While it's common to want to soak up as much of the summer sun as possible, it's more important to protect your skin while spending time outside, as skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. By taking precautions and following some simple steps, you can protect yourself and your family from overexposure during these summer months.
How does sun exposure change skin?
Sun exposure can cause pre-cancerous or cancerous skin lesions, benign tumors, wrinkles, freckles, discolored areas of the skin, yellow discoloration of the skin, and dilation of small blood vessels under the skin.
How can I correct sun damaged skin?
While nothing can completely undo sun damage, the skin can sometimes repair itself.
Therefore, it's never too late to begin protecting your skin while in the sun. There are some products however, that may reverse some of the results of sun exposure, such as:
Aspirin: may relieve some inflammation associated with acute sun exposure.
Retin-A: may reverse some of the wrinkling damage associated with sun exposure.
Hydroquinone bleaching creams: may correct some pigmentation irregularities from sun exposure.
It's important to remember that sun avoidance is best for your skin, though sunscreens (properly used) are the next best thing to wearing covering clothing and not going outdoors. And even though a person may never develop a skin cancer from sun exposure, they will almost certainly develop skin wrinkles from sun exposure.
Tips for sun protection:
"¢ Generously apply sunscreen with a sun protection factor of 30 or greater at least 30 minutes before going outside. Sunscreen should provide protection from both ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) rays. UVA rays are responsible for the signs of aging, while UVB rays are what give you a sunburn. Both are responsible for causing most skin cancers. All sunscreens protect against UVB rays, but only recently have sunscreens started including UVA protection. The label should say UVA/UVB or "broad spectrum coverage." Reapply every two hours, even on cloudy days, and after sweating or swimming.
"¢ Do not burn. Sunburns significantly increase one's lifetime risk of developing skin cancer, especially for children. Even one or two bad sunburns during childhood can cause an increased risk of getting melanoma later in life.
"¢ Use cosmetic products and contact lenses that offer UV protection, and wear sunglasses with total UV protection.
"¢ Wear protective clothing, (wide-brimmed hats, long sleeved shirts, and pants), when possible.
"¢ Avoid direct sun exposure or seek shade during peak UV radiation hours between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
"¢ Check the UV Index online or in your daily newspaper. It provides important information to help you plan your outdoor activities while avoiding sun overexposure. The Index forecasts the strength of the sun's harmful rays. The higher the number, the greater the chance of sun damage.
"¢ Perform skin self-exams regularly to become familiar with existing growths and to notice any changes or new growths. A new or changing mole should be evaluated by a dermatologist, as early detection of melanoma (skin cancer) can save your life.
Dr. John Russin is a plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Bassett Healthcare Network who sees patients at the Plastic Surgery and Advanced Skin Care Center at Hartwick Seminary Specialty Services. He also sees patients in Hamilton and Cobleskill.
Columns
Health: Take steps to protect your skin this summer
- Big Chuck D'Imperio
- Cary Brunswick
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Some wisdom is best passed down through books
I was visiting a friend out-of-town recently and the subject of providing a "reading list" to young people came up in conversation. He said years ago he had asked a respected acquaintance in Oneonta to compile such a list for his teenage daughter, to help her be better prepared for life, culture, education, politics and people.
Continued ... - Let pragmatism, not politics, determine birth control debate
- As Center Street Elementary goes, so goes Center City
- U.S. intervention in Syria's uprising would be a gamble
- Santorum, Obama both got it wrong on Honduras
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- Chuck Pinkey
- Guest Column
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If we don’t develop a sustainable system, who will?
In Otsego County’s local elections last fall, a number of candidates — most of them on the independent Sustainable Otsego line — ran on an anti-fracking, pro-sustainability platform. They recognized that our current way of life — dependent on increasingly scarce, costly and polluting fossil fuels — cannot continue.
Continued ... - Time to get off the bus and on the computer
- Cuomo's Machiavellian maneuvers are a danger
- Home rule laws aren't a radical idea
- Sustainable shouldn't be a dirty word
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If we don’t develop a sustainable system, who will?
- Lisa Miller
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Being a parent is a constant learning process
I am sitting cross-legged on the floor in the dressing room, waiting for Allie's dance number to be called. The cave girl costume has been donned, the jazz shoes double-tied, the hair pulled back, the requisite dab of lipstick applied.
Continued ... - Healthy doesn't have to mean expensive
- A family era ends with close of Potter series
- Independent stores make up for loss of Borders
- Untethered from the cable box
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Being a parent is a constant learning process
- Mark Simonson
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Perfect attendance by Saturday’s Bread for 20 years in Oneonta
Oneonta became a settlement and has been a place to do one's "trading," whether it was the 18th century, or 2012, because of the five valleys that converge here. Only the places of doing the "trading" have changed a bit over the last 100 years, and Oneonta remains a place that attracts visitors and has always been a decent place to live and work.
Continued ...
100 Years Ago - Recalling the Hindenburg, John D. Rockefeller in May 1937
- Oneonta residents had diversions aplenty in the spring of 1952
- Damaschke essential to ensuring Oneonta baseball in 1927
- Area tunes to WONT in November 1972
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Perfect attendance by Saturday’s Bread for 20 years in Oneonta
- Rick Brockway
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Climbing is one thing, but skydiving?
OUTDOORS COLUMN BY RICK BROCKWAY ... Last week, my friend George and I returned to the Gunks for another rock-climbing adventure. After last week's column, I asked about the rattlesnakes and was told not to worry. Rattlers are usually quite timid and will avoid people as much as possible. It's the copperheads that'll give you trouble. They're aggressive and will stand their ground to defend it. Oh great!!
- Rattlesnakes may be closer than you think, so pay attention
- Spring is here, so fishing should pick up soon
- Sneaky fox may be the next animal looking to horse around
- Pass down the rush of turkey hunting to your kids this weekend
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Climbing is one thing, but skydiving?
- Sam Pollak
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I'm happy with our kids to a certain degree
It was several years ago, and I was in the kitchen, telling my eldest daughter and my then-teenaged son about the person who was taking over as publisher at The Daily Star.
Continued ... - I get by with a little help from my 'friends'
- It’s not easy for a politics junkie to get off the stuff
- The Encyclopaedia Britannica in print, unmourned by me
- Angelo Dundee was always a good man to have in your corner
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- William Masters
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Time for lawmakers who put needs of society first
Richard Lugar, after six terms as a Republican senator -- known for his middle of the road rationality and his foreign policy finesse -- has been ousted by a Tea Party extremist backed by outside right-wing funding.
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War not worth gambling with lives of soldiers
Are you not tired of our war in Afghanistan? It had a point, once, after 9/11. Bush couldn't distinguish his myopic personal agendas from the nation's needs and let Osama escape, dropping the ball entirely, causing many deaths.
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Titanic was a microcosm of U.S. economic disparity
Haunting reminders of the Titanic tragedy have wafted over us with the centenary of its sinking. The maiden voyage of an impressive, state of the art vessel, was a little like that of the Challenger space shuttle, at the cutting edge of developing technology. But the shuttle carried our pride in science and space exploration, not hundreds and hundreds of people.
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William Masters: Nation stands divided between 'us' and 'them'
In February, Trayvon Martin was shot dead as "suspicious" by a volunteer neighborhood watch man. The case has aroused community reaction in Sanford, Fla., and is still echoing across the country.
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A quarterback can't win the game alone
What is the relationship between democracy and wealth? Democracy is a political system, while wealth relates to economics. We have equal political rights, but we don't all have money. Extreme differences destroy the continuity of community solidarity.
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Time for lawmakers who put needs of society first
