Green Light Pharmacy Blog
August 2007: Sunburn
In the UK there are 65,000 cases of skin cancer each year, with 2,000 deaths per annum.
Good sunscreens (broad spectrum sunscreens) protect against both UV B - which cause the redness of sunburn - and UV A rays - which causes long term damage like premature aging, and DNA damage leading to cancers. Unfortunately UV A damage is cumulative - meaning each exposure increases the chance of damage. Unfortunately in some sunscreens the UV A protection is not as good as the UV B protection, so while you are not "burning" you are still damaging the cells of the skin - especially if you think you can stay our longer in the sun as you have put on sunscreen. A sunscreens SPF is a measure of it's protection against UV B, but not UV A which uses a star rating instead - go for 5 stars. A high SPF may not guarantee high UV A protection and lead you into a false sense of security as you are not burning.
Sunscreen are but just one defense against the damage of the suns rays, also avoid the sun between 10 and 4 when the sun is at it's strongest, wear protective clothing eg hats and clothing that covers the arms and legs, wear UV sunglasses.
Using sunscreen:
- apply the sunscreen 30 minutes before going out in the sun
- apply to clean, dry skin and rub in only lightly
- use generous amounts
- re-apply every 2 hours, or more frequently if washed, rubbed, sweated off or after swimming
- put on before make-up, moisturiser, insect repellant etc
- don't use it to spend longer in the sun - this will put you at risk of sun damage.
Cancer Research UK's Sunsmart page.
