Summer is just around the corner. Wherever you are in Australia, that means one thing, higher risk of sunburn and if you’re not protected, skin cancers too.
According to the Cancer Council, skin cancers account for 80 per cent of all freshly diagnosed cancers, and there are three types of skin cancers. Melanoma is the most dangerous skin cancer, but there are also basal cell carcinomas (BCC) and squamous cell carcinomas (SCC). Both are usually non-life threatening but should still be avoided.
So how do you best protect your skin from the sun and minimise your exposure to sunburn and skin cancer?
‘Slip, slop, slap’ is still a great idea, but it’s important to also know what’s the best sun protection to ‘slop’ on your skin. Everyone’s skin and exposure situation is different.
Did you know that certain medicines can also increase your risk to sunburn? Medicines which increase risk of sunburn must carry a label warning the patient to ‘avoid skin exposure to sunlight’. If you’re not sure, ask your pharmacist about whether your medicine will increase that risk.
Remember you can burn when it’s not sunny
It’s important not to use the temperature or sunshine as your only cues as to when to protect yourself from the sun.
Sunburn can apply even on mild and even overcast days, because your risk of sunburn is determined by the sun’s ultraviolet light or UV, not the temperature.
You may often hear about the ‘UV Index’ on weather reports and you can even download apps from the weather bureau which will give you a live UV rating in your location.
The Cancer Council recommends using sunscreen on days when the UV Index is forecast to be 3 or above.
Sunscreens are rated by their ‘Sun Protection Factor’ or their SPF and the maximum protection you can get in Australia for your skin is SPF 50+.
But…
Just because SPF 50+ offers the maximum protection, it doesn’t mean you can be complacent once it’s applied. Like other sunscreens, it must be reapplied every two hours and it should also be water resistant. even if you are not going to be in the water, because sweat can reduce the protection of SPF sunscreen.
If you are unsure about the best sunscreen to use, ask your pharmacist or skin care specialist.
And don’t forget to also ‘slip’ and ‘slap’. That is ‘slip’ on a shirt or other clothing to protect from the sun, and ‘slap’ on a hat.
Even if you have taken all the right precautions to avoid sunburn, you should still be vigilant against skin cancers.
It’s essential that you do regular checks of your skin. Pharmacists offer this service, as do GPs or you can go to a specialist skin check clinic.
At the very least, ask family members to check out of sight areas such as your back or scalp.
If you are unfortunate enough to get sunburnt this summer (after all it is very painful), drink plenty of fluids to rehydrate and use ice packs or apply something cool to ease the burns.
The sunny season is a great time of the year and shouldn’t be spoilt by sunburn, so if you take all the right steps, you can still enjoy your time in the sun.
