During UV Safety Awareness Month doctors are spreading the word about why we should avoid serious sunburn and play it safe when we’re outdoors. One of those doctors is Dr. Mary Mier, Family Medicine physician, at Holland Hospital Primary Care- Hudsonville.
“People want to be at the beach, they want to be outside playing sports, when it’s great weather out, nobody faults people for wanting to be outside but making sure you’re wearing your sunscreen is extremely important.”
Dr. Mier says establishing strong sun safety habits is a fundamental step in protecting skin health. She says each sunburn is a signal of skin damage which can accumulate over time.
“And you can go around thinking I’m fine and there can be something brewing underneath the surface and so prevention is key to prevent those sunburns from happening and the skin damage that can happen later on in life.”
Skin cancer remains the most common cancer in the United States and doctors say this highlights the urgent need for sun safety.
Dr Mier says strategies for sun protection that can help reduce skin cancer risk and premature aging include, applying a sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher and be sure to reapply, seek shade during peak hours and wearing protective clothing. She also says sun safety is a year-round priority including winter.
“It’s unlikely you’ll get a burn but you can still get enough effect from the sun to get skin damage, so it is important to wear sunscreen year-round.”
