How to choose a sunscreen and does not get skin cancer
How To Choose Health / / December 19, 2019
Statistics are not happy: from 50 to 70% of skin cancer cases are associated with excessive exposure to the sun. It goes mainly of melanoma, one of the most feared malignancies in human and most aggressive form of cancer. And she, of course, fatal.
Standard antidote to those who are afraid of the sun, are creams that protect against its harmful effects.
1. As tanning effect on the development of cancer?
It's no secret that long-term exposure to the sun increases the risk of skin damage. The greatest harm cause sunburn. Therefore, you must closely monitor how it is you are sunbathing or whether that burns so as to cause irreparable damage to your skin.
Sunburn more harmful in children as young skin is very vulnerable to cancer-causing ultraviolet radiation. The younger you were when you got a sunburn, the higher the risk of developing skin cancer in adulthood.
But do not immediately panic: the sun effect on the skin depends on many different factors. These include heredity (color, presence of moles, family predisposition to cancer) and environmental factors (time of exposure to the sun, degree of sun exposure, the seriousness of burns and so Further).
2. If I burn easily in the sun, my predisposition to skin cancer is higher?
Yes it's true. There are several types of skin, and each is characterized by a special relationship to tan. In general, the darker your skin, the less likely that you obgorite the sun and earn a skin cancer.
One who has dark skin, much less exposed to the risk of skin diseases and cancer. People with very pale skin, red hair, or those who are very bad tans are subject to the harmful effects of the sun's rays most.
3. I've never used drugs against sunburn. I will die?
Be sure to die. But not necessarily from skin cancer. Do not panic, get sunscreen and again carefully reread the previous paragraph.
4. And what to do with the fact that the skin is aging?
Save beauty and youthfulness of the skin as long as possible - it's pretty important. But much more important to protect your health. Use sunscreen to prevent sunburn, which lead to premature aging of the skin and the appearance of cancer.
5. Reduces whether the use of sunscreens risk of skin cancer?
Medical research has quite clearly given to understand that sunscreens can reduce the risk of at least one type cancer - squamous cell. With melanoma, everything is much more complicated.
The main problem lies in the study of the disease. The fact that melanoma is often discovered only years later after receiving insolation.
Solar Cooking - irradiation of the earth's surface by solar radiation.
Also it plays an important role and that insolation is very unstable. For example, people living in the north, get a dose of solar heat in the summer or when there are on vacation in the southern countries. An important role in the study of disease and plays account of factors such as use or non-use sunscreens, skin type ill, heredity, and so on.
Eleni Linos (Eleni Linos), senior lecturer of dermatology at the University of California San FranciscoSunscreen to some extent help to prevent the risk of cancer. They are designed to deliver us from sunburn, which are essential prerequisites to the disease.
To date, only one was conducted fairly large-scale study of the relationship of sunscreen and cancer. They were engaged in scientists from Australia, but no accurate predictions yet.
6. Cancer arises from the use of sunscreen?
Not! There are epidemiological studies showing that people who frequently use sunscreen often suffer from skin cancer. But there is a logical explanation. The thing is that most sunscreens use a skinned people who burn easily in the sun.
As we have mentioned above, these people are much more inclined to the risk of skin cancer than those who have a darker skin tone. It is from here and took those test results. Sunscreens have nothing to do with it.
Worth noting is also a fact that people who apply sunscreen often lose their vigilance. They use a cream with a high sun protection factor and think that they can stay in the sun without harm to health very, very long time. This false sense of security. The risk of skin cancer remains to make everything just great.
7. Does sunscreen blocks the intake of vitamin D?
Not. Experiments conducted on a group of adult Australians not revealed no mutual coupling between the intake of vitamin D and using sunscreen during the summer. Vitamin D levels does not change due to the fact that you use protective equipment.
8. What is SPF?
SPF (Sun Protection Factor) - is sun protection factor. He refers to the ability of cosmetic products to protect your skin from harmful sun rays and extend the safe sun exposure.
To calculate the sun protection factor creams manufacturers compared to the skin, sunscreen smeared with skin without sunscreen and learn how long it takes, so that she began to take red shade.
But do not immediately think that the cream with SPF-factor - this is a panacea against skin cancer. There are two types of solar rays, which can damage your skin and cause cancer: UVB and UVA. UVB rays produce a burn, increasing the likelihood of cancer. UVA rays damage the skin at a deeper level, causing it to lose elasticity and activating the processes of aging. This, in turn, causes wrinkles and age spots.
Previously, it was believed that UVA rays can cause only minor damage, but recently revealed that they are also associated with the occurrence of cancer.
