Sun Safety 101: How to Protect Your Skin and Prevent Melanoma

On average, adults carry roughly 8 pounds and 22 square feet of skin, making it the body's largest organ. The skin's primary roles are to act as a defensive shield against pathogens, regulate your body temperature and provide sensations to help you detect pain, pressure and temperature to protect yourself. When it comes to your skin, the sun can do the most harm through ultraviolet (UV) radiation, which can cause skin damage and other issues.

Keep reading to learn more about the importance of sun safety, including how exposure can impact your health, how to prevent melanoma, signs of severe sunburns and daily sun protection habits.

UV Exposure Risks

While soaking up the sun brings many health benefits, spending too much time in direct sunlight can have negative health effects, like causing skin damage or even leading to the development of melanoma, the most severe type of skin cancer. The reason for this is that the sun emits ultraviolet (UV) light, which penetrates your skin’s deepest level. Moderate exposure to UV rays is OK with proper protection, like sunscreen or sun protection clothing, but extended exposure increases your chances of developing:

• Eye damage: Long-term exposure may cause cataracts or photokeratitis (sunburn of the eye).
• Immune system suppression: UV rays may inhibit your body’s immune system defenses; there is a potential for more infections.
• Photoaging: Chronic exposure leads to thick, wrinkled and leathery skin.
• Severe sunburn: Symptoms include redness, pain, blistering and peeling, often as a result of skin cell death and inflammation.

While melanoma accounts for about 1% of all skin cancers, it’s the most dangerous type and is responsible for the most deaths among skin cancer patients. The good news is, there are preventive strategies that may lower your risk of developing melanoma.

Preventing Melanoma

While no cancer is 100% preventable, about 90% of melanoma cases can be prevented by following sun safety tips:

• Avoid peak UV hours, usually during midday.
• Don’t use tanning beds.
• Perform skin checks to evaluate any changes.
• Wear sun-protective clothing.
• Wear sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or greater.

The best way to prevent melanoma is to limit your exposure to UV rays. If you’re planning to be outside for most of the day, or if your job requires you to be outside, consider checking the UV index each day before leaving home to ensure you wear proper protection.

We’ve put together these daily sun protection strategies to help you prevent melanoma and skin damage:

• Be sure to wear sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat and UV-protective clothing.
• Reapply your mineral or chemical sunscreen.
• To the best of your ability, find shade and take frequent breaks to let your body cool down.

These steps alone can significantly reduce your chances of developing melanoma.

Recognizing Severe Sunburn and When to Seek Help

Whether you live in a sunny state or vacationed somewhere warm during the summer, you’ve likely experienced a sunburn. It’s estimated that 1 in 3 Americans gets a sunburn every year. While some sunburns heal within a few days, severe sunburns can cause lasting damage. Recognizing the signs of a severe sunburn is vital so you can seek proper treatment to prevent further damage.

Severe sunburn symptoms include:

• Dizziness
• Extreme pain and swelling
• Fatigue
• Fever, chills or headaches
• Nausea or vomiting
• Widespread blistering

A severe sunburn can also lead to sun poisoning, which occurs when your body has an intense immune system response.

Sunburn Treatment and Pain Relief

The Skin Cancer Foundation reports that five or more sunburns double your chances of developing melanoma, making sunburn prevention vital. The good news is that you can easily prevent sunburns by following our daily sun protection strategies. If you do experience a sunburn, it’s highly treatable if it’s minor. To treat your sunburn, we recommend:

• Applying moisturizer
• Cooling the skin
• Covering the sunburnt skin
• Drinking plenty of water
• Leaving your blisters alone

When it comes to finding pain relief, you can take pain relievers like acetaminophen and ibuprofen to help with discomfort. However, if your pain and symptoms persist after a few days of treating your sunburn and taking medication, visit your doctor.

Helping You Feel Confident in Your Skin

At UChicago Medicine AdventHealth, we’re here to help you protect your long-term wellness, inside and out. If you have any questions or concerns about your skin health, request an appointment with one of our providers. We look forward to caring for you and helping you feel whole.