Spring Sun Dangers

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Created on Tuesday, 30 April 2013 17:20
Written by Mario Viola

st johnsburyNORTH EAST KINGDOM- With summer right around the corner it is time to trade in those jeans for a nice pair of shorts, and those jackets for a bathing suit to go to the beach. But this also summer also has its dangers to it that could have deadly consequences. “we are still getting 60-80% of the suns energy on a cloudy day, we underestimate the suns power on a cloudy day and sunscreen still be applied even if it is cloudy” Said Dr, Charles Hammer a dermatologist at the Dartmouth Hitchcock clinic in St Johnsbury. Melanoma is a very serious form of cancer that is caused from ultraviolent rays caused by the sun. The spring is one of the worst times for this threat because more of our body is exposed and a lot of people think its not hot enough for sunscreen.

            Every sunburn a person gets increases the chance for contracting melanoma. And those of us using SPF 30 you are really only getting half of the protection if a normal person applies SPF 30 they are actually only getting about the protection of SPF 15 because they are not applying a thick enough layer” Said Hammer you also do not need SPF 100 because anything over SPF 45 is nothing but over kill “The days aren’t long enough to justify over SPF 45” Hammer Said. “The intensity of the sun now is the same as late if it was late august and people should be aware and apply sunscreen even in the spring weather.” Hammer Said. in terms of preventing melanoma look for 8 hour protection sun screen as opposed to 4 hour and if that is not an option just remember to reapply as needed” Hammer stated.

  One thing you should be aware of are moles on our bodies, moles could be the start of Melanoma. The most dangerous places on the body to get it would be the bottoms of your feet and your back. This is because those are the places on the body that the normal person doest look at everyday. Things to look for when checking your body for possible cancerous spots are moles. In order to check yourself just remember ABCDE rule. A is for asymmetrical; if you have a mole on your body that is asymmetrical it may be worth getting it checked out by a doctor. B is for border irregularity, which means the border of the mole are notched or blurred. C is for color; if there is more than just the standard black it should be looked at by a dermatologist. D is for diameter, if the diameter of the mole is bigger than the op of an eraser on a pencil it could contain cancer cells. E is for evolution, if you see any of the first four letters change at all you should schedule and appointment with your dermatologist. “