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Page 42 October 2018 The Catoctin Banner Newspaper www.TheCatoctinBanner.com Published by www.EPlusPromotes.com
AS K The Dark Side of Sun Exposure
Lo by Dr. Thomas K. Lo, Advanced Chiropractic
Dr . & Nutritional Healing Center
Many of us enjoy the sun. to these rays can make the skin are diagnosed with an early form of children and teens to avoid the use of
Some of us even worship it, and less elastic. Skin may even become the disease that involves only the top tanning beds.
sunlight is essential to many living thickened and leathery, wrinkled, or layer of skin. Melanomas arise from Sunscreens come labeled with a
things; however, sunlight also has a thinned like tissue paper. “The more the cells that provide pigment (color) sun protection factor (SPF), such as
dangerous side. It can harm your skin sun exposure you have, the earlier to the skin. 15, 30, or 50. A sunscreen labeled
and even your eyes. The good news your skin ages,” says Dr. Barnett S. Your risk for melanoma is higher SPF 15 means it will take you 15
is that you can take some simple Kramer, a cancer prevention expert if members of your family have had times as long to get a sunburn as it
steps to protect your body from at NIH. skin cancer or if you have already would if you had no sunscreen on.
sun damage and still enjoy the sun’s Your skin does have ways to had melanoma or other skin cancers. A sunscreen labeled SPF 30 means it
healthful effects. prevent or repair such damage. The A major risk factor for melanoma is would take you 30 times as long to
Our bodies are built to make good outermost layer of skin constantly having a large number of moles, or burn.
use of the sun. Sunlight helps keep sheds dead skin cells and replaces having large flat moles with irregular The effectiveness of sunscreens
our sleeping patterns on track, so them. You might have noticed this shapes. Sunburns, especially during is affected by several factors. A
we can stay awake during the day type of skin repair if you have ever childhood, may also raise your risk sunscreen’s active ingredients can
and sleep soundly at night. Getting had bad sunburn. Your skin may for melanoma. break down over time, so be sure
too little sun, especially in winter peel, but it usually looks normal in a “If you’ve had skin cancers in the to check the expiration date on the
months, can leave some people prone week or two. past, then you’re at a particularly container. The amount of sunscreen
to a form of depression known as “When you’re exposed to high risk for developing another skin you use, and how often you use it,
seasonal affective disorder. Sunlight ultraviolet radiation, there’s a repair cancer,” Kramer says. “Over the affects your protection from the
also helps our skin make vitamin process that goes on constantly in long run, there is a high rate of new sun. Perspiration and time spent in
D, which is needed for normal bone each one of your exposed cells,” says lesions developing.” the water can also reduce sunscreen
function and health. Yet, sunlight can Dr. Stephen I. Katz, director of NIH’s “One of the major factors effectiveness.
also cause damage. National Institute of Arthritis and affecting skin health is genetics, Some people look to the sun as a
Sunlight travels to Earth as a Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. which determines the pigment source of vitamin D, but it takes just
mixture of both visible and invisible However, long-term damage to your content of your skin. This affects a brief time in the sun to do the trick.
rays, or waves. Long waves, like skin can remain. how much protection you have from “You need very little exposure—
radio waves, are harmless to people. As you get older, it becomes natural sunlight,” explains Katz. something like 20 minutes a day to
However, shorter waves, like harder for skin to repair itself. Over Although darker-skinned people have the backs of your hands, arms, and
ultraviolet (UV) light, can cause time, UV damage can take a toll a lower risk for sun-related damage face—to get enough,” Katz says.
problems. The longest of the UV rays on your skin and its underlying and disease, people of all races and Several factors—like cloudy days
that reach the Earth’s surface are connective tissue. As a result, your skin color can still get skin cancer. or having dark-colored skin—can
called UVA rays. The shorter ones are skin may develop more wrinkles and “Certain genetic mutations reduce the amount of vitamin D your
called UVB rays. lines. contribute to melanoma onset in skin makes. However, you can also
Too much exposure to UVB rays Too much sun exposure can also certain people. You find much less get vitamin D from foods or dietary
can lead to sunburn; UVA rays can raise your risk for skin cancer, the non-melanoma skin cancer in African supplements. Check with your
travel more deeply into the skin most common type of cancer in the Americans, people from the Middle healthcare provider about whether
than UVB rays, but both can affect United States. When UV light enters East, or even Asians from the Near you should be taking vitamin D
your skin’s health. When UV rays skin cells, it can harm the genetic East,” Katz says. supplements.
enter skin cells, they upset delicate material (called DNA) within. The best way to protect skin Limit time in the sun to protect
processes that affect the skin’s growth DNA damage can cause changes health and prevent skin cancer is to your skin against early wrinkles,
and appearance. Over time, exposure to cells that make them rapidly grow limit sun exposure. Avoid prolonged damage, and disease. “Being sun
and divide. This growth can lead to time in the sun, and choose to be smart is a good thing,” Katz says,
clumps of extra cells called a tumor, in the shade rather than in direct and if you spot a suspicious mark on
or lesion. These may be cancerous sunlight. Wear protective clothing your skin, be sure to get it checked
(malignant) or harmless (benign). and sunglasses, and use sunscreen out, Kramer advises.
Skin cancer may first appear as a between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. If you are worried about your skin
small spot on the skin. Some cancers Sunscreen is especially important at health and want to get healthy from
reach deep into surrounding tissue. that time, when the sun’s rays are the inside out, call the Advanced
They may also spread from the skin most intense. Chiropractic & Nutritional Healing
to other organs of the body. “The time to really start sun Center at 240-651-1650. Dr. Lo uses
Each year, more than two million protective behavior is not when you a non-invasive way of analyzing the
people are treated for two types of reach adulthood, but years before,” body to determine the underlying
skin cancer: basal cell and squamous Kramer says. “The message to causes of ill or non-optimum health.
cell carcinoma. These cancers are parents is: Now is the time to start They also offer free seminars, held at
seen in both older and younger protecting your child against skin the office on rotating Tuesdays and
people, and they are rarely life damage from sun overexposure, Thursdays. The office is located in
threatening. when your child is developing sun Frederick. Check out the website at
Melanoma is a less common but exposure habits and when they have www.doctorlo.com.
more serious type of skin cancer that many more years of potential sun
is diagnosed in more than 68,000 exposure ahead of them.” Among *Resource for the article was the
Americans each year. Another 48,000 other skin-protecting habits, teach National Institute of Health (NIH).
