People going out in the sun should apply a minimum factor 30 suncream rather than follow recent official guidance that can leave users poorly protected, a team of doctors advise.
Recommendations to use a minimum factor 15 suncream require an urgent rethink because they do not reflect how lotions are actually used and are “not in the interests of public health”, it is claimed.
Wear Suncream
A paper and editorial published in the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB), in which a team of doctors reviews medical treatment, concludes that factor 15 suncream offers all-day protection only if it is applied thickly.
“In reality, people using sunscreens typically apply much less than this and get no more than half, at best, of the protection indicated by the labelled sun protection factor,” the doctors write.
The doctors recommend that products labelled factor 30, together with a four or five-star rating to indicate broad ultraviolet screening, will provide adequate protection and prevent sunburn in most circumstances.
There are two significant types of ultraviolet rays that damage skin. UVB is responsible for most sunburn and can cause skin cancer. UVA penetrates deeper. It ages the skin, but contributes much less towards sunburn.
The SPF refers to the amount of UVB protection. In Britain, sunscreens also often carry a star rating, which includes UVA protection. More stars mean more UVA protection. But the experts caution that a five-star product at a lower SPF, such as factor 15, could provide less UVA protection than a three-star product at a higher SPF, such as 30.
Recommendations
• Apply factor 30 to all exposed areas, including ears and backs of hands
• Pay special attention to vulnerable areas, such as the nose, shoulders, tops of the feet and back of the neck
• Spread sunscreen evenly
• Reapply after swimming or heavy sweating
• Don’t use sunscreen to prolong time spent in the sun
• If you are fair-skinned, go without sunscreen for 15 minutes two to three times a week to ensure that adequate supplies of vitamin D can be manufactured by the skin; those with darker skins need longer. Vitamin D from sunlight helps to maintain strong bones and is associated with protection against some cancers
Source
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/article3046568.ece
Related
http://www.vigorous-times.co.uk/time-for-a-healthy-dose-of-vitamin-d/
