Perfect Tan Not

A glossy gold brown tan to set off toned limbs - which is the stuff which the young fashion-consciousdreams are made from. The interest of the bronzed, sun kissed look has led to an inflow of sunworshippers in bikinis, board shorts, and naked torsos congregating at the shores. But only howmuch do they learn more about the risks related to excessive sun exposure?

Plenty of youths are adventuresome, fun loving and are enthusiastic about sports. This may merelylead them to overlook the necessity of appropriate sun protection. While many outdoor sports likesoccer, wakeboarding, windsurfing etc are certainly advantageous to health, the risks of excessivesun exposure to the participants will also be very actual.

Sunlight Damage

Only UVA and UVB rays get to the earth's surface because UVC is filtered out by the ozone layer.

UVA penetrates deeply into the skin and activates the production of melanin, which is a pigment inour body that causes skin to tan. UVB mainly impacts the skin's outer layer and causes sunburn.

Sunburn is just one of the short term damages of sunlight exposure. It ranges from redness and painto redness and swelling, and in some serious cases, blisters can occur.

Frequent sunburns are connected to increased risks of having skin cancers.

Most SCC and BCC instances are due to long-term exposure to sunlight. These tumours appear mostcommonly on sun-exposed areas like the face, hands, back, shoulders and lower lip. SCC tumoursare unusual and fleshy growths that can enlarge and break down into ulcers.

BCC tumours tend to be glossy and pigmented, with raised edges. The Skin Cancer Foundation(SCF) in New York, USA, estimates that some 800,000 and 200,000 Americans suffer from BCC andSCC per annum respectively.

It may form in pre existing moles, where pigmentation is greatly concentrated. The tumours arepresented as large, thick and coloured (red, blue or black) spots that grow quickly, with irregularoutlines.

On a less lethal note, exposure to bright light may also trigger migraines and headaches, for up to 24hours. Melasma is another UV-related skin disorder characterized by symmetrical brownishpigmentation spots in UV-exposed regions and affects girls 90% of the time.

Block Out the Sun

Much as knowledge of sun exposure dangers is important, knowing just how to minimize threats is alot more crucial. Methods to minimize damage from sun rays can be split into those to do withbehaviour and those to do with materials.

Conduct wise, sun-lovers can refrain from carrying out high risk activities between 10am and 4pm,when the sun's rays would be the strongest. On a general note, make an effort to maintain in theshade while going about normal actions.

Fabrics which are sun-protective have tight weaves and are dark-coloured. To test for a tight weave,hold the garment about 7 inches out of your eyes towards a light source. If visible light canpenetrate holes between the threads, so can UV beams. Dark colors absorb harmful UV rays better

than light-colored clothing and consequently protect skin better.

To protect the face, sunblock is essential, preferably one with at least Sun Protection Factor (SPF)20. Reliable brands contain Sunkiller, La Roche-Posay and Coppertone. If sun exposure time isexpected to be long, then a sunscreen of higher SPF of 45 or 60 is advocated. One often-ignoreddirective would be to reapply sunscreen frequently throughout the day, as sweat or friction mighthave washed it away. For the eyes, shades with UV-protective coating are proposed.

Alternate Tones

Fashion-conscious youths who covet a suntan but are afraid of increasing their skin cancer riskshave begun to regular tanning salons. This misguided attempt only reduces the prevalence ofsunburn rather than skin cancer, warns Dr Wong, an associate consultant dermatologist togetherwith the National Skin Centre of Singapore.

"In fact, by going to tanning salons, you're exposed to unnecessary excessive UVA, that might raiseyour risk of getting skin cancer as it is mostly UVA-mediated."

One relatively harmless choice to sun tanning is really to utilize self-tanning lotions. These containdihydroxyacetone (DHA), which reacts with proteins in dead skin cells on the skin surface to resultin brown pigmentation, which becomes the suntan. While self-tanning lotions, like other externalproducts, have been known to cause skin irritation, no undesirable long term effects are recorded.

As we welcome the warm, bright weather, do keep in your mind the related dangers andprecautions. Being cautious when young may just save you a lot of heartache and pain in later years.