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About UV Protection, Sun protection There is a lot of information around about sun protection and some of it is confusing, even contradictory. There are scare stories and true stories, arguments for and against exposure to the sun, claims both extremist and alarmist. |
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Questions & Answers: Q: What's the best way to protect my child from sun damage? A: I'll direct you to the experts. SunSmart is the UK's national skin cancer prevention campaign. They suggest the following guidance for sun protection:
Q: I'm pale skinned. Am I more at risk of skin cancers than others? A: Some people have a higher risk of developing skin cancer than others. Those with a higher risk tend to have one or more of the following:
These people need to take extra care when they're out and about in the summer sun. Q: How do I know which days have high UV? A: The strength of UV in the atmosphere depends on where you are in the world, the time of year and of day, the weather, and altitude. To help you know when you need to be careful, the World Health Organisation developed the UV Index as a way of describing the strength of the sun's rays. It is used in weather forecasts and reports. The higher the value, the greater the danger from the sun and the less time it takes to damage your skin. You can check the UV index forecast for different parts of the UK and Europe at the Met Office website: www.metoffice.gov.uk Q: If I'm always covered up, will I get enough Vitimin D? A: We need vitamin D to build and maintain strong bones. Our bodies produce vitamin D when our skin is exposed to UV rays. The vitamin is also present in our diet in foods such as eggs, fatty fish, fish liver oils and some fortified cereals. Scientists estimate that a fair-skinned adult produces adequate vitamin D during short periods outdoors two to three times a week. If you are fair skinned, it is important to use sun protection in summer to reduce your risk of skin cancer. Sensible sun protection shouldn't prevent you producing enough vitamin D. Q: Don't my kids look better with a dark sun tan? A: No, they don't. Remember that a tan is the sign of skin damage and it is NEVER smart to burn. Q: Why is UV swimwear better than a T-shirt? 1. T-shirts are often very losely knitted and have a low SPF, which is further reduced when wet. You can still burn through a T-shirt! Our UV swimwer rates SPF50+ when wet. 2. T-shirts absorb water and stretch when damp, leaving exposed areas sensitive to burning. Our UV swimwear has a 4-way stretch, absorbs little water and maintains good shape when wet. 3. The first thing you'll do when coming out of the water wearing a wet T-shirt is take it off! Our UV swimwear dries fast in the sun so you can wear it all day, in and out of the water. Lion in the Sun's UV protection swimwear makes good sense! Recent press articles: 'Hot and dry' UK summer forecast BBC News, Thursday, 30 April 2009 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8026668.stm The UK is "odds on for a barbecue summer", with no repeat of the washouts of the last two years, according to Met Office forecasters. Temperatures are likely to be warmer than average across the UK, topping 30C at times. Rainfall should be "near or below average" for the three months of summer, the forecasters say. However, they warn that heavy downpours cannot be ruled out. Chief meteorologist at the Met Office, Ewen McCallum, said a repeat of the wet summers of 2007 and 2008 is unlikely. "After two disappointingly wet summers the signs are much more promising this year," he said. "We can expect times when temperatures will be above 30C, something we hardly saw at all last year." Skin cancer (melanoma) BMJ Group, Monday 23 March 2009 Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that usually starts within a mole or a dark spot on your skin. If you find it early, simple surgical treatment works well and usually leads to a cure. What is melanoma? Melanoma is a form of cancer that starts in skin cells called melanocytes. Melanocytes make the dark pigment called melanin that gives you a tan when you've been in the sun. The full name for this type of cancer is malignant melanoma, but we're calling it melanoma for short. It's important to find a melanoma early on. If you don't have a melanoma treated quickly, it may grow deeper into your skin and spread to other parts of your body. Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer. It affects young people more often than older people. Older people are more likely to get a type of skin cancer called squamous cell. Doctors don't know exactly what causes melanoma. But too much exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun seems to trigger changes to melanocyte cells. These changes may make the cells grow in an abnormal way and turn cancerous. We don't know why some moles turn cancerous while others don't. Some people are more likely than others to get melanoma. Having lots of moles (more than 50), especially ones with jagged edges, makes it more likely. Other things that increase your risk of getting this type of cancer include having relatives who have had melanoma, having bad sunburn as a child, and having freckles, fair skin and hair, and blue or green eyes. Going to tanning booths or using a sun lamp often may also increase your risk. What are the warning signs? The two main