What Doctors Tell Their Friends About the Sun

First of all, you're definitely not wearing enough sunscreen.

By Stephanie Wood, Redbook

It's not fair, really: The thing that brings you so much joy is kind of out to get you, too. But this year you can soak it up knowing you've done all you can to protect your family, thanks to the wisdom of these top doctors.

     

You're not wearing enough sunscreen.

           

[post_ads]"I was at the pool with a friend last August when I discovered she was still using the bottle of sunscreen she'd bought in May. She wasn't applying enough — one bottle shouldn't last you the summer. The recommendation is a shot-glass-full each time you apply, but most people use only half that amount. I told her my tricks to get better coverage: Start with your head and work down to your toes, and get someone to do your back. I apply a sunscreen lotion first, then a spray to hit the places I might have missed. If I'm going to be outdoors a lot, I use SPF 50 or higher to get better protection. And be sure you don't neglect the ears and neck. The ears are a common area for skin cancer, and they're especially hard to treat because of their shape — there's just not much skin to work with to repair the ear after a cancer is removed. Hats are so important for this reason. A wide brim will protect your ears, scalp, face, and neck, plus it can cast a shadow over your shoulders and chest. Shade is key for sun protection." —Laura Ferris, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor and Director of Clinical Trials at UPMC/University of Pittsburgh Department of Dermatology

RELATED: 14 Face Sunscreens That Actually Work (and Won't Leave You Greasy!)

Please see a dermatologist.

     

[post_ads]"I have a college friend who had always had a mole on her forehead. When I saw her at a reunion recently, I was alarmed. It had become a textbook melanoma, but when I asked if she'd had it looked at, she quickly dismissed me: 'I was born with this. It's fine.' It wasn't. Melanomas develop slowly, and the person looking at the cancer every day rarely notices these gradual changes. Of the ABCDE formula for recognizing melanomas—asymmetrical, irregular borders, color changes, diameter, and evolving — the last, evolving, is the most important, yet the hardest for the patient to see. Plus, most melanomas don't even develop in a mole. They can also be clear in color or look like a pimple or sore that just won't heal. An itchy or tender patch of skin can be a melanoma. This is why it's so important to see a dermatologist who specializes in skin cancer for a skin check every year. Fortunately, my friend's cancer was caught early, and she's doing well." —Larisa Geskin, M.D., director of the Comprehensive Skin Cancer Center at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City

Sunglasses are for more than glare.

            

[post_ads]"I went golfing recently with a buddy who refused to wear sunglasses. He kept insisting that the sun didn't bother his eyes. I explained that UV rays damage the cells in your eyes the same way they do your skin. Over time, the repair process can lead to problems like cataracts and macular degeneration as well as eyelid cancers. And that's at any age: I have a patient in her 40s who developed cataracts due to sun exposure, and pterygium — or surfer's eye, one of the most common sun-related conditions — can occur as early as your 20s. It's a growth that can spread from the corner of the eye, impairing vision. So please always wear sunglasses. They don't have to be expensive, but they do have to provide 100 percent UVA and UVB protection. When you're in a boat, on a beach, by a pool, or in the snow, your eyes are especially vulnerable, because the sun's rays reflect off water and snow. But even city streets and sidewalks are risky." —Keith Walter, M.D., Professor of Ophthalmology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC

RELATED: The 10 Best Drugstore Moisturizers With SPF

Vitamin D is no excuse.

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"I cringed recently when a friend told me she didn't wear sunscreen all the time because she needed vitamin D. This is a mistake on so many levels. Yes, UVB rays are needed for the body to make vitamin D into the usable form that protects your bones. But even when you use sunscreen, you're not 100 percent protected from the sun's rays. And the sun-vitamin D relationship is complicated: Time of day, season, and skin tone impact vitamin D production. For most people, 10 to 15 minutes of unprotected exposure a couple of times a week in the summer is all that is needed. In fact, to prevent an overdose, your body won't convert more vitamin D than it needs, so you're quickly left with sun damage and no benefit at all. Eat your D instead — you can find it in salmon, tuna, cheese, eggs, and fortified cereal, milk, and orange juice — and talk to your doctor about the best supplement dosage." —Laura Ferris, M.D., Ph.D.

Try this to soothe a sunburn

        

[post_ads]"I have a friend who's normally very careful about the sun, but even she got burned on a Caribbean vacation. The closer you are to the equator, the stronger the sun's rays — more direct sunlight passes through the atmosphere there because of the angle of the earth's tilt. I asked if she had blistering, a fever, chills, or other flu-like symptoms, all of which require treatment. She didn't, so I shared my favorite home remedies that help to relieve the pain and minimize damage to the skin. First, she needed to take ibuprofen to reduce the inflammation. Then, I told her, soak in a colloidal oatmeal bath — the oatmeal coats the skin, keeping it hydrated and helping it heal. The next step is to make some green tea for both drinking and tea bag compresses. It will soothe the burning sensation, and the antioxidants in green tea help repair cells. Finally, I recommend applying over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream to calm the redness. Most important, don't let it happen again!" —Melanie Palm, M.D., Medical Director At Art of Skin, M.D. in San Diego, and a spokesperson for the Skin Cancer Foundation

RELATED: How to Prevent and Treat a Sunburn

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Eat your SPF, too.

           

 

            

"A friend who remembers having sunburns as a child asked if she could do anything to reverse their effects. You can't — suffering one or more blistering sunburns in childhood or adolescence more than doubles a person's chance of skin cancer — but preventing further damage will help. I suggested she start taking a form of vitamin B3 (niacin) called nicotinamide. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that taking a 500 mg supplement twice a day reduced the risk of non-melanoma skin cancers — the most common kinds — by 23 percent. You can also get nicotinamide from niacin-rich foods such as poultry, beef, fish, and fortified cereal. And, of course, do what you can now to prevent any more burns." —Larisa Geskin, M.D.