August is Summer Sun Safety Month, which makes this time to be taught extra about defending your self and your loved ones from the dangerous results of ultraviolet, or UV, radiation from daylight.
Summertime is right here, and for a lot of, which means household holidays and spending time outside. Exercising and having fun with time outside are necessary for good well being, and actions akin to biking, mountain climbing, swimming and boating might be a whole lot of enjoyable. But these actions additionally require precautions to remain secure, wholesome and protected against the solar.
Exposure to UV radiation from the solar damages your pores and skin, and will increase your danger of creating pores and skin most cancers, wrinkles and age spots. Children are particularly susceptible as a result of they have an inclination to spend extra time outside and might burn simply.
Skin most cancers, which develops totally on areas of sun-exposed pores and skin, together with the scalp, face, lips, ears, neck, chest, arms, fingers and legs, is the most typical kind of most cancers, in keeping with the American Cancer Society. This slideshow contains photographs of a number of situations attributable to solar injury — a few of which may progress to pores and skin most cancers.
Here are 4 methods you possibly can defend your self and your loved ones from UV radiation injury:
- Time of day: Avoid solar publicity in the midst of the day — between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. — when the UV rays are strongest. In addition, be aware that clouds supply little safety, and UV rays can bounce off surfaces akin to water, sand, snow or pavement, resulting in elevated UV publicity.
- •Sunscreen: Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with a solar safety issue, or SPF, of not less than 30 — even on cloudy days. Apply sunscreen generously, and reapply each two hours — or extra usually in the event you’re swimming or perspiring. Use a beneficiant quantity of sunscreen on all uncovered pores and skin, together with your lips, the information of your ears, and the backs of your fingers and neck. And in the event you’re utilizing leftover sunscreen from 12 months to 12 months, you should definitely examine the expiration date. Learn extra about selecting the very best sunscreen.
- Sunglasses: UV radiation can also burn your eyes. Sunburned eyes can really feel painful or gritty. Too a lot UV gentle can injury the retina, lens and cornea. Sun injury to the lens can result in clouding of the lens, or cataracts. Exposure to UV gentle can also improve your danger of creating ocular melanoma. Sunburn of the cornea additionally is named snow blindness. Look for sun shades that block each varieties of UV radiation — UVA and UVB rays. Learn extra about selecting the very best sun shades.
- Protective clothes: Sunscreens don’t present full safety from UV rays. You additionally ought to defend your pores and skin with darkish, tightly woven clothes that covers your legs and arms, and a broad-brimmed hat that gives extra safety than a baseball cap or visor. Some firms additionally promote photoprotective clothes, with a UV safety issue, or UPF, ranking much like the SPF ranking of sunscreens. Learn extra about UPF clothes.
Connect with others speaking about solar security within the Skin Health Support Group on Mayo Clinic Connect, a web based affected person group moderated by Mayo Clinic.
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