Sunburn & Sun Protection
Sunburn can be a first or second degree burn. To prevent burns, use a sunscreen with SPF 30; those with higher numbers offer little to no extra protection. Apply sunscreen 1-2 hours before going out into the sun; then reapply it several times throughout the day.
Care for sunburn by removing the person from exposure, applying cool compresses, and later moisturizing with skin lotions that contain aloe. Any sunscreen with a cream or oil base is also very useful for preventing frostbite and windburn.
Sun Exposure Awareness
You can prevent serious damage by simply using sunscreen and wearing sunglasses.
Forms of sun damage to the skin: Sunburn, Tans, Freckles, Sun spots, Dilated blood vessels, Skin aging, and Skin cancer
How sun harms eyes: Snowblindness, Cataracts, Retinal damage
The most delayed effects from sun exposure are skin aging and skin cancer. With skin aging the skin eventually becomes very leathery, bumpy, and extremely wrinkled.
Use Extra Caution:
- Sun’s rays are strongest from 10 AM to 3 PM
- Higher altitudes and locations near the equator contain more UV rays
- Avoid
tanning beds; they damage skin just as much as sun exposure
- People can get sunburn when it’s cloudy
- Snow
and water reflect up to 90% of the sun’s rays back at people. Use extra
protection by reapplying sunscreen more often (once every hour if swimming).
Sunscreen Tips:
-
Use
waterproof SPF 30 sunscreens. Higher SPF numbers offer little to no extra
protection.
- Combining two sunscreens with two different SPF numbers only gives you the lowest SPF amount of protection. So, two SPF 15 sunscreens cannot be added to make SPF 30.
- Ensure
sunscreen contains protection from both UVA and UVB rays.
- Apply
sunscreen at least 30-60 minutes before exposure so your skin has time to absorb
it.
- Be
very generous when applying sunscreen to all uncovered areas of skin; most
people use too little.
- Reapply
plenty of sunscreen every two hours, every hour if doing water sports.
- Sunscreens
that have an oil or cream base also protect against windburn and frostbite.
Sunscreen vs Sunblock
- Sunscreens are composed of chemicals that absorb UV rays before they damage skin.
- Sunblocks physically block the sun immediately, and can be applied right before going outside since they sit on top of the skin (instead of being absorbed into the skin like sunscreens).
- Physical sunblocks will contain titanium dioxide or zinc oxide.
- Chemical sunscreens contain various chemicals which could include avobenzone, benzophenone (aka oxybenzone), dioxybenzone, homosalate, menthyl anthranilate, octocrylene, octyl methoxycinnamate (aka octinoxate), and octyl salicylate (aka octisalate).
- Quickly
review the list of active ingredients when purchasing sunscreen or sunblock.
Manufacturers do not always use the terms correctly. To make this simple,
memorize (or write down) the two most common ingredients found in sunblocks if
you specifically want a true sunblock.
Other Information:
-
Wear
SPF 15 lip balm and reapply often
- UVA
rays burn top layers of skin
- UVB
rays penetrate into deeper layers of skin and cause faster aging
- In
windy conditions, reapply sunscreen every hour
- Wear
a hat along with sunglasses that block UV rays
- Protective
clothing also aids in preventing sun damage. Fabrics with a tight weave (such
as denim) offer more protection than loosely woven fabrics.
- Snowblindness
happens when people do not protect their eyes (occurs especially when skiing/boarding
at high altitudes). The sun’s rays reflect off billions of tiny ice crystals
and can cause blindness that could last for days.