Protecting Your Skin From The Sun

[Ezliving_Jim]

Protecting Your Skin From The Sun

Angela Davis
Reporting


(WCCO) As we all get set to enjoy the sunshine and heat this weekend, it's important to remember to dig out that sunscreen and use it!

May is Skin Cancer Awareness month, so we want to remind you why you need to protect yourself from the harmful effects of the sun.

More than 90 percent of skin cancer is caused by sun exposure. Each hour, one person dies from skin cancer. It is the most commonly diagnosed type of cancer among men and women and the most dangerous form of it, melanoma, is expected to take the lives of 8,000 people this year.

Here's what you want to be on the look-out for: a lump, spot or mole that is shiny or firm, a mole that changes shape, a sore or spot that bleeds or becomes crusty, or a sore that does not heal.

I talked with a dermatologist at Hennepin County Medical Center, Dr. Jessica Alexander.

She said that even though doctors and the public have learned a great deal about skin cancer in the last 30 years, the number of cases keeps rising.

"One thing might be cultural attitude that a tan is a cool thing that started in 1950s and 1960s and reached its peak in the 1970s and 1980s. It was the people who were getting a lot of sun, tanning on the beaches, getting that deep dark tan, that are coming in with melanomas in their 40s," said Alexander.

Dr. Alexander told me that in the last year, research has allowed the manufacturers of sunscreen to dramatically improve it. The sunscreen you can buy today is far more effective than what was in stores just a few years ago.

She told me that in the last couple of years, research has allowed the manufacturers of sunscreen to dramatically improve it. The sunscreens you can buy today include active ingredients that protect us from both kinds of ultraviolet rays -- those that cause sunburn and those that penetrate deeper and also cause skin cancer.

"One of the really exciting things that has come out in the last year are much better sunscreens that actually target that UVA before sunscreens were more targeted to UVB and fortunately a lot of research has gone into making a better and ideal sunscreen," said Alexander.

She urged parents to take the time to put sunscreen on their young kids, and encourage their older children to do the same.

"Unfortunately, when we are kids our skin is sensitive to the ultraviolet light. They often talk about if you have had a lot of sunburns before the age of 18 that is the kind of sun damage that you can't reverse. Those are the people who do have a higher risk of developing something like a melanoma," said Alexander.

She recommends an SPF of 30 for kids and adults.

Dr. Alexander said that people need to be aware that tanning beds can put you at higher risk of getting skin cancer. The ultraviolet rays from them can be harmful over time.

"And most of the tanning beds are actually UVA, so they don't cause a burn so to speak, so you leave the tanning bed and you might not see a noticeable sign of skin damage but it is actually penetrating deeper and it has been shown that this UVA does lead to skin cancer down the line," she said.

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