As warmer temperatures have started and more people are going out to enjoy the nice weather, it’s important to still remember proper skin protection to keep yourself safe from the sun.
In a recent interview on the Seehafer News podcast, The Breakfast Club, Suzanne McCoy, a dermatologist from McCoy Dermatology, explained the must-knows regarding sun protection in the summertime. McCoy explained that going out on hotter days with a higher UV is acceptable if one takes the proper precautions,
“We do recommend sunscreen of a broad spectrum of SPF 30 or above, reapplying it basically every hour and a half to two hours on your exposed skin.”
She went on to say, “The other thing you can do is sun protective clothing especially for the parents of young kids, broad brimmed hats to protect those ears and that scalp, and sunglasses as well to protect your eyes.”
McCoy also went on to talk about some symptoms and signs of melanoma, also known as skin cancer,
“Red scaley spots that just don’t go away or act like normal dry skin that get better with moisturizer, things that bleed and don’t heal, you know not all skin cancers have symptoms either, so we talk about the A B C D E’s of melanoma.”
She explained them to be, “A is asymmetry, we don’t like spots that are asymmetrical, B is boarder, we don’t like irregular edges to the mole, C is color, we don’t like moles that are multiple colors, D is diameter, we generally like things smaller than a pencil eraser, and E is evolution, so in general we don’t like things that change, so it’s really important to get it looked at. The reason is, you’re actually never too young to get skin cancer and that’s kind of the scary thing.”
Along with talking about the symptoms and signs of skin cancer, McCoy also mentioned some common places where skin cancer is found,
“That’s kind of an underrated part of sunburn I find is the scalp; we do find a lot of skin cancer up on the scalp, on the tips of the ears, the backs of the ears, you know, those areas we just forget to put sunscreen on.”
She also said, “A hat is great that way if you forget the sunscreen or, you know, don’t reapply it as often as you should; it can really help protect that sun that’s really coming down when you’re in the pool or mowing the lawn or doing your yard work.”
To listen to this full episode of The Breakfast Club visit Seehafer Podcasts.
