Did you know that, after Australia, South Africa has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world? This seems like a very good reason to get sun smart
Up until the 1920s, suntanned skin was considered shockingly unladylike. In fact, women went to great lengths to maintain porcelain complexions. But in the 30s, Coco Chanel returned from a trip to the French Riviera with a glowing tan. Headlines around the world reported the story and by the following summer, sun-kissed skin was a status symbol.
Nearly a century later, it seems we’ve come full circle. Medical experts agree that excessive sun exposure damages our health. According to University of the Free State Dermatology Professor, Werner Sinclair, “There’s no such thing as a safe tan.” He says that although avoiding the sun completely is unrealistic, especially in a country like South Africa, which has so much sunshine, people need to be extremely cautious. “Do what you like for recreation, whether it’s bird watching, tennis, hiking or canoeing, but don’t let exposure to the sun be your primary reason for being outside. In other words, you should never tan on purpose,” he says.
It’s been proven that the effect of the sun’s rays is accumulative: your skin remembers each of your tans and burns. According to Professor Sinclair, three or more severe sunburn incidents resulting in peeling and blistered skin during childhood, increases your risk of getting skin cancer as a mature adult.
Handy Tips for Sun Lovers
- Some medications can increase sensitivity to the sun’s rays. Certain antibiotics, birth control pills, diuretics, antihistamines and antidepressants may cause increased sensitivity to the sun. Dress accordingly and take extra precautions if you are taking any of these medications.
- Check the UV Index each day and dress accordingly. The UV Index is a prediction of the sun’s UV radiation on any given day at noon. Check the Internet, your local newspaper, television or radio for your local daily UV Index.
- Window tinting film on your car windows actually helps block UV rays and can greatly decrease the amount of ultraviolet rays reaching your skin.
Keeping Kids Safe
1. Cover up
For outdoor excursions, put kids in T-shirts. At the beach or pool, take along a spare T-shirt. Wet fabric lets in more UV rays.
2. Make sure children always wear hats
wide-brimmed hats cut around half of radiation to the eyes, face and neck. Get babies and young children used to wearing a hat and they’ll be less likely to resist when they’re older.
3. Use plenty of SPF 30+ sunscreen
Go for the highest SPF you can find and make sure it’s at least 30+. Apply sunscreen 15-30 minutes before the children go outside, because it doesn’t work immediately.
4. Keep reapplying
Apply a second coat of sunblock 30 minutes after the children have first gone outside. That way you’ll be less likely to ‘miss a bit’ and they’ll be better protected. Then make sure you reapply every few hours, especially after swimming or towelling (whether or not the bottle says it’s waterproof).
5. Pay attention to the littlies
Babies burn even faster than children and toddlers do. No matter how much it might cramp your style, keep babies under six months out of the sun completely.
6. Invest in some shades
Encourage kids to wear sunglasses (eyes get sun damaged too). Wrap-around styles are best because they cut out more UV light. Cheap toy sunglasses are a no-no.
7. Get under cover
Try to keep your children out of the sun completely between 10am and 3pm. Having a range of indoor activities lined up will make this a lot easier.
8. Don’t ignore the clouds
Just because it’s not sunny, doesn’t mean you can’t burn. UV rays can still pass through the clouds and burn skin just as easily. Don’t take any chances!
Sun Care tips for Adults
- Understand SPF. An SPF of 8 filters out 86 percent of ultraviolet radiation, one of 15 blocks 92 percent of damaging rays, and an SPF of 30 blocks 96 percent of ultraviolet rays. Remember to apply sunscreen to lips, ears and exposed areas of the scalp.
- Limit your time in the sun, especially between 10am and 3pm, when the sun’s rays are most dangerous. Stay in the shade as much as possible or under an umbrella.
- UV radiation can penetrate fabric. Cover up as much as you possibly can and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Use good eyewear. You’ll need sunglasses with optician-approved UV protection lenses. Harmful ultraviolet rays reflect off water and light surfaces, such as concrete, sand and snow. These rays also reach below the surface of water.
- Use sunblock every day of the year. Even on cloudy days, up to 80 percent of the sun’s harmful rays reach earth. Wear a sunscreen every day.
- Sunscreens work by absorbing most of the sun’s rays before they penetrate the skin, but some still get through.
- Sunblocks block or reflect the sun’s rays. Examples are zinc oxide or titanium oxide.
- Water-resistant sunscreens protect skin for 40 minutes of water exposure. Waterproof sunscreens protect for 80 minutes.
- Use plenty. Studies have shown that the average person uses about half the amount of sunscreen that the manufacturer used when determining the SPF value.
- Apply to dry skin about 15 to 30 minutes before going outdoors.
- Reapply after sweating, swimming or towelling off.
Seven Facts about Skin Cancer
- There are different types of skin cancer: non-melanoma, which is fairly common, and melanoma, which is less common, but more serious.
- Cases of melanoma are four times higher than they were the 1970s.
- Melanoma survival rates are now among the highest for any cancer: 78 percent of men and 91 percent of women are alive five years after being diagnosed.
- 4 Sun beds and tanning booths are the worst thing for your skin. They deliver concentrated UV radiation to unprotected skin and should be avoided at all costs, as skin ages more rapidly. According to Professor Sinclair, in general, you can say that the use of an artificial tanning booth will double the melanoma risk of any particular individual.
- Black people, with the exception of albinos, don’t get sun damage-induced melanomas.
- Very fair-skinned people, especially those with red hair or moles; a personal or family history of skin cancer, or who play a lot of sport outdoors, work in the sun or spend a lot of time driving, are considered to be high-risk for developing melanoma.
- Smoking increases your risk of getting skin cancer.
This shortened article was taken from the December 2009 edition of Your Family. Text by Pamela Kimberg, Photo from Getty Images/Gallo Images.
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