Viva Vitality: Lessons learned and sun safety 101
By Megan Burland on July 5, 2019.
megan.burland@ahs.ca I’ve been travelling the zone this spring spouting my sun safety knowledge, but I hide the scars from a sunburn earlier this year. The scars on my shoulders are starting to fade but serve as a reminder that I didn’t do a good job protecting my skin from the sun. Since the mistakes I made are quite common, I thought this column might be a timely reminder of some sun-safety tips. It was a sweltering day on the other side of the world. Yes, I did put on sunscreen but I made so many sun-safety mistakes that day that it rendered my initial efforts ineffective. For the sake of my pride, let me tell you about that day as if I had been sun-safe and as if half of my vacation hadn’t been ruined by a blistering sunburn and subsequent migraine headaches. It was a bright, sunshiny day in February. I couldn’t have been more delighted to have escaped the deep freeze that was southern Alberta. I woke up ready to tackle the day, and planned out my outfit for the day’s adventure. Knowing that the right clothing could help protect me from the sun, I made sure to pick an outfit that covered most of my legs, arms and shoulders. I covered my exposed skin with my sunscreen, ensuring that it was not expired and had at least a Sun Protective Factor (SPF) of 30. I donned my wide-brimmed sun hat and my sunglasses and was ready to take on the day. It would be a busy day, so I set a few alarms on my phone to remind me to re-apply sunscreen at least every two hours. As the day went on I drank lots of water and sought shade when possible. After a full day of exploring, I slept well, dreaming of my next adventure. That’s unfortunately not exactly how my vacation went. I have learned my lesson this time and I hope that no more vacations or hot summer weekends are ruined by a nasty sunburn. But more importantly, I hope that going forward I can protect myself better from developing skin cancer. Sun Safety Tips: 1. Choose a broad-spectrum sunscreen with at least SPF 30. Reapply sunscreen at least every two hours. 2. Cover your body with tightly-woven or UV-protective clothing. 3. Wear a wide-brimmed hat to protect your head, face, ears and the back of your neck. 4. Protect your eyes from the sun with sunglasses that have both UVA and UVB protection. 5. Seek shade, especially when the sun is at its strongest between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. For more information visit myhealth.alberta.ca/Health/Pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=uh1310&#uh1311 and http://www.healthiertogether.ca/living-healthy/limit-uv-rays/sun-safety/ Megan Burland is a Health Promotion Facilitator for Alberta Health Services. She can be reached by e-mail, megan.burland@ahs.ca 15-14
