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I am fair-skinned and so I'm aware of the sun and catch only about 20 min of it on some days rear-round to be sure to get natural Vitamin D. The other reason for the short stint is so I don't get weathered skin. I sit in the sun outside of the hours of 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. I don't wear sunscreens or lotions.
Today I got yelled at ("friends giving unsolicited advice") that I'm going to get cancer. There's argument for and against using sunscreen and I wonder what you all think and do. Here's an argument against:
Anyway, I now feel I ought to use sunscreen at all times but that somehow feels unnatural. Not having any sun exposure means I have to get vitamin D from a bottle.
BellaDH, Thank you for posting that article as I am too broken up to go searching for her posts. That article is deceiving and there's actually a lot better information contained in the comments. Here's one example: Yet, in the study THEY cited as proof of this claim the scientists say this: "The only established exogenous causal factor for cutaneous malignant melanoma is EXPOSURE TO SUNLIGHT. Particularly sunburn, a special marker of acute intense sun exposure, has shown a consistent ASSOCIATION WITH MELANOMA development".
Sounds like RB was worried about the chemicals in the sunscreens and in getting vitamin D but if you go to a health store you can get great sun screen without the nasty ingredients. Actually, the sunscreen in the drug stores makes me so sick I can literally taste it! CVS used to have one that was plain zinc oxide but now they've added other nasty ingredients to it and I can't tolerate it. But that was a deceptive, attention seeking article.
I rarely use sunscreen but now do wear a brimmed hat whenever I'm out in the sun. I was born and raised at the beach and constantly in the sun. Add in time working as a ranch hand/cowboy and many years in the military out in the field as an infantryman and the damage was done long ago. I have several precancerous spots that are burned off at least once a year. Other than that, so far, so good. As a result I urge everyone to cover their head when out, especially on overcast days. Baseball caps don't count.
NEG was a strawberry blonde and very fair skinned. The sun and overcast would not have been her friends. I know it's scant comfort but clearly she was highly regarded and will be missed by many. It's also a tribute to this forum and those on it as well as our mods that there have been no ugly troll posts about this very sad and disturbing circumstance.
I rarely use sunscreen but now do wear a brimmed hat whenever I'm out in the sun. I was born and raised at the beach and constantly in the sun. Add in time working as a ranch hand/cowboy and many years in the military out in the field as an infantryman and the damage was done long ago. I have several precancerous spots that are burned off at least once a year. Other than that, so far, so good. As a result I urge everyone to cover their head when out, especially on overcast days. Baseball caps don't count.
NEG was a strawberry blonde and very fair skinned. The sun and overcast would not have been her friends. I know it's scant comfort but clearly she was highly regarded and will be missed by many. It's also a tribute to this forum and those on it as well as our mods that there have been no ugly troll posts about this very sad and disturbing circumstance.
Excellent points, but I think wearing baseball caps is a whole lot better than being bareheaded in the sun. At least the baseball cap shades the forehead and also covers the receding hairline bare spots at the temples. Depending on the angle of the sun, they also shade the nose. (No argument that a wide-brimmed hat is superior, of course).
Excellent points, but I think wearing baseball caps is a whole lot better than being bareheaded in the sun. At least the baseball cap shades the forehead and also covers the receding hairline bare spots at the temples. Depending on the angle of the sun, they also shade the nose. (No argument that a wide-brimmed hat is superior, of course).
They're better than nothing, especially as regards the nose but it's the ears they don't cover that can attract real damage as well since they're high points. But I'm real sensitive to that as a couple of my affected areas are on the ears. Thankfully, during my uncovered and semi- so years I actually had hair.
I only wear sunscreen if it is in my face moisturizer. No hat, but I usually wear slacks and short sleeved or 3/4 arm length shirts in the summer. I mostly avoid direct sun...but when I was in my late teens, early 20's I had a grand old time. Oops!
How likely am I to develop melanoma?
Very fair skin
Light green eyes
History of multiple severe sunburns with blisters (gross)
8 of 11 well known genes for melanoma (tested)
68 year old brother has had early melanoma growths removed (2x in past year)
incidence of melanoma is probably about 24:100,000 (age adjusted).
That's somewhat comforting, Lenora. I think we need to learn more about what (if anything) we can do to not have this happen.
I've had tiny benign cancers removed from my legs and the doctor said they were from sunburns over twenty years ago, so I know what you mean. I don't know how much good it does to use sun screen now but I will use it anyway. I do remember an extremely bad sunburn back about 1983.
What's weird is that RB's husband said the lesion was on her foot! I'm not going to bother him by writing back and asking if it was on top of her foot or on the sole of her foot so we'll just never know. However, last time I went to a dermatologist he checked the soles of my feet. Since I thought it was weird, I googled skin cancer and, sure enough, it said that's something new they've discovered. Most of us don't get sunburns on the soles of our feet! Not that I know of.
And RB's husband also said that, in retrospect, the cancer had probably already spread by the time she had the lesion removed. There's a lot I just don't understand. BTW, I have a cousin whose husband found something on his skin, they had a doctor next door look at it and right away, that dr rushed him in to see a specialist. That doctor said that if he hadn't seen the specialist right away, he probably would have died. I don't mean to alarm anyone but that is alarming!
[i] . Most of us don't get sunburns on the soles of our feet! Not that I know of.
If you lie out in the sun on your stomach you can decidedly get a sunburn on your soles. Most of us beach natives prided ourselves on even tans everywhere not covered by our bathing suits and spent hours toasting both sides. Compared to us, non-native beach goers looked like the undersides of fishes bellies. We wanted to be sure we didn't look like that. Get tanned. The girls liked it!
If you lie out in the sun on your stomach you can decidedly get a sunburn on your soles. Most of us beach natives prided ourselves on even tans everywhere not covered by our bathing suits and spent hours toasting both sides. Compared to us, non-native beach goers looked like the undersides of fishes bellies. We wanted to be sure we didn't look like that. Get tanned. The girls liked it!
the guys liked it, too, although I remember hearing somewhere that the white parts were the best
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