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Family Health

Be Safe In the Sun
By: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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When you’re outside, take simple precautions to keep your skin safe and healthy. To protect your skin, apply sunscreen, use bug repellent, and keep skin clean.

 Bright sunshine and blue skies, the buzz of insects, and the sweat on everyone’s brow are all telltale signs of summertime. Take some simple precautions and be prepared to keep your skin safe and healthy.

Apply Sunscreen

For many people, summertime means spending more time outside. Since ultraviolet radiation (UV) from the sun tends to be stronger during the summer months, and exposure to UV rays appears to the most important environmental factor in developing skin cancer, it’s important to know how to best protect your skin. Sunscreen is one of many sun protective practices to prevent sunburns, a risk factor in developing skin cancer, especially the most deadly of skin cancers, melanoma. Use sunscreen with a sun protective factor (SPF) of 15 or higher and put it on your skin a half hour before you go outside so it has a chance to soak in. Also remember to reapply sunscreen after swimming or toweling.

The SPF of a sunscreen protects against one type of harmful UV rays (UV-B rays). There are currently no ratings for the other harmful UV rays (UVA rays), but you may want to check and see if your sunscreen has coverage against UVA rays.

Spending time in the sun? Know the facts:

• UV rays are strongest between the hours of 10 am and 4 pm.
• Reflective surfaces (water, cement, and sand) increase your chances of getting burned by the sun’s rays.
• You are just as likely to get too much sun on a cloudy or hazy day as you are on a sunny one. UV rays are strong enough to burn your skin even on cloudy days.

Sun Safety Tips:

• Cover up with clothing to protect exposed skin. A long-sleeved shirt and long pants with a tight weave are best.
• Wear a wide brimmed hat and wrap around sunglasses that block both UVA and UVB rays.
• Seek shade, especially during the midday hours of 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. when UV rays are strongest.
• In addition to sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher, apply lip balm with an SPF factor.
• Avoid tanning salons.