5 Skin Cancer Prevention Steps You Should Take Now

As anyone who has ever had skin cancer can tell you, it’s not something you want to have to deal with. Not only are the surgeries to remove skin cancer painful, they can be disfiguring as well. And with the danger of a melanoma metastasizing, and creating worse cancers in the body, finding ways to protect yourself from the cancer causing ultraviolet generated by the sun is a definite “must”. There are several things you can do to exercise effective skin cancer prevention and understanding what you need to do may be a little on the surprising side.

Here are 5 easy ways to make sure you’re practicing good skin cancer prevention:

1. While this may sound redundant, use a sunblock with a high SPF (Sun Protection Factor) that is specifically effective against both UV-A and UV-B rays. It was thought for years that UV-A didn’t cause skin cancer, but further research has proved this false. If you’re swimming, reapply sunblock every 20 minutes and if you’re simply out in the sun, reapply every hour for maximum skin cancer prevention.
2. Wear long sleeve shirts, long pants and a hat if you must be outside as tight woven clothing does block the sun’s UV rays. Gauzy, flimsy and netted clothing does little to block these rays and are not suggested.
3. Stay inside during the heat of the day. From 10 AM until 4 PM, the sun is at its zenith and is at its most powerful in terms of UV exposure. By staying inside, you’ll have minimal opportunity for exposure and while it may be a bit inconvenient, it is good skin cancer prevention.
4. If you’re going to be in an exposed area, make sure you do your best to stay in shade or under an umbrella. Being out of the direct light of the sun does minimize UV exposure.
5. Do NOT assume that glass gives you protection from the sun’s UV radiation because it doesn’t do quite the job you think. The type of UV radiation, UV-B, that causes sunburn is pretty effectively blocked by glass but UV-A, the kind that ages the skin goes through with relative ease. Since research has shown that both UV-A and UV-B can cause skin cancer, either apply a UV-A blocking film to your windows or stay towards the center of the room where you’re safer. If you work in an office next to a window that catches a lot of sunlight, you may want to see if they’ll install UV-A filtering film to it.

While tanning booths are designed to emit only UV-B rays so you get that golden tan, you still run a risk of developing skin cancer from those as well. The light from the sun is very beneficial to all life on our planet, but we have to find ways to cope with the dangers of the associated UV radiation. This means taking skin cancer risk factors and prevention measures seriously is essential. You won’t just be saving your skin; you’ll be saving your life.