9. What value of SPF cream to choose?
Usually packages sunscreens SPF immediately after the reduction should be some kind of figure. It indicates how much longer you can stay in the sun with cream, without receiving burns than without cream. SPF-factor value ranges from 2 to 50 units. SPF 50 means that you can withstand 50 times the dose of ultraviolet radiation without risk to health.
Most people do not know how to properly use sunscreen. They cause them either incorrect or insufficient. Some people believe that the higher in cream SPF-factor value, the more effective it is.
It should be understood that the means with SPF 30 does not protect two times more efficient than tools with SPF 15. Despite the large numerical value in the extent of absorption and reflection of rays difference is not so great. For example, the means 30 transmits a SPF of 3.3% of the radiation, and with SPF 50 - 2%.
Often the shelves you can find creams with a protective factor of up to 100 units. This is nothing more than a deception and delusion.
SPF index only protects against short UVB rays. But what about the rays UVA? In that case, dermatologists recommend to choose sunscreen broad spectrum of action, which will save you once from two types of harmful rays.
As for the level of SPF, the most dermatologists agree that the best option is a cream with SPF 30 protection index. If you are going for outdoor activities, which includes frequent immersion in water, then pay attention to water-resistant sunscreen. Waterproof funds must protect your skin for at least 40 minutes in the water.
10. What is the difference between physical and chemical types of sunscreen?
There are two types of sunscreens: physical and chemical. The first reflects ultraviolet radiation, and the second absorbs UVB-rays.
In the composition the physical sunscreens often contains components such as zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, which guarantee the protection against the sun. They do not penetrate the skin and form in it a kind of protective shield that reflects ultraviolet light.
Chemical sunscreens are created artificially and work so that absorbed into the skin. Their structure often include materials such as benzophenone and avobenzone.
Chemical creams are resistant to water and do not leave on the body whitish streaks, as opposed to physical. There are also tools that combine a combination of chemical and physical sunscreens.
11. How to be contained in creams with chemicals?
At first glance, sunscreens are safe, but we do not know much about the cumulative effect of after use.
There were some concerns about the toxicity of substances in their composition, such as titanium dioxide or zinc oxide. But in these matters there is no clarity.
4-aminobenzoic acid, a member of sunscreens can cause skin irritation, including rashes and pimples.
Octinoxate chemicals and oxybenzone is suspected that they can disrupt the hormonal system. However, like parabens. How will this affect the people, it is still unclear.
Parabens - preservatives chemicals derived from petroleum, are part of many cosmetic products, including sunscreen. The most common among them are methyl paraben, butyl paraben and propyl paraben. According to studies, they are safe for humans in small doses, but can not be stated with absolute certainty that they will not harm the health, when accumulate a decent amount.
Accurate research about all matters relating to the composition contained in the sunscreen chemicals have not yet carried out.
12. Does sunscreen sprays are dangerous?
The main cause for concern here - it's improper use. The main danger is that the chemicals sprays can be inhaled or ingested.
Also, quite often there are cases where sprays are sprayed near open flames. So be careful and follow safety precautions when you use exactly this means of protection from the sun.
13. How to use sunscreen?
First of all, read the instructions, which must be on a jar. If not, then here are some universal guidelines:
- Apply the cream to dry skin 15-20 minutes before going outside.
- Apply the cream on exposed skin (face, ears, hands, lips).
- Apply protective agent every two hours and again after each swim.
- Do not spare the protector and apply it with a thick layer (for an adult will take approximately palm).
- Do not use sunscreen with expired shelf life.
- If you have allergies, then before you buy a sunscreen be sure to consult with your doctor.
14. Can I own smear his back protective cream?
It definitely can be turned, if you are very, very flexible. If not, it has long been thought up a lot of tools that will facilitate your life.
Special spatulas, sponges, rollers - with their help, every centimeter of your body to get the desired dose of sunscreen. By the way, all of these gizmos is not so difficult to make and even home.
15. How long can you keep the sunscreen?
Shelf life of sunscreens is indicated on the packaging. As a rule, it does not exceed three years if stored properly. If the cream has come under direct sunlight or stored in a warm place, it is better not to use it, as all active components will become useless.
16. What should I do if I can not tolerate sunscreen?
Eleni Linos, dermatologistThere are lots of much more cheap and safe way to prevent sunburn than the use of sunscreens. The main purpose - to prevent the occurrence of sunburn. If a person is afraid of exposure to harmful chemicals, it is possible to use alternative methods of protection, because the main thing - the result.
Wear wide-brimmed hats, long-sleeved shirts, sunglasses - sun protection all exposed surfaces. There is another very crucial way to protect - not just appear on the street at the time when UV radiation is particularly harmful (from 11 to 15 hours).