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One of the good parts of summer in Saskatchewan is soaking in the sun at a beautiful lake.
But all that sun could be more damaging to our skin than we realize.
“Our skin never forgets our sun damage,” Dr. Kyle Cullingham, the founder and medical director of the Saskatoon Dermatology Centre and president of the Saskatchewan Dermatology Association, told Gormley.
“The sun’s UV energy actually creates kind of small DNA mutations in our skin when we have a sunburn and eventually, years down the road, we can see evidence of the DNA damage with skin cancer.”
Cullingham recommends limiting time outdoors when the sun’s UV index is at its highest, which is between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
He also suggests seeking the shade when outdoors, wearing long sleeves or UV protective clothing, and applying lots of sunscreen.
“Even with just one sunburn or even with just one use of an indoor tanning booth, this damage does cause some remembrance with our skin,” said Cullingham.
According to Cullingham, sunscreen is needed all year round. In the summer, sunscreen is needed at all times, due to the fact that UV rays can still pass through clouds.
He said sunscreen should be reapplied every two hours, and using a higher SPF is always encouraged, although a higher SPF doesn’t necessarily mean longer protection.
“It’s not an indicator of how long you can stay out in the sun for. Rather, it indicates how much longer it may take untanned skin to start to redden with sunscreen applied compared to how long it may take to start reddening without a sunscreen,” said Cullingham.
“When we have a number like (SPF) 15, for example, this would block about 93 per cent of the ultraviolet radiation from the sun.”
That means all SPF levels are fairly similar. While a level 15 blocks around 93 per cent of UV, an SPF 30 blocks around 97 per cent.
Cullingham recommends buying sunscreen with a minimum of SPF 30 to ensure maximum skin protection. He also noted it’s important to understand the difference between physical and chemical sunscreens when deciding what kind to purchase.
“There’s chemical sunscreens, which are the ones we’re most commonly familiar with, that we apply and they kind of filter out the light into heat into our skin,” said Cullingham. “The second types of sunscreens are called physical sunscreens, which often contain a physical blocker such as zinc or iron or titanium.”
Cullingham recommends the physical sunscreens because they reflect the UV light from the skin so that nothing harmful is absorbed into the skin. They also tend to last longer. People can determine the difference by the ingredients on the back of sunscreen bottles.
As a dermatologist, Cullingham warns that everyone should watch out for signs of skin cancer. He recommends looking out for what he calls the ABC’s of skin cancer.
A stands for asymmetrical lesions, where one side doesn’t match the other. B stands for borders, when a lesion is jagged instead of circular. C stands for colour; he noted that shades of black, blue, red or white could mean something alarming. D stands for diameter; anything bigger than a pencil eraser isn’t normal. And E stands for evolution, when something on the skin is rapidly changing.
Cullingham suggests visiting a family doctor when noticing any of those symptoms.
