Ways to protect yourself from the sun
- Lather up — Apply sunscreen and lip balm specifically made for children with an SPF of at least 30. The label should say "broad spectrum coverage," which gives protection from both UVA and UVB rays. While swimming, children should wear water-resistant sunscreen.
- Lather generously — Apply 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) of sunscreen to the entire body, 30 minutes prior to going outdoors; reapply every 2 hours or after excessive sweating or swimming. Sunscreen should be reapplied every 90 minutes or according to directions.
- Clothe up — Wear a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses with 100 percent UV protection. Sun-protective clothing with a UPF rating of 50 or higher provides protection, as well.
- Minimize sun exposure — Even when precautions are followed, it is best to minimize the amount of sun exposure during the peak hours of 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
- Seek shade — Look for areas to stay in the shade. (Avoid direct exposure between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.)
- Protect newborns — Keep newborns out of the sun. From zero to 6 months, sunscreen is not recommended because a baby's skin is too sensitive. Instead, keep your baby out of direct sunlight as much as possible by using proper clothing, umbrellas, canopies and trees to provide shade for your little one. A child older than 6 months should wear sunscreen every day, even if it's overcast.
- It's not just for sunny days — Remember that water, sand and snow reflect the sun. Even on an overcast day, clouds allow 70 percent to 80 percent UV penetration.
Source: Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
New labeling on sunscreen
Beginning this year, you’ll see several changes to sunscreen labels. These changes, which are required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, will provide you with more information about what a sunscreen can do.
Here are some key changes you’ll see about whether a sunscreen can help prevent skin cancer and sunburn or only prevent sunburn.
— For a label to claim that a sunscreen can help prevent skin cancer and sunburn, it will have to pass two tests.
The first is the broad-spectrum test. This test shows whether a sunscreen can protect your skin from the sun’s UVA and UVB rays. Both rays can cause skin cancer. The second is the sun protection factor (SPF) test. This test shows how well a sunscreen protects you from sunburn.
— New warning: For a sunscreen to carry the claim that it can prevent skin cancer and sunburn, it must offer both: 1) broad-spectrum coverage and 2) an SPF of 15 or higher. If the sunscreen does not offer both, the label will have to carry this warning: “This product has been shown only to help prevent sunburn, not skin cancer or early skin aging.”
— Water resistance
The FDA is banning companies from claiming that a sunscreen is “waterproof” or “sweat proof.” This is simply not possible. You’ll now see the term “water resistant.” To make this claim, the product must pass another test. This test shows how long a sunscreen keeps its SPF when a person goes in the water or sweats. The label also must state how long the water resistance lasts, either 40 or 80 minutes. New warning: If a sunscreen is not water-resistant, the label must carry a warning. This warning will tell you to use a water-resistant sunscreen if you are likely to sweat or be in water.
Source: The American Academy of Dermatology
The message has been loud and clear: lather up with sunscreen before you hit the beach, the park or anywhere the sun shines.
But many of us aren’t listening.
Only a third of adults usually apply sunscreen to protect themselves from the sun’s ultraviolet rays and skin cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Less than half of Americans wear some type of protective clothing. Only a third of adults seek shade.
And while survivors of melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, are nine times more likely to develop a new cancer than people who have never had the disease, 27 percent of survivors never wear sunscreen — even when outside on a sunny day for more than an hour — according to a study recently presented at the American Association for Cancer Research’s annual meeting.
“When I hear that, it makes me cringe: like fingers on a chalkboard,” said Ron Schwartz, a melanoma survivor who lives in Sandy Springs and volunteers, spreading the word about the importance of wearing sunscreen and getting regular screenings for skin cancer.
Skin cancer is the most common of all cancers. The American Academy of Dermatology estimates that one in five Americans will develop skin cancer in his or her lifetime. Basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas are the two most common forms of skin cancer but are easily treated if detected early. Basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas are associated with accumulated sun damage over many years.
Melanoma is different. It is associated with brief, intense exposure. In fact, one blistering sunburn in childhood or adolescence more than doubles a person’s chances of developing melanoma later in life.
Melanoma has a high survival rate if caught early and before it spreads to the lymph nodes. It accounts for only 4 percent of skin cancer cases but causes about 79 percent of skin cancer deaths, according to the American Cancer Society.
Schwartz’s fight with melanoma goes back to the summer of 1999, when his sister, a physician, noticed a few “angry-looking” moles on her brother’s back during a beach outing. Schwartz’s doctor removed the moles and what appeared to be a cyst from Schwartz’s shoulder. The “cyst” was melanoma, and because the growth was beneath the skin, it was metastatic melanoma (which means it had spread).
Dr. Louis Rapkin, an oncologist and melanoma specialist at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, said adults in their 30s, 40s and older grew up at a time when sunscreen was not automatic. Getting people to change habits — whether it’s to exercise more or wear sunscreen — can be difficult, he said. At the same time, adults can deeply influence children’s habits by starting early.
“Whatever you learn before 21, you will keep with you for the rest of your lives,” he said.
Rapkin said the sunscreen is priority No. 1 for protecting ourselves from skin cancer, and he said we should wear sunscreen when outside for “prolonged periods of time.” For him, that means any time exceeding 30 minutes. He also recommends limiting exposure to the most intense rays between 10 a.m. and 2 or p.m. even 4 p.m., if possible.
Eight summers ago, Chrissie Gallentine was a 19-year-old lifeguard in Florida when her mother set up a routine appointment with a dermatologist. During the appointment, the dermatologist identified four freckles she wanted to get tested as a precaution. Gallentine suggested the doctor test two more — one on her wrist and another on her thigh.
Gallentine, who has fair skin, was not a sun worshipper and burned easily. Going to high school in Florida, she was often outside with her friends — and the sun often had a bright presence.
The test results from the four freckles the doctor pinpointed came back normal. The two spots Gallentine suggested came back positive for melanoma. Caught very early, Gallentine underwent surgery to remove the freckles and some tissue around them. Her dermatologist continued to keep an eye on her freckles, measuring them and removing about 50 of them. The experience was traumatic, and for years, Gallentine was petrified of the sun.
“Anytime I walked outside, I could feel the sun watching me. I wore long sleeves even in the summer, and it was like the mean kid in school watching you across the cafeteria,” said Gallentine, who lives in Atlanta and works in public relations for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
Over time, Gallentine grew more relaxed. She tries to be smart about the sun but also enjoy it.
“It just kind of happened,” Gallentine said about the melanoma. “I hope people take from my story that the sun is not something to take lightly. … And I also hope that people know healing is possible no matter what you come across, and that it is something you can heal from emotionally and physically.”
Meanwhile, Schwartz, now 44, is 14 years away from his initial diagnosis.
On a recent afternoon, he talked about growing up in Toronto at a time children when lathered up with baby oil, ran outside and soaked up the sun. Today, he takes steps to ensure his daughter, 9-year-old Alex, takes a different approach to going outdoors.
“We don’t want to scare her. We just want to educate her,” said Schwartz, who works as certified public accountant doing forensic investigations. “It’s the little things like encouraging her to wear hats, wearing sunscreen, and if we are going to be outside for long periods of time, we try to avoid the peak [sun] hours. If we go on a bike ride, we’ll try to before 10. It’s a more comfortable to be outside when it’s cooler anyway.”
