The myth of Sunscreen

[Workingman]

A multi £billion industry was created almost overnight once the skin cancer scare hit the streets. Gone were the days of us using oils and lotions specifically designed to get us as brown as possible in the shortest possible time - banished forever. In came the new and magical sun-factor creams - 5, 10, 20..... The higher the SF and the more you lathered on the longer you could stay in the sun and be protected.

Well, that is not what was said, but it did become the urban myth. Go to any park or beach on a sunny day and you will still see it in action with little ones, and mums and dads, all greased up and lapping up the sun from morning till night.

Now it turns out to have been a bit of a con, or we fooled ourselves, as the journal Nature suggests. The rate of malignant melanoma has quadrupled since the mid 1970s, not stabilised or decreased, as one might have expected given all the publicity we have had about skin cancer.

Cancer Research UK says this: "People tended to think they were "invincible" once they had put on sunscreen and may spend longer in the sun, increasing their overall exposure to UV rays. This research adds important evidence showing that sunscreen has a role, but that you shouldn't just rely on this to protect your skin."

It continues: "It's essential to get into good sun safety habits, whether at home or abroad, and take care not to burn - sunburn is a clear sign that the DNA in your skin cells has been damaged and, over time, this can lead to skin cancer."

We did not have all these creams when I was young, but my parents had a system. We were allowed 10 mins sun - 10 mins shade, 15 mins sun - 15 mins shade, gradually getting longer for the first few days. We also had a bath in the evening with something called Oilatum(sp) added. By the end of our holidays we were as brown as everyone else, but without the sunburn.

It is a shame that advertising by rich and powerful companies has once again trumped sound advice. It is also a shame that well-intentioned advice by government agencies and the HNS has been overly optimistic regarding the effectiveness of sunscreen.

[Suff]

It's sad to say it but the only protection from sunburn and the attendant cancer it can cause is a good sun tan, gained the old way as WM says.

I'm inclined to believe that the lotions themselves are a cause. I know several children who get slathered in the oil and wind up with prickly heat.

Clothes are great, short exposure and long recovery are great too. Protection and blocks are best in areas which can't be covered by clothes normally. whilst we do use the cream for the grandkids, it's with a very careful eye.

Then again I've noticed that the tendency of British, especially, to be totally idiotic in regard to the sun has grown dramatically over the last 3 decades. Perhaps those who either can't or won't understand should stay in a cooler climate??

[Dippytrout]

Well

First question is WHY?........................... do people even want a sun-tan, have lived in Turkey for over 13 years and like most Turks avoid the sun like the plague. At the end of the season look like a Dulux Colour Chart depending on length of shorts/T-shirts etc....... but who cares

It was 38 degrees plus today and yet people lay out for 7 hours on the boat and will continue to do so even when the temp hits 45/50 plus in July and August

Boiled walnuts springs to mind

so back to ''The Myth of Sunscreen'' to much sun never has and never will be good for you and no amount of ''slap'' will make any difference, but people who live in colder climes will always ''want a tan'' and yet, dare I say dislike or discriminate against dark skined people ............. Go figure

Oh well, each to their own

DT










45/50 plus.............. as it does in julu/August

[pederito1]

It is jolly nice to lie in the sun and toast oneself all over provided it is not too fierce. Many years in the tropics and I was generally fairly browned, rarely using sun block though did use moisturiser. No melanoma but I did have a mole/wart thingy on my back which bled a bit when I scratched it So had it expensiveky removed and the derma rogue reckoned it was basal cell carcinoma, confirmed by the lab in Barcelona.
That was in 2004.

[Kaz]

Well I need sunscreen! Even for just generally being out and about in the summer sun, without it I burn very quickly indeed................I burned many times as a child, and it is a horrible feeling. Short of staying indoors or wearing a burka I will stick to using my Factor 30

[Ally]

Living in - and spending alot of time outdoors in the sun - I wouldn't dream of going out without sunscreen.

It's second nature now to just put a quick spritz on.

I never just lie in the sun with the purpose of getting a tan - you catch it naturally just going about normal business.

I see people that live on the coast that - to be perfectly frank - resemble walking walnuts; their skin is so brown, wrinkled and horrible.

If our lads are having a day by the pool or at the beach..they too slather up.

It's just not worth the risk of getting burnt.

[Workingman]

Nobody is arguing against the sensible use of sunscreen, just not to rely on it as the major or only source of protection. Unfortunately that is what a lot of people do.

When these creams first came out we were advised to use them, but the message was misunderstood. At the time of their mainstream introduction we had a 1 in 20,000 chance of getting skin cancer. Today it is down to 1 in 5,000.

We are fast approaching the time when today's deaths from skin cancer overtake the number who caught it a little over 40 years ago. Had any other form of cancer gone the same way there would be an outcry.

I would not go so far as to say the creams were the cause, but their misuse probably has been. I also think that the government is missing a trick. The summer holiday season is upon us and now would be a good time to get some decent information about all-round sun protection out there.

I worked in the ME and it was a constant cycle of inside, outside, inside..... Hardly anyone used sunscreen as it was impracticable to do so, but we did take lots of showers and use moisturisers.

[Ally]

Yes WM I agree - not to rely on just sun creams.
And also not to apply a 4" thick layer in the morning and think that'll do you for the day.

I must admit - when I'm applying my quick squizz of sun spray I'm never thinking about the long term effect of too much sun by living in a hot climate.

Without sounding flippant I wear the stuff to stop me burning, keep my skin soft and yes, hopefully, protecting me against the harmful rays of whatever the sun gives out.

On the coast I see little children in their pushchairs, skin pinked from the sun and imo not enough factor applied.
I also see them totally exposed - no parasol over the buggy, no hat! no sunshades.
(Of course most sensible parents do all they can to protect the little ones skin - but I see enough that don't for it to concern me.)

I can only go from my own experience when my kids were young and we went abroad alot with them - I slathered them in sun factor, kept them in the shade where they played happily, sun hats etc were worn and they never got burnt.

I don't even understand why anyone would want to lie in the sun for hours on end just to 'get brown'.

[shazsha]

When these creams first came out we were advised to use them, but the message was misunderstood. At the time of their mainstream introduction we had a 1 in 20,000 chance of getting skin cancer. Today it is down to 1 in 5,000.

Bar the over reliance on sunscreen I think sunbed use must account for a huge percentage of the rise in figures. No matter how often they are told people ignore all guidance and then seem surprised that they develop skin cancer.

I think another factor may be that holidays abroad are the norm now and many people underestimate/ignore the intense sun rays.

One of my pet bugbears re the sun is those who allow young children to go hatless. One child (about 6 months old) I saw in the park had very little hair, no hat on and that was in 73 degree sun.

[Ally]

Spot on Shazsha.