LIVINGLIVING
1. Slip, slop, slap
An average body needs a full shot glass
size of suncream to cover it adequately,
and it should be applied around 20
minutes before you go outside into
sunshine. Apply sun cream again after
going into water and reapply every two
hours. You should really be putting on
Factor 50 as a sunscreen. Apparently a
lot of people won't use factor 50 because
it stops them from getting a tan, but if you
don't know it already, a tan is the body's
way of protecting itself from skin damage.
Skin is our largest organ. Hypothetically,
we wouldn't leave another organ to burn
in the sun would we?
2. Bin the base tan
The idea of a base tan from a sunbed
protecting skin in sunshine is a myth. The
process of acquiring a tan damages the
skin, with the skin turning a brown colour
to protect itself. Short, sharp sessions on
a sun bed can be up to 15 times stronger
than the Mediterranean mid-day sun.
Ok, so summer's turning into autumn, but if you have any
sunshine on your horizozn don't forget to take care of it!
SUNSHINE AND SKIN
W
hile this magazine
is focused
on living with
diabetes, the
fact is that our
overall health matters too. We may have
a blood sugar disorder, but our bodies
are all wrapped up in skin, so we need
to take care of that too. In the UK rates of
melanoma, the most dangerous form of
skin cancer, have doubled in the last 20
years, with 14,000 cases and over 2,200
deaths registered in 2015. Exposure to
sunlight is attributed as a high risk factor
with number of UK residents travelling
abroad having doubled between 1980
to 1989. In 2014, skin cancer was the
second most common type of cancer
diagnosed for 15 to 49 year olds. Males
are more likely to get skin cancer and
the rates of skin cancer in men have
increased at a greater rate than in women
over the 20 years from 1995. The UK's
leading skin cancer charity, Melanoma
UK, have provided their top five tips for
staying protected in the sun:
3. Avoid lobster look
The early evening sun can still be
dangerous, especially in countries with
warmer climates. Suncream should be
applied again after showering or utilise
an aftersun that offers sun protection.
Getting too much sun and going all red
like a boiled lobster is not a good look and
it' s no good for your skin. Avoid it!
4. Get your vitamins
We've often done coverage in this
magazine about the link between low
levels of Vitamin D being associated with
diagnoses of Type 2 diabetes. But any
decent health care professional will tell
you that if you want to make sure your
Vitamin D levels are correct, get outside
for 15 minutes a day (you only need a
brief period of exposure of around 10-15
minutes in the sun to give your body its
daily dose of vitamin D), eat a good diet,
and take a supplement if you think you
need to. Sunbeds are definitely OUT.
Don't be tempted. They really are not
good for your skin and don't get your skin
to produce any Vitamin D either.
5.check yourself,
before you wreck
yourself
Keep a check on our skin and make
regular checks, using pay day as a guide,
if you notice anything unusual always
seek medical advice.
www.melanomauk.org.uk