Dr. Rampersad posted on June 5th, 2018
We have all heard that we need to protect our skin from the damaging rays of the sun.
In fact, each year there are more new cases of skin cancer than the combined incidence of cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and colon.
But a trip to the sunscreen section of your local drugstore can leave you reeling from abbreviation overload. UVA? UVB? What happened to plain old SPF?
The new ratings and terminology can be a little confusing, but it means you get more information about effective skin protection.
The old SPF, or sun protection factor, didn’t give us the whole picture. The testing only measured protection against UVB rays. Today, we know that there are two kinds of harmful ultraviolet rays: UVA, which are used in tanning beds and cause premature aging of the skin, and UVB, which cause sunburns. Both play a role in the development of skin cancer.
The Food and Drug Administration has new guidelines for the marketing of over-the-counter products containing sunscreen beginning this summer. The FDA is requiring companies to be more accountable and transparent in the marketing of their products.
And that’s good news for consumers. Products now have to undergo successful testing to claim they offer “broad-spectrum sun protection” (protection against both UVA and UVB rays), and will be allowed to state they help reduce the risk of cancer and early skin aging only if they contain SPF 15 or higher.
They also have to include water-resistance times how long the product should last during swimming or sweating as well as be more conservative in the product’s claims. For example, companies are no longer allowed to call their products waterproof, sweat proof or sunblock, which overstates their effectiveness.
Regardless of your age, have yearly body checks by your doctor and perform self-checks once a month. Use a hand mirror to check hard-to-see places. Individuals with reduced immunity or who have had skin cancer before, and those with a strong family history of skin cancer are at higher risk for developing skin cancer. Call your doctor if you notice anything unusual.
Four ways to protect your skin
-- Dr. Daryl Rampersad
Dr. Daryl Rampersad is a board-certified physician in family medicine at Perimeter North Medical Associates, and sees patients at our Alpharetta office. Visit www.pnfm.com for more information or call 770-395-1130