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Protect your skin from sun damage

29 June 2015 08:00 (UTC+04:00)
Protect your skin from sun damage

By Amina Nazarli

The arrival of warmer weather usually means spending more time outdoors in the sun.

Many beachgoers tend to trust their skin to the bright rays of sunshine, as they feel that they look more attractive with bronze-toned skin.

Looking confident is always good if it does not damage your skin; since the sun can do a lot more than just give you a warm summer glow.

Many have probably heard that sunlight is the primary source of UV ray exposure, which is a major risk factor for most skin cancers.

Small amounts of UV are essential for the production of vitamin D in the body, yet overexposure may result in acute and chronic health effects on the skin, eyes, and immune system.

If we add depleted ozone levels, by which the atmosphere loses more and more of its protective filter function and more solar UV radiation reaches the Earth's surface, to this scenario, then protecting your skin should be given serious thought.

The World Health Organization says that sun exposure associated with increasingly popular outdoor activities is strongly correlated with the rise in the incidence of skin cancers over the past few decades.

A 10 percent decrease in ozone levels will result in an additional 300,000 non-melanoma and 4,500 melanoma skin cancer cases, according to the WHO estimation.

“Everyone can get skin cancer,” said dermatologic surgeon Maritza Perez MD.

However, many people of color are less susceptible to UV damage thanks to greater amounts of melanin, the protective pigment that gives skin and eyes their color, she added. “But people of color can still develop skin cancer from UV damage.”

If one is to consider forecasts from the U.S. Space Agency NASA which predict this year to be the hottest year since 1998, then people should be much more cautious with the health of their skin.

The best way to prevent a sunburn is to avoid sun exposure. Stay out of the midday sun from 10 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon, when the strongest rays shine.

But if you can't avoid being in the sun, use a sunscreen to help protect your skin.

Dermatovenerologist and dermo-cosmetogist Jala Hasanova said sunscreens are widely used to reduce the harmful effect of UV rays on the skin.

“The indicator of the sun protection factor (SPF) should be no less than 50 during the summer months. People with more pale skin should prefer creams with higher SPF, measuring 50+, 80, and 100,” she said.

SPF is a measure of how well a sunscreen will protect skin from UV rays. Just imagine that your skin normally begins to burn after 10 minutes in the sun without any protection. A 50 SPF sunscreen would provide 50 times the protection than that of unprotected skin.

Other ways to protect yourself from the sun include wearing protective clothing, such as hats that cover your neck, ears, eyes, and scalp.

Pay attention to clothes labelled with sun protective fabric. They are effective in protecting your skin from ultraviolet rays.

Do not regret paying extra for good sunglasses. Sunglasses with UV ray protection help prevent eye damage that may lead to cataracts, the most common cause of vision loss in people over age 40 and the primary cause of blindness in the world.

Reflective surfaces, like water and sand, also increase your risk of sun damage because they reflect up to 85 percent of the sun’s rays. People burn easily while at the beach or on a ski trip because of the exposure to reflective surfaces.

Meanwhile, try to protect yourself not only on the outside, but also from within.

Antioxidants are valuable substances that protect the cells from damage. Eating foods rich in antioxidants every day prevents the destruction of skin cells caused by ultraviolet radiation from the inside. Foods rich with antioxidants are watermelon, carrot, potato, red paper, tomato, berries, grapes, apple, green tea and etc.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

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