Friday, June 7, 2013

I Love Sunshine but It Doesn’t Love Me!


OK, this next blog doesn’t really have anything to do with insurance. I worked an outdoor BBQ recently for a service club that I belong to and while I used sunscreen on my face and neck I didn’t use anything for my scalp. I keep forgetting that I don’t have as much hair as I used to. Anyway, you guessed it; I got sunburn on the top of my head! Experts say that you only need to expose yourself to continuous direct sunlight for as little as  15 minutes to put delicate skin in danger, with the hours between 10am and 4pm, and late spring and early summer time, being the riskiest.

Natural skin color is also a factor – the fairer your skin the higher the risk of suffering sun damage which, in a worst case, can cause skin cancer but also ages appearance and can be very painful.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers the following "easy option" recommendations for sun protection:

·         Use sunscreen with sun protective factor (SPF) 15 or higher, reapplying every two hours.

·         Wear clothing to protect exposed skin.

·         Wear a hat with a wide brim to shade the face, head, ears, and neck.

·         Wear sunglasses that wrap around and block as close to 100% of the rays as possible.

·         Seek shade, especially during midday hours.

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