Sunscreen
11-24-09
By: Ellis Brown
Being Smart in the Sun When planning for a trip in the sun, you should always come prepared with the right supplies. The first thing you will probably think of is going to be sunscreen. While shopping for sunscreen, seek sunscreen that has things such as "Broad Spectrum" or "Very Water Resistant" on the front label. You should also buy a sunscreen that has a 15 SPF or higher to ensure proper protection. You should also always have eye protection. Always wear sunglasses or a hat; you can't put sunscreen on your eyes! As an alternative to sunscreen, you can also purchase sun protective clothing. When purchasing sun protective clothing, look for items that have 50 UPF; these have the best protection. Just remember, if you wear sun protective clothing, you should still wear sun screen!
the heat. You should limit your time in the sun; especially during the times of 10 am and 4 pm. Lay out in the sun for twenty minutes so that you absorb your much needed vitamin-D before you apply your sunscreen. Always remember to reapply every 2 hours to maintain proper protection. If you start to develop a sunburn, you should wear sunscreen, and stay in the shade. Never get a base tan at a tanning booth. You may get a small jumpNow that you have all of your supplies, you should start on your tan, but it is learn some techniques to keep your skin from frying in
Inside this issue:
The Effects of the Sun
Being Smart in the Sun
1
The Effects of the Sun
1
How Sunscreen Works
2
Sunscreen Labeling
2
Should You Wear Sunscreen?
3
Sun Protective Clothing
3
Other
4
Exposure to the sun can be very dangerous. Some of the major effects of prolonged exposure to the sun include sunburn, skin cancer, untimely aging of the skin, eye damage, and many others. These effects can be very dangerous to your health and should take precaution so as not to develop these effects.
Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that is one of the most common and most deadly of all skin cancers. On Average; 8,000 people in America die of melanoma every year, and sadly, the rate of new cases per year is rising. Statistics by The Baton Rouge Clinic AMC
pretty much just feeding you harmful UV radiation. If you think and follow a smart set of guidelines, you should stay healthy on your next vacation to the sun.
This sunscreen is broad spectrum, water resistant, and has an SPF of 30. This is one of many good choices for sunscreen. http://media.rei.com/media/ii/ b23dcb0f-66c9-4598-b45de97478b7371f.jpg
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Sunscreen
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How Sunscreen Works Sunscreen is a product, usually lotion, that you apply to your skin to prevent sun damage. Sunscreen is made up of combinations of organic and inorganic ingredients, which do different things to help you. Organic ingrediA picture depicting the levels of ents absorb UV radiaatmosphere surrounding the tion and dissipate it as heat; inorganic ingrediEarth. ents reflect UV radiahttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kIAzAl2 X2 NM/ Sgbo9Ia8CaI/AAAAAAAAAbA/_bmZEbl_4xs/ tion. s320/atmosphere-couche.jpg
UV stands for "ultraviolet" and the radiation comes from the sun. There are three types of UV radiation: UVA, UVB, UVC. UVC is the least common and most people do not even know it exists. It is completely absorbed by the earth's atmosphere, and therefore is not a worry to the health of humans. UVB is somewhat absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, and
is the cause of sunburns. UVA is not at all absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere and penetrates the skin deeper than UVB radiation. Some sunscreens, usually labeled as "Broad Spectrum", protect the skin from both UVA and UVB radiation, which is a good thing to consider while buying sunscreen. Information by The Library of Congress Science Reference Service.
Sunscreen Labeling Do you think that sunscreen bottles have labeling that tells you all that you need to stay safe in the sun? The Food and Drug Administration plans to improve sunscreen labeling to help teach people about how they can protect themselves against the harmful effects of the sun. Sunscreen labels currently allow consumers to identify the amount of UVB protection via the SPF rating, also known as the Sunburn Protection Factor. The labeling system proposed by the FDA would include a four star UVA rating system, information on UVA and UVB, and suggestions of other ways to protect from sun damage. The four star system would be an easy visual guide to the level of protection you are
getting; four stars being the best protection and "no UVA protection" the worst. Information on UVA and UVB rays would be in a small paragraph that would read "UV rays of the sun are made of UVB and UVA. It is important to protect against both UVB and UVA rays." Other ways to stay protected from the sun would be to limit time in the sun or wear protective clothing. The FDA's proposed labeling system would greatly improve awareness of sun protection. The real question is; should the FDA's proposed labeling system be put into place?
