The Sun And Skin Cancer
When the sun is sitting high in the sky many people set off for a day at the beach to bake their bodies in the sun. We now know that exposure to the sun can cause us serious harm to our skin.
Of course, we all know that we should be wearing sunscreen when we go outside at all times. How many people actually put sunscreen on in the morning in their daily routine. We typically only think of sunscreen when we are planning a day out of doors.We are warned on a continuous basis to keep our skin protected from the harmful rays and stay out of the sun when it is at its strongest. Younger people tend to not pay attention to these warnings about skin cancer and the sun.
It does not matter what your age is you must shelter your skin from sun. In the beginning the damaging consequences of too long exposure may not appear for years, but once the damage is done, those consequences will show up sooner or later. Therefore you must protect yourself from the sun’s harmful rays at an early age. You can adopt several methods to prevent overexposure to the sun.
It is more important when we know that we are going to be spending long hours in direct sunlight, but we are outdoors at other times during our lives that we may not think of sunscreen. That walk at lunch that you take to get some fresh air during your workday is time spent in the sun, the walk to the bus stop in the morning and afternoon is exposure to the sun and any other time that we are out in the direct sun exposing our skin.
It is recommended that sunscreen with a minimum SPF of 15 is applied to all exposed body parts. Even so, you should stay out of the sun during the afternoon hours, when the sun’s ray are the most damaging. Overexposure to sunlight isn’t limited to summer months. Skin damage due to sunlight can occur year-round, and could lead to skin cancer. To protect yourself, always wear sunscreen.
Remember to reapply sunscreen several times throughout the day. This is especially important if you have been swimming or engaging in physical activity. Special attention is needed for children; they will not apply sunscreen on their own, and are the most at risk. If they are under six months of age, keep them out of the sun, as sunscreen is not suitable.
Babies and children have extremely delicate skin, and thus are at high risk for sun exposure and even skin cancer. Limit their sun exposure by covering skin and outfitting them with hats.