With summer just around the corner, it is a good idea to follow up on some sun safety measures to protect your skin from the sun. May is recognized at Skin Cancer Awareness Month nationwide. Skin cancer prevention should be taken into consideration year round, however, with the weather warming up it becomes more relevant in our minds. Skin cancer can affect all ages because it is not an inherited disease, but rather a lifestyle disease. Take these helpful sun safety tips into consideration when enjoying the sun this summer:
- Staying in the shade after 10AM until 4PM is smart because you are avoiding the strongest rays. If your shadow is shorter than you are, chances are you are being exposed to harmful UV radiation.
- As much as humanly possible, try to avoid burning.
- Avoid both natural and artificial tanning. Tanning indoors does pose a much greater risk but tanning for hours in the sun is almost as dangerous.
- Cover up as much as you can. Wearing broad-brimmed hats and UV-blocking sunglasses are crucial to avoiding unwanted burns and strong UV radiation.
- Every single day, even when it’s overcast or chilly, wear a sunscreen with at least an SPF of 15 or higher. For extended periods in the sun, it is a good idea to increase the number of SPF you are wearing.
- Under all circumstances, keep newborns out of the sun. Having a severe sunburn in childhood increases the chances of developing skin cancer, so it is better to start practicing sun safety early on.
- Each month, you should perform a self-examination from head-to-toe. A self-exam each month prepares you for your annual exam with a physician so you can point out any irregular moles or freckles.
Contact Stromsoe Insurance Agency, located in Murrieta, California but serving 18 other states, for all of your insurance needs.