’Tis the season of crispy critters. Burnt earlobes. Rudolph-red noses. Sunburned backs that bristle under a shirt, which feels more like sackcloth. IF FEAR OF CANCER doesn’t get you to cover up, then maybe your vanity will.
We love the sun — especially when it feels as if it’s been in short supply of late.
The sun has awesome power — for good and bad.
Too much sun can make our skin age prematurely and worse, cause skin cancers.
Diagnoses of melanoma, the most deadly kind of cancer, are on the rise by 2 percent a year since 2000, despite a plethora of sunscreens on the market.
Trouble is, many of those sunscreens were developed to prevent sunburn caused by ultraviolet B rays, but did not necessarily protect them from ultraviolet A rays, which are associated with skin damage as well as skin cancer.
Until now. New rules by the Food and Drug Administration say sunscreens must protect against both the A and B rays. To be effective against the more powerful rays, the lotion should have a minimum of 15 sun protection factor, SPF.
Also, there’s no such thing as a waterproof lotion or one that lasts the whole day long. Effective coverage means a golf-ball size dollop applied every few hours or after every swim. Spray products are also not considered as effective as a lotion.
Be especially protective of children in the sun. A bad sunburn in childhood or adolescence can double the risk of melanoma later in life.
A four-year study of 900 Australians showed faithful use of a sunscreen helps maintain more supple and smoother skin.
Half of the participants diligently used a sunscreen with an SPF of 15, which filters 92 percent of the sun’s rays, while the other half did not. For those who went without, but still practiced moderate protection such as wearing a hat when outdoors and occasional use of a sunscreen, their skin was more aged at the conclusion of the study, showing less elasticity, more discolorations and deeper wrinkles.
It’s never too late to start protecting yourself against the damaging rays of the sun, but for those past their prime, don’t expect miracles. After all, you can’t stop time.
More to the point, the effects of ultraviolet light on skin are cumulative.
All the more reason to keep little Lily lotioned up.
— Susan Lynn
Uptick in melanoma should give caution for sun worshippers
