Premature sun-induced ageing is a significant problem in the Queensland population, but it often doesn’t come to the person’s attention until it is a case of trying to turn back the clock, rather than preventing the problem to begin with. Whilst some sun exposure is beneficial in stimulating vitamin D production, too much exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) can cause an inflammatory response in the skin, and over time cause skin cancer. UVR may come from natural sunlight or artificial sources, such as phototherapy and tanning beds. There are two types of UVR, both of which can cause sunburn – UVA (long wave) and UVB (short wave). UVA makes up to 95 percent of the UV radiation reaching Earth, and hence our dominant tanning ray. UVA penetrates deeper into the dermis of skin, causes skin ageing, wrinkling and skin cancers. UVB damages the skin’s epidermal layers and is the main cause of skin reddening and sunburn. If we were to compare the skin of a 40-yearold Australian woman of Irish descent who has resided in Queensland her whole life to an Irish woman of the same age who grew up in Ireland, we would notice considerable differences in the ageing process. Most of these are due to the ageing effects of sun exposure. This is significant enough just with the unavoidable incidental sun exposure without the added stress to the skin of a pastime such as sun baking. To illustrate, think about sowing seeds in a field, with the seeds themselves an analogy for sun damage, and the act of fertilisation an analogy for exposure to the sun. The more fertilisation that the seeds receive, the more they grow and develop. It is the same relationship with the skin and sun exposure. The more we expose our skin to a harmful level resulting in sun damage, the more we give the sun damage the chance to grow and develop, and as a result we increase the chance that we could develop skin cancers. Once a skin cancer has been diagnosed, removal can be quite extensive. Depending on the size, severity and type of skin cancer, removal can leave the patient with scarring and sometimes deformity. If left too long, severe and aggressive skin cancers can even be fatal. The best solution to skin cancer is prevention, and the best way to go about prevention is to understand proper protection. Understanding protection and creating awareness of how to go about it is the very principle behind the Slip Slop Slap campaign, and in 2007 it was updated to include Seek and Slide: 1. SLIP on a shirt – make sure it is one that has enough sun protection. Long sleeved is better. Surf rash shirts are great when swimming. SLOP on sunscreen – 30+ at least. It is important to understand that SPF50 sunscreens only offer marginally better protection than 30+. The most important thing is frequent application and that it is water resistant. There are some newer sunscreens that have microfine particles which decrease the sunscreen's visibility and these are considered safe and excellent. Some others have nanoparticles and at this time research shows them to be safe and effective. 2. 26 Pindara Magazine 2016
Pindara Private Hospital Magazine - Issue Eight
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