Health & Beauty

Red alert

It’s great to get out and enjoy the sunshine, but we all need to be aware of the dangers too

We Brits do tend to get a bit over-excited as soon as the sun comes out. Even when it’s still pretty chilly, a bright day can bring out the topless chaps in the beer garden and scantily clad bodies on the beach. But we all know this can be dangerous and our skin needs to be properly protected – especially when it spends so much of the year under wraps. Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the UK and rates continue to rise. At least 100,000 new cases are

now diagnosed each year, and the disease kills over 2,500 people each year – that’s seven every day. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun can cause damage to the skin and lead to skin cancer. Sun exposure is the main preventable cause of skin cancer and experiencing severe sunburn, particularly in childhood, increases the risk of developing skin cancer in later life.

So let’s approach the summer season with care and follow some advice from the British Skin Foundation.

Clothes and a hat

Clothing should always be your first line of defence. Cover as much of the skin as is possible, paying special attention to the shoulders, which burn easily. Consider T-shirts and hats even when in the water.

Sunglasses

UV radiation can also damage the eyes, and so sunglasses with good quality lenses that filter out the UV are essential. Those with an EU CE Mark are proven to offer safe protection.

Shade

Your shoulderrs are especially susceptible

“Just 10 minutes is all it takes to burn pale skin”

Keeping cool in the shade is a good way of saving yourself from the sun, especially if you are very fair-skinned. Just 10 minutes of strong sunshine is all it takes to burn pale skin. Find shade whenever possible, but especially in the middle of the day, 11am to 3pm, when the sun is at its strongest.

SPF 30+ sunscreen

No sunscreen provides absolute protection, so use it with the other lines of defence. Generously apply sunscreen with SPF30 or more to all exposed areas. A waterproof sunscreen is better as it protects you if you sweat. Apply 20-30 minutes before going outside, and at least every two hours. If you swim a lot, use it more often.

Not enough on its own

Myth buster

This time we’re debunking some of the mysterious myths surrounding our feet…

1Badly fitting shoes and high heels

cause bunions

This may have been considered to have some truth in it since wearing tight-fitting shoes often causes bunions to hurt more. Also, bunions tend to get worse over time, which helps feed the myth that they’re self-inflicted. But bunions are actually genetic, and due to a particular foot type in which the bones of the big toe point toward the other toes instead of growing straight out. This creates the bump that signals a bunion. 2 You can cure an ingrowing toe nail by

cutting a notch in it

Ouch, no! This is definitely an old wives’ tale. Ingrown toenails typically occur when the nail grows downward, toward the skin. Cutting a notch into it does nothing to stop this, and may make the pain worse or cause infection.

3Your feet shrink as you age Not true. In fact, if anything our feet are likely to get wider and longer as the muscle and tissue lose elasticity and form, allowing the flesh to spread more. It is common for women’s feet to grow a little during pregnancy for the same reasons – the loosening of those ligaments allowing the foot to stretch out more..