Dr. George L. Dixon - "Talking Fitness"

YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE BUT YOU BURN UP MY SKIN

The dangers of ultra-violet radiation are becoming well known.

Your grandmother wore a hat or a bonnet to keep the sun off her face because she knew that it made her wrinkle. Women forgot that for a couple of generations, tanning was IN. Well, darn it, she was right. There is no safe dose of exposure. Twenty minutes each day of sunshine on your face and arms will provide most but not all of the Vitamin D you must have to absorb calcium and to make strong bones. A great time to get it is on your daily walk. If you must appear with a tan, please acquire it slowly using a medium grade 10-15 SPF (Sun Protective Factor) and small doses of sunlight, or tanning salon. This probably allows the cells in your skin (melanophores) to enlarge to produce the tan with less damage.

For more prolonged exposure use agents which block both A and B rays, and 15-25 SPF and even higher (45+?, zinc oxide?)for noses and for small children. Avoiding the mid-day sun, 10 AM until 2PM will cut exposure by half. Snow reflects 80%. Sand and water reflect 10% and 20%. Cement bounces back a goodly portion too. Most (80%) of the sun's rays pass through medium clouds, although a bit more B may be blocked. The higher the altitude and the closer you are to the equator the greater the radiation. Your wide brimmed hat will protect you well.

Ultra-violet A ages the skin causing wrinkles and loss of elasticity. Ultra-violet B causes sunburn. BOTH can lead to cancer of the skin. Tanning devices use high levels of UV-A, and while it is weaker, it ages the skin more then B. Tanning Salons are not very well regulated nor are their machines always carefully calibrated. Even if they were, UV is all harmful, but you certainly don't want an overdose. Some authorities feel strongly that sunburn, especially of children, should be avoided at all costs, as cancers start then from the damage and may be many years showing up.

SKIN DAMAGE FROM SUNLIGHT IS CUMULATIVE.

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