How to Prevent Skin Cancer

Summer is a time for swimming, outings, picnics, and fun. But it’s also the best time to get a bad sunburn or worse, skin cancer if you’re not careful.

Adequate sunlight helps your body make vitamin D but too much can kill you. Aside from premature aging, wrinkles and cataracts, long-term exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays causes skin cells to grow abnormally and develop into a tumor that can be cancerous.

In the United States alone, more than one million new skin cancer cases are diagnosed yearly and one in five Americans will develop some form of skin cancer during their lifetime, according to the American Melanoma Foundation. Melanoma is the second most common cancer in American women aged 20 to 29 and it kills one person every hour.

At risk are those who spend too much time under the sun like laborers, farmers, sailors as well as those undergoing military training, scouts, campers, athletes, sunbathers and swimmers.

Others who need adequate sun protection are the elderly who have thin skin and are more vulnerable to the sun’s deadly rays, babies with delicate skin that burns easily, those taking drugs like diuretics, tranquilizers and antibiotics, and those applying astringents.

Fair-skinned individuals are more likely to develop malignant melanoma but that’s no reason for those with brown skin to rejoice. While people with darker skin have more melanin pigment which protects them from burning, experts said melanin-rich complexions are not immune from the sun’s harmful rays. The longer you stay under the sun, the greater your risk of getting skin cancer regardless of the color of your skin.

To protect yourself, here are some practical tips:

Be like a vampire. No, don’t sleep in a coffin but avoid going out between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. when the sun is strongest.

Wear sunglasses, a wide-brimmed hat, preferably one made of canvass, and don’t forget your umbrella. Long-sleeves and long pants are fine provided they’re made of a tightly woven material which blocks sunlight.

Use a good sunscreen to effectively block out the sun’s rays and help you enjoy the great outdoors. If you have sun-sensitive skin or stay under the sun all day, a high SPF (sun protection factor) value will protect you from the sun’s harmful rays.

For best results, apply the product evenly on all exposed skin 15 to 20 minutes before going outside. Have someone rub it on your back and don’t forget sensitive areas like the nose, ears, shoulders, and tops of feet. Reapply every 2 hours or more often after exercising or swimming.

To complement your sun protection regimen, use Lumnaderm, a whitening cream that eliminates freckles, unsightly age spots, sun spots, blemishes and hyperpigmentation. When used as directed, Lumnaderm will balance uneven skin tones and illuminate your skin. For more information, visit http://www.lumnaderm.com.