Find Out How to Prevent Skin Cancer

Overexposure to the sun is the most important risk factor for skin cancer. Here are ten ways to protect yourself.

1. If you can stay indoors during peak sun hours, you should. Try to schedule outdoor activities for the early morning or late afternoon, and try to stay in the shade as much as possible if you must be out in the sun in the middle of the day.

2. If you must go out into the midday sun, wear sun protective clothes. This means a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, and a broad-brimmed hat that protects your head and ears and shades your face. Some clothing blocks the sun’s rays while others do not. Dark-colored, heavyweight, tightly woven fabrics provide better protection from the sun than light-colored, lightweight, loosely woven fabrics do. If you must spend a lot of time out in the sun, you may want to buy special sun-protective clothing with a high UPF rating. The UPF rating (the letters stand for Ultraviolet Protection Factor) indicates how much ultraviolet light can penetrate the clothing. For example, if a piece of clothing has a UPF rating of 20, that means that only one-twentieth of the sun’s ultraviolet rays can get through it. Commercial sun-protective clothing with UPF ratings of 50 or higher is available.

3. Protect all of the exposed skin on your body with sunscreen, even on overcast days. Make sure to use enough sunscreen. Most people use too little. It takes about one ounce of sunscreen to cover the exposed parts of an adult’s body adequately. (Don’t forget your ears.) It’s especially important to make sure to use enough sunscreen on all the exposed parts of your body if you’re going to be near sand, snow, or water, all of which reflect the sun, thus increasing your chances of getting burned.

4. Research types of sunscreens online before making a purchase. You’re probably familiar with the SPF (sun protection factor) rating on sunscreens, which is a measure of how well the sunscreen protects against ultraviolet B (UVB) rays, the kind that cause sunburn. Choose a sunscreen with an SPF rating of at least 15. Also, look on the label of the sunscreen to make sure that it is a “broad-spectrum” product that protects against ultraviolet A (UVA) rays, as well as UVB. UVA rays don’t cause sunburn, but they do increase your risk of skin cancer. Finally, make sure that the sunscreen you choose is water-resistant. The American Academy of Dermatology recently made choosing a good sunscreen easier. The Academy allows its AAD Seal of Recognition to be placed only on sunscreens that are water-resistant and broad-spectrum and that have an SPF of 15 or more. You can look for this seal on the product label or on advertising or store displays.

5. Follow directions on your sunscreen (e.g., when to apply, etc.

6. Reapply sunscreen often, at least once every two hours. If your skin has gotten wet from swimming or sweating, reapply sunscreen even more often because even water-resistant sunscreens can wash off. And if you’ve dried yourself with a towel, put on more sunscreen because you may have rubbed off the previous layer.

7. Even if you are scrupulous about using sunscreen, don’t expect that you can stay out in the sun all day without damaging your skin. No sunscreen provides complete protection.

8. Those who drive a lot should consider wearing a broad-spectrum sunscreen while driving or having ultraviolet-protective films installed on the car windows. In most cars, only the windshield is made of the kind of glass that protects against both UVA and UVB rays. The other windows block UVB rays only.

9. Take a pass on skin tans. Tanning increases your risk of skin cancer. You don’t want skin cancer, whether it’s squamous cell carcinoma or another form.

10. Get your vitamin D from means other than ’sun exposure’. You can get all the vitamin D you need from foods, especially vitamin D-fortified milk, or from vitamin supplements.

There’s lots of information about skin cancer online. Learn about driving and skin cancer and related topics, and determine whether you, a friend or relative might be at risk. Don’t be ignorant about skin cancer and its causes.