Be Sun Smart | Dr. Ann Lott, Bryan LifePointe MedSpa

May is skin cancer awareness month and a good time to reflect on our own views on tanning and the sun. First, remember to do your personal skin exam. If you see any new or changing spots on your skin – or anyone else’s skin – please have those areas checked by your doctor. It’s also a good time to remember that taking care in the sun is important for people of all ages – from newborns to adults.

Here are some guidelines for a sun-safe summer:

Heart Rates: What’s Normal, What’s Not

Read

Newborns and Toddlers

If at all possible, avoid the sun from 10:00a.m. to 4:00p.m., when the sun is at its peak. When required to bring your baby or toddler outside, try giving them shade as much as possible. Here are some tools to keep the sun from harming their skin:

Cover on baby carrier
Car window shades
Clothing and hats
Umbrellas and tents

Try to keep the sensitive skin of babies six months and younger out of the sun. For children six months and older, use a sunscreen with a zinc oxide base, which is the main ingredient in diaper creams and is very safe to use.

Teens and Adults

As we hit our teens and adulthood (particularly women), having a tan is often viewed as a ‘healthy’ look. This could not be further from the truth, and is especially true for indoor tanning.

There are several alarming medical facts related to tanning:

Tanning before the age of 35 increases your risk of melanoma – one of the most deadly forms of skin cancer – by nearly 60 percent
Indoor tanning is the cause of 76 percent of melanoma cases for patients under the age of 30
Melanoma is increasing more rapidly than any other cancer
30 percent of Nebraska teen girls report using tanning beds in this last year

If these facts don’t startle you, tanning and sun exposure is also the leading cause of premature aging.

Sun Protection

My favorite sunscreen products are:

Blue Lizard
EltaMD products
Solar Protection products

You can find all of these products on sale this month at The Spa at LifePointe for a 15 percent discount.

In addition, if you buy the Colorsience Sunforgetable Loose mineral sunscreen brush, you will receive 50 percent off the refill cartridge – while supplies last. The brush is a great gift for a close friend or family member. I am sure, if we have talked, you already own one of these indispensable tools to prevent your own skin from cancer and premature aging.

How to Take Action

A local cause, The Bed is Dead, educates teens (18 years old and younger) about the dangers of indoor tanning. The information on this website will inspire all of us to ‘take the pledge’ to not to tan indoors, and spread the word that tanning beds are deadly! Currently, they are hosting a $1,000 selfie contest for teens over Twitter and Instagram.

Another great, sun-safe contest I’d like to share is the EltaMD Sun-Safe Sweepstakes. Enter for the opportunity to win a $1,000 trip and EltaMD Sun Care Kits!