Excessive sun exposure can cause skin DNA injury - the damage is caused by ultraviolet light. Long term damage includes wrinkling, aging changes, pigment changes, immune problems, precancerous skin disorders, and cancer - including the usually fatal malignant melanoma. The risk of dying from malignant melanoma goes up dramatically with each and every sunburn, and young people in their teens and 20's are dying from malignant melanomas in record numbers.

Clouds do not usually protect against sunburn or skin damage. Snow, sand, high altitude, and sunlight reflecting off water (such as a lake) all worsen the risk of sunburns. Dry clothing (especially white) with tightly packed fibers prevent sunburns - wet or loosely knit clothes will not. Sun screens that block ultraviolet light are crucial - especially between 10am and 4pm. The sun protection factor (SPF) gives you an idea of how long you are protected. If you would normally get a sunburn in 5 minutes, an SPF of 5 gives you 25 minutes, and an SPF of 10 gives you 50 minutes before getting a sunburn. The best approach is to use a waterproof sun screen with an SPF of 15, and reapply the sun screen every 30 minutes.

Sunburns can often be prevented or diminished by taking aspirin 30 minutes before sun exposure. While the burn is less, the DNA skin damage still occurs. Sunburns can be treated with cool soaks, Tylenol, and the very effective Aloe gel (98% or higher gel is best). Be sure to drink lots of fluids - sunburns too cause enormous fluid loss. Topical anesthetics (numbing pain creams) like Solarcaine are not very effective, and can cause skin inflammation and allergy on top of the sunburn. If a sunburn is severe, medical attention may be necessary.

2/7/97