Sunburn, Skin Care and Cancer Prevention - How to Read Sun Block SPF Numbers

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Whitney, I am glad you asked this question, because I recently incurred a slight sunburn because I forgot to wear Sun Block at an all-day outdoor activity on a clear, sunny Saturday. The temperature measuered in the upper 70s F that day and a consistent breeze wafted through the crowd. I wore a hat and avoided a sunburned scalp, but my face and forearms were a bit sore by 4:00 PM and red later in the evening.

My face will easily burn while I am driving down the street 4 miles to the university, just from the windshield magnification of sunlight/radiation, so I need to remember to use Sun Block. I have suffered three serious sunburns in my life, all of which I can remember as if I had incurred them just this morning.

As a nine year old, I did not know what Sun Block is, and my parents did not use it. So after a day outside without a hat and in a kid's bathing suit, I was so sore, that the sheets on the bed hurt. I received no treatment for the burn, so just had to tough it out for a week. The first two days were the worst, then I could ignore the pain.

As an adult, I interviewed applicants at a construction site for positions in a restaurant going up. On that occasion, my throat was the area was sunburned, leaving a scar for 10 years.

A few years later, I was at a picnic in overcast weather on an August afternoon. Wearing a V-neck blouse and a hat, plus Sub Block, the v-neck area burned anyway. That evening, I was a bit sore. However, I drank a couple of gasses of ginger tea, brewed from fresh ginger and other teas and within 30 minutes, my sunburned area "caught fire." it burned badly enough that I slept with 10 pounds of ice on the affected area to numb it. fro a year after that incident, if I coughed, the same nerve endings affected by the burn felt as if aflame. My recent burn healed in three days, but I carry Sun Block with me now.

SPF means sun-protection factor. The SPF numbers, multiplied by 10, indicate the number of minutes that the protective effects of the sunscreen or Sun Block with last.

Therefore , SPF 5 = 50 minutes of protection and you have to reapply every 50 minutes - that's less than one hour and time consuming. (I believe that SPF 5 sunscreen is actually no longer made, bu ti have seen SPF 8 = 80 minutes.)

• SPF 15 lasts 150 minutes, or 2 hours and a half.

-- SPF 15 filters out or blocks 92% of UV(B) rays from the sun. It allows an individual that would normally burn in 10 minutes to NOT burn for 150 minutes.

• SPF 30 lasts 300 minutes, or 5 hours.
• SPF 90 lasts for 900 minutes, or 15 hours (This is the highest SPF I have personally seen, at Walgreens in Ohio; I haver more often sceen SPF 60, 70 & 80).

-- If you are outside in Alaska above the Arctic Circle during the Midnight Sun days of 24-hour sunshine, you need this SPF, even though it is cold outside. Ambient air temperature has nothing to do with the sunburn situation there -- UV rays are RADIATION that causes sunburn as they pass through any clouds, the air, and even through your clothing. One would not likely be outdoors for 15 hours at subzero temperatures, but use the highest SPF if you will be outdoors for an extended period of time, and apply it only once, keeping it with you. If you are stranded outside, you'll have it.

WHAT IS UVA, UVB, and UVC?

In the 1980s, UVA Radiation was considered safe and used in tanning beds. UVA actually does the most harm. UV = Ultra Violet.

UVB Radiation is prominent in summer months in any earth hemisphere; in summer, that part of the earth is closest to the sun. Sunscreens used to block only UVB, until we found out that UVA is worse for the body.

UVC Raditaion is largely absorbed by the earth's Ozone Layer, one reason that the Ozone Layer is so important. Prolonged UVC exposure is fatal.

Remember the victims of the Hiroshima atom bombing? Some of them tuned bright pink that night and died. UVB radiation burns usually manifest more fully in the evening as well. If your sunburn is painful and/or widespread, seek professional medical help.Sunburned skin can become infected, just like other skin wounds.

A national UV Forecast is presented at the National Weather Service of rmajor cities in the United States. Before you go outside, check the UV forecast as you might any other weather event. The seriousness of the UV ratings are as follows:

UVI & EXPOSURE LEVEL

0 - 2 = LOW - Sunscreen should still be used.

3 - 5 = MODERATE

6 - 7 = HIGH

8 - 10 = VERY HIGH

11+ = EXTREME: The very young and the very old should likely not go out in the sun at all.

BE PREPARED

Please do not take radiation lightly. Use Sun Block and wear UV-Blocking sunglasses. Radiation will age the skin and eyes, diminish eyesight and skin elasticity, and casue skin cancer in many individuals. Skin cancer does not often stay on the skin! It can enter the bloodstream and spread to vital organs, causing death.

BE PREPARED

Please do not take radiation lightly. Use Sun Block and wear UV-Blocking sunglasses. Radiation will age the skin and eyes, diminish eyesight and skin elasticity, and casue skin cancer in many individuals. Skin cancer does not often stay on the skin! It can enter the bloodstream and spread to vital organs, causing death.