I am a young, white, tan, female and I have noticed that my stomach has become discolored. It is almost spotted-looking. Is this the side effect from birth control pills, or does it sound like a more serious problem?

A friend of a friend told me all about this ultraviolet/blacklight tattoo method. It was deemed unsafe earlier when it first came out, but apparently now it is completely safe. This friend of a friend said she does these tattoos all the time now and is really good about not scarring. So I'm not worried about anything like scarring being seen, I'm just worried about getting cancer and other accusations when ultraviolet tattoo first came out.

I recently started taking birth control pills to help with my acne. But since it is considered a low dosage kind (Low Ogestrel, to be specific), I wonder if it is still an effective and safe contraceptive. Can I take this kind and not have to worry about getting pregnant?

Do men need to cover up their testicles when using indoor tanning facilities?

I use tanning booths regularly and I normally use only eye protection. I am slightly worried, however, that the UV radiation from the sunlamps could do internal damage to a man's testicles, because the skin is obviously only very thin and might not offer much protection against UV radiation. Since eyelids are similarly thin and it is known that eye damage can result even when using tanning equipment with closed eyes, I wonder if advice should be given to men to use similar precautions to prevent testicles being exposed to high-intensity UV-A or UV-B radiation. I have looked everywhere for scientific information on this matter but could not find anything. Your advice on this matter would therefore be very much appreciated.