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Sunscreen vs. Sunblock

June 29, 2010 By MedicalCare.Org Health Editors Leave a Comment

We’ve all been through this: which is better for us? Is there even a difference…well, what is the difference?

Well, sunscreen contains chemicals that protect your skin by absorbing and reflecting UV ray and allows a certain range of UV light to be absorbed into the skin. It helps protect against UVA and UVB rays.

On the other hand, sun block contains physical ingredients that reflect and scatter the UVB light and acts as a wall between your skin and the sun. This is a better choice for you if you have sensitive skin.

The bottom line – most lotions are a combination of both sun block and sunscreen, so read the fine print to know what you are putting on your skin. Also, be sure to look for sunscreen or sun block that does not have vitamin A, retinol or retinyl palmitate which might break down in sunlight to photomutagenic compounds.

Filed Under: Consumer Education, Skin Protection, Sunscreens Tagged With: retinol, retinyl palmitate, spf, sunblock, sunscreen, UVA, UVB

4 Basic Steps to Skin Care

June 29, 2010 By MedicalCare.Org Health Editors Leave a Comment

Step 1: Cleansing

It’s pretty simple. Find a good face wash that your skin responds well to. Remember to read the fine print on these products to see if it’s suitable for your skin type. You do not need to spend $50 on an expensive “quality” wash. Your local drug or convenience store should have a bunch of decently priced cleansers. A quick tip is to use a cream-based cleanser if you have dry skin and a clear cleanser if you have oily skin.

Wash your face with cleanser just once a day, either at night or in the morning. You don’t want to be overcleansing your skin. The simple steps are: wash first with warm water to loosen dirt and soften pores, apply a dime-sized amount of facewash, and then rinse with water again. Never wash your face with hot or cold water for they can cause broken capillaries.

Step 2: Exfoliate

What the heck is exfoliating? It’s the removal of the oldest dead skin cells on the skin’s surface, and is used to help maintain healthy skin. Beach sand is still an excellent (and free!) exfoliant. But when you’re too busy to hit the beach, over-the-counter scrubs are the next best thing. Make sure you get a gentle scrub with tiny grains because big grains can tear skin and cause more damage than you’d think.

Step 3: Moisturize

Everyone, women AND men need to moisturize for it is the secret to smooth, ravishing skin. You might ask, what’s the point of moisturizing? Well, you seal moisture into your skin. How much and how often you moisturize depends on your skin type. You have to be careful not to over moisturize because it can clog pores.

Step 4: Sunscreen!

The average American does not wear sunscreen every day. People believe that sunscreen is only necessary for a day at the beach. This is definitely not true. Sunscreen is the most important part of your skin care routine. Sunscreen can help prevent wrinkles and freckles, amongst other types of skin damage. The trick here is to purchase two moisturizers: a daytime moisturizer with an SPF and a night moisturizer. This is important because moisturizers shouldn’t be used 24/7—it will cause skin aggravation.

Filed Under: Consumer Education, Moisturizers, Products, Skin Care, Sunscreens Tagged With: basic skin care, cleansing, exfoliation, moistureizers, sunscreen

Sunburn – Your Mom Was Right. Put on Sunscreen.

June 29, 2010 By MedicalCare.Org Health Editors Leave a Comment
uv radiation by time of day

Sunburn is a burn to the skin after overexposure of ultraviolet radiation. Symptoms can include, redness, pain, itching, peeling skin, rash, nausea, fever, and syncope. In severe cases, blistering can appear. Extreme sunburns can be extremely painful and may possibly require hospital care.

If you were born before the 1980s, you probably remember the old coppertone billboards. A cute little kid and a feisty little dog making it clear that a “healthy tan” and a nice “copper tone” were the goals of the summer sun season. No self respecting kid wanted to let their mom smear a gob of white, pasty zinc oxide on his nose. We didn’t even call it sunscreen in those days, we called it “suntan lotion”, and your sister might have even smeared on baby oil to amplify the suns effects.

It turns out that George Hamilton was wrong, and your mom was right.

Here are some things to keep in mind regarding sunburns:

  • There is no such thing as a “healthy tan.” Unprotected sun exposure causes premature aging of the skin.
  • Sun exposure can cause first and second degree burns.
  • Skin cancer usually appears in adulthood, but is caused by sun exposure and sunburns that began as early as childhood.
  • You can help prevent skin cancer by protecting your skin and your children’s skin from the harmful rays of the sun.

The first step to treating your sunburn is to avoid any exposure to the sun while in the healing process. The best treatment for sunburn is time since most burns heal within a couple of weeks. However, there are medical treatments such as aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs), moisturizers, and compresses.

Another interesting thing to note about sunburn is that is happens on more than just your skin, but also your eyes and lips. The eyes are very sensitive and need UV protection which can be provided in sunglasses. UV light can also cause pterygium and cataracts. The lips can be burned and blistered if overexposed to the sun. The best prevention is to apply a lip balm, such as petroleum jelly, that has an SPF.

So what is Ultraviolet Radiation (UV) anyways?

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is that section of the electromagnetic spectrum between x rays and visible light, i.e., between 40 and 400 nm. The UV spectrum is divided into five classifications.

  • Vacuum UV (40-190 nm)
  • Far UV (190-220 nm)
  • UVC (220-290 nm)
  • UVB (290-320)
  • UVA (320-400 nm).

The sun is our main natural source of UV radiation. Manmade sources include tanning booths,mercury vapor and halogen lamps,fluorescent and incandescent lighting, black lights, germicidal lamps,and certain lasers. Depending on the wavelength range of the emitted UV radiation, each source caries its own unique risks..

The atmosphere absorbs almost all Vacuum UV, Far UV and UVC so they are almost never observed in nature. The most common sunburn risks are the result of UVB. It has enough energy to cause damage to cellular DNA, yet not enough to be completely absorbed by the atmosphere. Individuals working outdoors are at the greatest risk of UVB effects. Most solar UVB is blocked the atmosphere, but that absorption varies by time of day, season, weather and other environmental factors.

The best defenses against sunburn are moderating your time in the sun and using proper SPF rated sunscreens and sunblocks to protect your skin when you are exposed.

Filed Under: Skin Disease, Skin Protection, Sunscreens Tagged With: skin cancer, Skin Care, spf factor, sunburn, sunscreen