Fast facts to protect your skin from sun damage
JOBURG - SOUTH Africa has the second highest incidence of skin cancer in the world after Australia, so Fedhealth has issued tips for community members to be sun-savvy.
Fedhealth said skin cancer is the result of skin cell damage and begins in the lower part of the epidermis, the top layer of skin.
Protecting your skin against the harmful rays of the sun only goes halfway against preventing cancer. The other half is doing regular skin checks to ensure you nip any worrying skin issues in the bud early.
Jeremy Yatt, principal officer of Fedhealth, said you should examine your skin head to toe once a month, looking for any suspicious lesions.
“Self-exams can help you detect potential skin cancers early enough to be completely cured. If melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is recognised and treated early, it is almost always curable, but if it is not, the cancer can advance and spread to other parts of the body where it becomes hard to treat and can be fatal,” he said.
He said the majority of melanomas, often resembling moles, are black or brown, but they can also be skin-coloured, pink, red, purple, blue or white. “Finding an atypical mole will often give you the first clue that something’s amiss. That’s why it’s important to know your skin very well and to recognise any changes in the moles on your body. However, for a successful self-exam, you need to know what you’re looking for, and to aid this, physicians have developed specific strategies for early recognition of the disease.”
He offered fast facts on how to protect your skin:
- If it takes three to four minutes for your unprotected skin to start burning red, using an SPF 30 sunscreen theoretically prevents reddening 30 times longer (which is around one-and-a-half to two hours on average.) You need to constantly reapply while in the sun to ensure the best protection
- Remember if you have red or blonde hair with blue or green eyes you have the greatest risk of developing skin cancer. Use an SPF 50, if possible
- Brown-haired, brown-eyed people may tan easily but are still vulnerable. A SPF 30 or 40 is recommended
- Dark brown-haired people can get away with a 20 to 30 SPF sunscreen
- People with black or dark brown hair rarely burn, but could have sensitive eyes, palms of hands and soles of feet. An SPF 20 is usually sufficient
- Check the expiry date on your SPF. Do not use more than one year after the sunscreen has been opened.
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*Article first published in December 2015