warning signs of melanoma are changes in moles that you already have, or new moles or dark spots appearing on your skin. See your doctor if you find a mole that has changed in shape, size or colour, that feels different (rougher or scalier than before), hurts, itches, bleeds or is getting larger. If your doctor thinks you could have a melanoma you will probably be referred to a dermatologist. If the dermatologist thinks you may have a melanoma, he or she will remove the mole or spot and test it for cancer. This is called an excision biopsy. It may be all the treatment you need if all the cancer cells are removed at this stage. The mole or spot will be checked in the pathology laboratory. If it is cancerous, the doctor may decide to remove more of the healthy tissue around the melanoma, to be on the safe side. The Observer, Sunday 27 April 2008 Skin cancer epidemic as Britons flock to the sun Jo Revill http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/apr/27/cancer.health1 Britain's love affair with the sun is taking a dramatic toll. As young people flock to the beach or the tanning salon, cancerous melanomas are reaching epidemic levels in some parts of the country. Mobile skin clinics are to tour the UK this summer and doctors are campaigning for paler skin to become as fashionable - and safe - as it was in Victorian times. ... Amelia Webb [is] careful of her skin. Webb is a survivor of melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer and the disease which is now rising at a rapid rate across the UK. She is one of a growing number of young women and men who find themselves facing a disease that has a terrible prognosis Yet she was not an avid sun-worshipper, nor is she particularly pale-skinned. 'I would have my two weeks in the sun, like everyone else, and I would also have the occasional sunbed,' said Webb. 'But I wasn't obsessive about it. I liked a healthy tan, but I tried not to burn. ... Webb is one of the 9,000 people a year in the UK who end up with a diagnosis of melanoma, a form of skin cancer which was barely heard of 20 years ago. The disease now claims 1,800 lives a year, and is growing at a faster rate than breast or prostate cancer. Cases of what used to be called the 'cancer noire' have risen by almost half in a decade and quadrupled since the Seventies. Our love of the sun and a bronzed tan are creating a new epidemic of disease. Around the world the situation is little better. Some 160,000 new cases of melanoma are diagnosed worldwide each year, and it is more frequent in men and in white-skinned people, particularly those in hot countries. Currently one in five North Americans and one in two Australians will develop some form of skin cancer in their lifetime. ... Much of the damage to our skin may be happening before we are even aware of it. It seems to be children who are the most vulnerable, as they are at a higher risk of suffering damage from exposure to ultra-violet radiation than adults. Their skin is thinner and more sensitive, and even a short time outdoors can result in a red and sore burn. Long-term population studies have shown that episodes of sunburn in childhood also set the stage for high rates of melanoma later in life. As about 80 per cent of a person's lifetime exposure to UV is received before the age of 18, covering up children is crucially important for parents. ... It was Coco Chanel who first started the fashion of being tanned. In the Twenties, she came back from a holiday on the Duke of Westminster's yacht in the South of France with a deep tan, prompting the country's fashionable women to throw away their parasols and do the same. A tan had always been a clear definer of class, but from that point on, it started to separate the paler servants from a healthier leisured class - an exact reversal of how a tan had been interpreted for hundreds of years previously. The question is now whether society can adapt again, to start to see the permatanned as undesirable, unhealthy, and most important of all, unhip. Denise Van Outen, a role model for lots of girls, has been one of those who warned recently about the risks of sunbeds. Her face was blemished with brown spots as a result of using them as a teenager. Van Outen, who started out on the Big Breakfast Show and won acclaim in the musical Chicago, said: 'I used a sunbed when I was 18 because I did not know the risks, but I'm paying for it now. It's my big regret.' Her 'tanorexia', as the obsession has been nicknamed, left her with pigmentation scars on her face and marks on her cheeks and brow. She now wears heavy make-up to cover the damage done by the tanning-booth sessions. 'Girls are still using sunbeds, they are still risking skin cancer for a tan. But they should know that tans fade and it's not worth the risk.' Avoiding direct sunlight and covering up is 'best protection against skin cancer' FRIDAY 4 MAY 2007 http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/news/newsarchive/2007/may/18139417 Covering up with thick fabrics and avoiding direct sunlight provides the best protection against skin cancer and the aging effects of the sun, experts have said. A review of sun protection strategies around the world, due to be published in the Lancet, found that these measures provide better protection than sunscreen. In particular, tightly woven garments made of denim, wool or polyester provide the best protection against UV rays, with cotton, linen ... |