Frank's Advice on Sunburn Prevention
Friday, 04 June 2010 08:54
This time of year the sun is very high in the sky and people are more prone to burn especially in the middle of the day. We all should be aware of the risks.
Prolonged exposurecauses severe burns and heat stroke in the short term and a high risk of skin cancer in the long term. Ask your Murray's Pharmacist about this.
Ther are two ways of cutting down this damaging exposure.
Physical (ie. Covering up)
- Most importantly a wide brimmed hat, especially for babies and young children and use a sun shade on trolley or pram.
- Wear loose baggy clothes of tightly woven fabric to block the sun.
- Wear wrap around sunglasses to protect the eyes ( this is important to prevent cataracts in later life)
Use a good broad spectrum Sunscreen of Factor 15 or above
- This is best applied about 20 minutes before exposure and is NOT 100% effective so you will still need to be careful and not stay in the sun too long without a covering. Your Murray's Pharmacist can advise.
Remember to slip, slap, slop
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Slip on some baggy, loose clothes
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Slap on a floppy Hat
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Slop on the suncream
Other things to remember are to take care with reflected light, especially light sand,water and concrete.
Cloudy weather can give you a false sense of security, as damaging u/v rays can penetrate thin cloud.
Remember also there is no such thing as a 'healthy' tan. A tan is the body's response to the damaging rays of the sun.
