Practice Safe Sun and Prevent Skin Cancer

By: Kenneth Surr

At one time, skin cancer was a disease that primarily affected Caucasians, smokers, those with a history of the disease and people who worked outside. Today, every one of us is at risk. Over the past forty years, the cases of skin cancer have doubled every ten years. It's up to us to protect ourselves and our children from this awful disease.

There are two types of skin cancer that are very lethal if left too late. Therefore, it is crucial to follow these skin cancer prevention tips. The following information is sourced in part from the world's largest healthcare organization, NHS Direct Online.

Basically, the best way to protect your self from skin cancer is to take care in the sun is to take preventative action and be sure you don't burn your skin. Once you have been burnt the damage has already been done, so remember to cover up with loose fitting clothes.

Your arms and legs should be covered whenever possible. This will help to protect you from skin cancer and from heat stroke as well. It's also important to drink plenty of water to replace the natural fluids that are lost on hot days.

The best clothes for sun protection are those made of fabrics that are tightly woven. Also, try to avoid being out in the sun during the hottest hours of the day, between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. If you must be outdoors during these hours, cover up with clothes, use plenty of sunscreen and wear a hat and sunglasses.

Always use a sun protection lotion with an SPF (sun protection factor) of at least 15, although exceptionally fair-skinned people, children and people living in exposed areas of the world need to use lotions with an SPF of up to 40.

Before you venture out into the sun, make sure that your entire body is covered by sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15. At the absolute minimum, make sure that your face, hands, feet and neck are covered. Remember that the most vulnerable parts of your body are the spots that are not usually exposed to sunlight, so keep those protected as well.

Apply sunscreen at least 30 minutes before going out into the sun, and reapply it every couple of hours. Sweat, water and friction from towels and lawn furniture will cause the lotion to rub away, so it's important to keep reapplying it. Even waterproof lotion should be reapplied after swimming.

If you plan on being in the water, it's even more important to use a high SPF sunscreen. The sun's UVA and UVB rays are able to reach you even through two feet of water. Fog and clouds will not stop these damaging rays, either. While the ozone layer used to provide this protection for us, the damage that we've caused with pollution means that UV protection is now up to us.

In addition to the skin, you must protect your head and eyes from the sun's damaging rays. Always wear a hat and sunglasses that have UVA and UVB filters in the lenses. Ultraviolet rays can harm the retinas of the eyes and create cataracts.

Article Source: http://appliedhealtharticles.com

Author Kenneth Surr is a regular columnist for numerous web magazines, on mans health and health education subjects.
Click here to get your own unique version of this article.

Please Rate this Article

5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5 

Not yet Rated