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Little known facts about skin cancer and sunscreens
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Skin cancer is the MOST COMMON and FASTEST GROWING cancer in the United States with more than 1 million new cases diagnosed each year. Of those one million cases, approximately 88,000 will be melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer. One in five kids will grow up to develop the preventable disease.
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Skin Cancer can be cured if detected early.
More importantly, Skin Cancer can be
prevented with these sun-safety tips:
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The sun's peak hours are between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Be smart and reduce exposure during this period. If you must be in the sun take precautions and make sure you have the proper gear -
- protective clothing
- sunglasses
- broad brim hat
- broad-spectrum sunscreen SPF 15+
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Approximately 80% of sun exposure and potential skin damage occurs before age 18.
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One exposure to the sun causing burning and/or blistering increases your chance of developing skin cancer by as much as 50%.
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Slop on the sunscreen! One ounce of sunscreen, or a full shot glass, is needed to cover the average exposed area of an adult. Applying less substantially reduces your protection.
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Don't be fooled. There is no such thing as a "waterproof" sunscreen or all-day protection. FDA only requires testing sunscreen for 80 minutes in still water.
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Sunscreen needs to be re-applied every two hours to maintain protection.
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Water resistant sunscreen needs to be applied to dry skin. Wet skin does not allow the sunscreen to adhere to the skin and therefore is easily removed during activity.
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Your sunscreen should have an SPF of 15 or higher and provide broad-spectrum protection. SPF only tells you how much UVB protection the product provides. To obtain broad-spectrum (UVA/UVB) protection look for sunscreen that contains an effective physical sunblock (example: over 5% zinc oxide) or a chemical sunscreen absorber that protects in the UVA range.
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The sun's UVA rays are constant throughout the year. Sunscreen should be worn on cloudy days and even in the winter months. The harmful UVA rays travel through glass, clouds, and reflect off of snow, water, and concrete.
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Visit your dermatologist once a year for a complete body screening.
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