This is the time of year when individuals are planning outdoor activities and vacations. Many people intend to get a tan before going on vacation. However, most people do not realize that UV injury must happen in order to develop a tan. The darker the tan that someone has achieved, the more damage to the skin that has occurred. Some people think that getting a tan in a salon is safer than tanning outdoors. People that tan in a salon receive large amounts of radiation in a short time period and have accelerated aging of the skin and risk future skin cancer. This is the same as someone with a dark tan obtained outdoors.

43% of Caucasian children in the United States will have one or more sunburns during the course of a year. Sunburns are best treated with cold wet compresses; topical treatment with lidocaine products can help alleviate pain. Products with benzocaine should be avoided as they can make burned skin more sensitive. A person can decrease UV damage to skin and reduce the chance of skin cancer by using high SPF (Sun Protection Factor) sunscreens and wearing protective clothing. Sunscreens are applied topically to the skin and work by scattering, absorbing, or reflecting ultraviolet light. Water-resistant sunscreens will maintain SPF levels after 40 minutes. A waterproof sunscreen is tested after 80 minutes of water submersion. A sunscreen of SPF 15 or greater is desired with regarded to higher SPFs, the differences become less significant.

SPF 15 = 93 % sun protection
SPF 34 = 97 % sun protection

One should apply sunscreen 15 minutes before going outside and reapply sunscreen every 2 hours or after swimming. Clothing provides the best protection. The higher the weave of clothing and the darker the clothing, the more protection they provide. One should stay out of the sun between the peak hours of 10 AM until 3 PM. There are some indications that 2 gm / day of vitamin C and 1,000 IU/day of vitamin E may reduce the sunburn reaction. If one desires the look of a tan without the risk, a variety of self-tanning lotions are available and are perfectly safe. They can last for up to a week in duration.

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