CHIEF FIVE FALLACIES April/May 2015 55 SHUTTERSTOCK 1 2 3 4 5 UNDER THE SUN You should get a base tan before going to the beach. This is a popular excuse for heading to indoor tanning beds before jetting off to Mexico or kicking off the summer with a day trip to Santa Cruz. “The tanning industry would like you to think it’s a safe tan, but that’s an oxymoron,” says Dr. Rick Noodleman. “There is no such thing as a safe tan,” agrees Dr. Justin Ko. “What a tan means is that you’ve damaged your DNA.” Car windows protect you from the sun. While front windshields are usually treated to filter shortwave UVB and long-wave UVA rays (both of which contribute to skin cancer) that leaves a lot of you unprotected. Side windows let in about 63 percent of the sun’s UVA radiation and rear windows are also unprotected. It’s no wive’s tale that skin cancer frequently appears on left arms and left side of faces—the areas most exposed when we drive. Remember to apply sunscreen or wear what Ko calls his “favorite new innovation”—driving sleeves that you slip on to cover your hands and forearms. Also watch out for skylights. Ko recounts the story of one patient who kept developing cancer on his scalp. It turned out he worked underneath a skylight in his office. “We have a bias to think that if we’re in an enclosed space, we’re not exposed,” Ko says. Melanoma is an automatic death sentence. “Melanoma is very treatable if caught early but very deadly if it’s not,” says Dr. Shyamali Mallick Singhal. “If you have melanoma in the early stages, before it goes to the lymph nodes, there is a 98 percent fiveyear survival rate. The survival rate is 62 percent if the cancer gets to the lymph nodes and 16 percent if it reaches other organs.” You need to tan to get Vitamin D. While Vitamin D is essential for a healthy system, it is no excuse to go unexposed into the daylight. “It turns out that the amount of sun you need to get Vitamin D is quite modest: 20 minutes two to three times a week. And you can get it on your legs or trunk. You don’t need to get it on your face,” says Noodleman. “I hate it when people say they go in the sun to get Vitamin D. The evidence is squarely in that there are other ways to get it,” adds Ko. For example, Vitamin D can be obtained from foods such as fish, fortified orange juice and milk, as well as supplements. Spray-on sunscreen works just as well as rub-in lotion. While no-mess, no-fuss spray-on lotion appears to be a godsend and experts hesitate to discourage a popular preventative method, they are increasingly cautious. “There has been some recent controversy,” says Dr. Susan Butler. “You could inhale the spray and it might be dangerous to the lungs. If you’re an adult and apply indoors and don’t breathe it in, it’s probably OK, but for kids it’s not as much recommended.” If you do spray on your sunscreen, remember that you still need to rub it in since the lotion only works where it lands, which can result in a curiously speckled sunburn that might make you resemble a poorly dyed Easter egg. And, advises Butler, “If you’re outside, and it’s windy, forget it!”
South Bay Accent - Apr/May 2015
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