A picture of the proposed labeling system versus the old one. www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/ sunscreen082307.html
Sunscreen
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Should You Wear Sunscreen?
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Everyone knows that sunscreen helps protect you from harmful sun rays; if you don't wear sunscreen for a while, you can get a sunburn; wearing sunscreen slows your tan. What most people don't know is that your skin can be damaged by harmful sunrays through windows and while just doing little tasks. Brief exposure to the
sun adds up over time. You obviously do not need to wear sunscreen every time you go outside; so when do you need to wear sunscreen? If you are going to be outside on a sunny day for over an hour, you should consider wearing sunscreen; however, this may differ with skin types. If you are going to be in in-
tense sun for hours, you should definitely apply sunscreen so that you do not burn. Even if you are wearing clothing, i.e. not swimwear, you should still put sunscreen on skin that is not covered. Also, remember to apply sunscreen to your face; it is often forgotten. Don't be over confident when dealing with the sun; you will be burned.
Sun Protective Clothing You can wear clothing as an alternative to sunscreen. Some clothing are specially made to be worn in the sun and have UPF protection; Ultraviolet Protection Factor. This rating system, similarly to SPF, measures the UV protection provided by fabric. If a clothing item has 50 UPF, then it lets 1/50 or 2% of the UV radiation it receives through to your skin. 50 UPF is
the highest amount of protection you can get from fabrics. If you are searching for good sun protective clothing look for the 50 UPF label on clothes at your local camping store or REI or look on internet sites such as coolibar.com or magellans.com. These options all have high UPF rated clothing.
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MICDS
Bibliography " Siteman Cancer Center -- Error." Siteman Cancer Center -- St. Louis Missouri. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2009. <http:// www.siteman.wustl.edu/internal.aspx?id=67u>. ": Harmful Effects of Sun Exposure :." : About The Baton Rouge Clinic, AMC :. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2009. <http:// www.batonrougeclinic.com/library.php?action=get_article&id=137>. "Health effects of UV overexposure | SunWise | US EPA." U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2009. <http://www.epa.gov/sunwise/uvandhealth.html>. "How does sunscreen work? (Everyday Mysteries: Fun Science Facts from the Library of Congress)." Library of Congress Home. 24 Nov. 2009 <http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/sunscreen.html>. "Sun Protective Clothing, Sun Hats, UV Protection Swimwear - Coolibar." Sun Protective Clothing, Sun Hats, UV Protection Swimwear - Coolibar. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2009. <http://www.coolibar.com/>. "Sunburn Protection Factor (SPF)." U S Food and Drug Administration Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2009. <http:// www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/CentersOffices/CDER/ucm106351.htm>. 24 Nov. 2009 <http://www.news-medical.net/news/2006/04/04/17050.aspx>. "Sun Exposure: MedlinePlus." National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2009. <http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/sunexposure.html>.
Resources– Places to go for more information Local:
National:
School:
Website:
If you are looking for more information on the topic, and you live around the St, Louis Area, you should consider looking into Washington University. A specific person to contact would be Madhavi Kandula (her information is below).
If you are looking for a national resource, you have many good options. A suggestion would be Dr. Neil Izenberg. His information is below.
If you are looking for information from a resource in MICDS, you could look through books in the library. A good book that would be Human Diseases and Conditions. In sections of the book, it talks about diseases and conditions that have to do with skin cancer and things you should know about how to live with skin cancer. All of the information is below.
If you are looking to find quick information on the subject using the web, there are many options. One good option would be to enter the information you would like to learn more about into your search engine. Some specific websites that I would recommend are below.
Dr. Madhavi Kandula, MD, 845 North New Ballas Court, Suite 310, St. Louis, MO 63141 314-692-0221 Drkandula.com
Dr. Neil Izenberg, MD, Pediatrics, 1600 Rockland Road, Wilmington, DE 19803 (302) 6514000 Founder, Chief Executive and Editor-in-chief, Kidshealth Magazine Founder & Chief Executive of the Nemours Center for Children’s Health Media Editor-in chief of Charles Scribners’s Sons Human Diseases and Conditions Co-author of Fit Kids
Human Diseases and Conditions. Neil Izenberg, M.D.
Centers for Disease Control – Skin Cancer Prevention www.gosunsmart.org Sun protection and sunscreens: www.medicinenet.com Sun safety: kidshealth.org Sun news and resources about sun protection: www.yourskinandsun.com Clothing: www.solartex.com