evidence strongly suggest that the radiation emitted by UV nail polish dryers may cause hand cancer and that UV nail polish dryers , similar to tanning beds, may increase the risk of cancer. ” early onset skin. the researchers write in a study published in the journal Nature Communications .
Considerations
The researchers caution that a longer epidemiological study is needed before they can say conclusively that the use of UV drying devices leads to an increased risk of skin cancer.
They add that these studies “possibly take a decade to complete and make public.”