EDITOR’S NOTE: In her column Beyond Rx, Andrea Wong, a 4th year Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) candidate from the University of Waterloo, and a very new member to the Manitoulin community, will be exploring topics on health and wellness, medical advances, and everything in between in the pages of this newspaper.
Keeping the fun in the sun
by Andrea Wong
Since the May long weekend is now behind us, the weather is starting to warm up. Summer activities are starting up at full force and everyone’s out soaking up the nice sun after a long winter.
Everyone knows that sunscreen is important. By why exactly? The main purpose of sunscreen is to protect us from ultraviolet radiation from the sun’s rays which can cause sunburns, premature skin aging and skin cancers. There are two main of rays known as UVA and UVB.
When selecting a sunscreen, the sun protection factor (SPF) determines only the strength of protection against UVB rays. In order to protect against both rays, it is important to read the label to ensure it says “broad spectrum” coverage to include UVA coverage. As a general rule of thumb, as the SPF increases, the amount of protection you get also increases. Anything above an SPF 30 will give you a decent amount of coverage.
The best thing to do is to make putting on sunscreen a habit. Not only is it important to put it on before enjoying a nice day at the beach, there can be strong UV rays during the winter and on cloudy days. Although everyone should be using sunscreen, it is especially important for people on certain medications like antibiotics that can cause more sun sensitivity and in children or the elderly due to thin skin. However, only 25 to 50 percent of people use the proper amount of sunscreen. To properly apply sunscreen, the general rule of thumb is to apply 1 Tbsp to the face and neck area, 2 Tbsp to the front torso and back, 1 Tbsp for each arm, and 2 Tbsp for each leg. Try to apply is 15 to 30 minutes before your activity and reapply at least every two hours. Even with perfect application, sunscreen alone will not give you enough protection. It is still important to cover up and find shade whenever possible. Reducing your sun exposure will decrease your risk of skin cancers by 40 percent!
I had recently gone on a boat trip. With the cold air coming off the water, my face was frozen and I hadn’t realized how much sun my face was really getting even after having put sunscreen on that morning. Needless to say, I woke up the morning after with a bright red sunburnt nose.
To all my readers, I would recommend you practice good sun safety in order avoid looking like Rudolph, like me.
