Summer does not officially begin until June 20, but a dermatologist in Gainesville is giving tips on how to best protect your skin when soaking up the summer sun.
Dr. Misty Caudell with Georgia Skin Center said on WDUN's Newsroom on Monday, June 7, that proper sunscreen use is key in the summer months.
"Dermatologists recommend an SPF of 30 or higher," Dr. Caudell said. "We also need to look for something that is broad-spectrum, which means it protects us from UVA rays as well."
In terms of the SPF rating, Dr. Caudell said that SPF 15 sunscreen protects skin from about 93% of the UVB, or burning rays. SPF 30 protects the skin from about 97% of those rays, while SPF 50 provides about one percent more at 98% protection. She said that while that one percent difference might not seem like much, a clinical trial showed that those who are in the sun for extended periods do in fact benefit from an SPF 50 or SPF 100 over an SPF 30 sunscreen.
If you expect to be swimming or sweating while you are in the sun, Dr. Caudell recommends using a sunscreen that is water-resistant. While most water-resistant sunscreens are effective for about 40 to 80 minutes, Dr. Caudell said if you are using a towel to wipe water or sweat off your skin, you need to reapply more frequently.
When you are not sweating or in water, Dr. Caudell said you need to reapply the sunscreen every two hours.
"So, if you're going to be wearing your bathing suit and you need to cover the exposed surfaces, you need about one ounce of sunscreen, which is the amount that would fill a shot glass," Dr. Caudell said.
While you may not be taking a trip to the pool in the winter, Dr. Caudell also recommends using sunscreen year-round, especially on your face.
"Even if you're not planning to leave the house, we do get a lot of incidental sun exposure," Dr. Caudell said. UVA rays do penetrate glass, so windows, and sometimes we're walking to the mailbox or just running errands and whatnot, and so we don't think about the incidental sun exposure that we get."
All of these methods can help prevent skin cancer or skin issues, but Dr. Caudell recommends those who have an increased number of moles or a family history of skin cancer get checked at least once a year.
"In some instances, we do skin checks more often if someone has had a melanoma personally or a skin cancer personally within the last several years," Dr. Caudell said.
When checking your own skin, Dr. Caudell said to look for anything that might be a new spot, anything that is changing in size, shape or color, and spots that are really dark or black. If you notice anything that falls into these categories, she recommends bringing it to the attention of a doctor.
