July - UV Safety Awareness Month

July is UV Safety Awareness Month, focusing on the dangers of UV radiation, and to educate you about the risks associated with excessive sun exposure and promote effective sun protection strategies. Sunlight consists of two types of harmful rays that reach the earth: UVA rays and UVB rays. Overexposure to either can lead to skin cancer. In addition to causing skin cancer, it also causes premature skin aging, such as wrinkles and age spots. Here’s what each of these rays does:

• UVA rays (or aging rays) can prematurely age your skin, causing wrinkles and age spots, and can pass through window glass.
• UVB rays (or burning rays) are the primary cause of sunburn and are blocked by window glass.

Protective measures recommendations include wearing sunscreen, protective clothing, sunglasses, and seeking shade during peak sun hours-10am to 4pm. The use of sunscreen is recommended to help prevent skin cancer and protect you from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. When outside you should apply sunscreen daily on skin not covered by clothing. The sun emits harmful UV rays year-round. Even on cloudy days, up to 80% of the sun’s harmful UV rays can penetrate the clouds.  Anyone can get skin cancer, regardless of age, gender, or skin tone. In fact, it is estimated that one in five Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime. Sunscreen can also help prevent premature skin aging, such as wrinkles and age spots, caused by too much unprotected UV exposure.

When shopping for a sunscreen, look for a sunscreen that says “broad spectrum” or “full spectrum” on the label and has an SPF of at least 30 to protect your skin from 97% of both UVA and UVB rays. S.P.F. stands for Sun Protection Factor and it measures how well sunscreen shields your skin from UV rays but not how long you can safely stay in the sun. The sunscreen should be reapplied every two hours while outside, as well as after swimming or sweating. Wearing sunscreen with an adequate SPF, and doing so properly, is key to protecting your skin, but the clothing and hats you wear are also important. Wear sun-protective clothing. This includes a lightweight and long-sleeved shirt, pants, a wide-brimmed hat, and sunglasses with UV protection. Remember not all sunglasses are created equal, wrap-around or oversized styles offer more protection, also make sure they block 99% to 100% of UV rays. Remember, summer is not the only time we wear sun-protective clothing. We need to protect our eyes from sun damage every day of the year.  

For more effective protection, select clothing with an ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) number on the label.   According to the American Academy of Dermatology, any garment with a UPF between 30 and 49 is considered good protection, while a garment with a UPF 50 or higher is considered excellent protection. Anything under UPF 30 is not considered highly sun protective. 

Proven skin cancer prevention interventions and educational programs are available to organizations, schools, and community programs through the National Cancer Institute's Evidence-Based Cancer Control Programs website.

https://ebccp.cancercontrol.cancer.gov/topicPrograms.do?topicId=102269&choice=default https://skinandcancerinstitute.com/july-is-uv-safety-month https://www.aad.org/media/stats-sunscreen https://www.epa.gov/sunsafety  
https://www.uvindextoday.com/usa/arkansas/pulaski-county/little-rock-uv-index