Sun, Body Mechanics
SLOP, SLIP, SLAP – It’s the really sunny season again. Southern California is one of the prime areas for, you guessed it, skin cancer. Those first three words are a slogan from Australia which is the world capital for skin cancer. They refer to:
SLOP on the sunscreen; a little dab won’t do you. Really slather it on and keep reapplying. There is no such thing as waterproof sunscreen.
SLIP on a shirt; you still need sunscreen unless you are wearing one of the new UV rated shirts.
SLAP on a hat. Sunscreen works well on a clean-shaven head, but otherwise is rather unattractive. And the bigger your brim, the better. Also make sure your sunglasses protect against UV rays to help prevent cataracts.
UVA rays are the silent enemy in that they cause the kind of damage that can result in cancer, but don’t warn you with a burn or tan. UVB rays burn, tan and damage the skin in all kinds of ways.
How to Choose a Sunscreen: SPF 30 rated products seem to provide significantly better protection than lower ratings. There a two types of UV barriers, physical and chemical.
Sunscreens containing nanoparticles of zinc and titanium create a physical barrier by reflecting light before it can reach the skin. The latest research is that they do not appear to penetrate the skin. These block both UVA and UVB rays and are particularly useful for people with sensitive skin as they tend to be less irritating than chemical barriers.
The chemical barriers need a number of active ingredients as none work against the full UV spectrum. These sunscreens, which act by absorbing UV radiation before it affects your skin, can include Avobenzone (one of the few chemicals that will block UVA), Homosalate, Octocrylene, Octisalate, Oxybenzone (this last blocks both A and B).
An excellent sunscreen will combine both physical and chemical ingredients and have at least five active ingredients.
Post Scrip from last month’s column: In my discussion on “Lessons Learned from Moving”, I left out Body Mechanics! All nurses learn this from day one or we would be in trouble the first time we tried to lift, roll or help a patient to his feet. Any time you find yourself about to lift something heavy, remember to square off, bend from the knees, not the waist, get a good grip and come straight up. If it’s too heavy or awkward, get help! Try to recall your early physics lessons; sometimes all you need is a little leverage to raise the object up enough so you don’t have to bend as far to lift it. Shoving also works wonders. Our backs are too precious to fool around with!
Enjoy the summer in good health and check out our new Exercise Group,
Adair Small, nurse
ocuuc
org (nurseocuucorg)
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