Things You Should Know About Skin Cancer
It summer once more and before you go out in the sun, here are a few skin cancer basics that you should know:
1. Check what you wear. Clothes protect our skin to some extent. The thicker the fabric, the less light penetration it allows. If you're wearing relatively thin clothing and expect to stay under the sun for an extended period of time, apply some sunscreen even on skin beneath your clothes. If you really have to stay out for a very long period of time try wearing UV-absorbing clothes.
2. Make sure your sunscreen has both UVA and UVB protection. UVB rays cause sunburns while UVA rays age the skin, causing wrinkles and tans. Both types of ultraviolet radiation will damage skin and can lead to cancer. Look for zinc oxide and titanium oxide in the list of ingredients of your sunscreen.
3. Any SPF higher than 50 is just hype. SPF 30 gives your skin 97 percent protection from UV rays, while SPF 50 gives you 98 percent protection. But remember that sunscreens will only block UVB. So no matter how high the SPF level is, you're still bound to capture some radiation from the sun.
4. Sunscreen sprays do not work. The best way to apply a sunscreen is to use enough to fill a shot glass and then try to apply it as evenly as possible on the more exposed parts of your body. Sprays cannot ensure even applications of sunscreens. Make sure you reapply every two hours.
5. People with darker skin can get skin cancer too. There is no free pass from skin cancer. African Americans, Asians and Hispanics can get the disease as well as Caucasians. It's actually more difficult to diagnose skin cancer among these people because of their darker complxion, but they are just as susceptible to skin cancer.