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Health: In Shape
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Caring parents and guardians employ many strategies and resources to safeguard their children from harm. They provide and make sure their young ones use car seats and seatbelts. They depend on safety locks, smoke detectors, life preservers, and even carbon monoxide sensors to protect the well-being of their offspring. Yet adults too often forget to adequately protect children, and themselves, from ultraviolet (UV) rays found in sunlight. UV rays are the chief cause of skin cancer, a California epidemic. Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the state, with one-in-five Californians expected to suffer. Statewide, there are more new cases of skin cancer each year than the combined total of all new cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and colon. UC rays also initiate the development of blistering sunburns, cataracts, premature wrinkling and a weaken immune system. The good news is that skin cancer is highly preventable. To reduce skin cancer risk and protect the skin, place some kind of barrier between children, and yourself, and the sunlight. • Wear a hat with either a wide brim and/or neck and side flaps. • Wear tightly woven, loose-filling, full-length clothing, as appropriate. • Stay indoors more from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. • Stay under shade when outdoors. • Wear sunglasses that provide 100% UVA and UVB (broad-spectrum) protection. Kids love cool things; shades are cool. • Liberally apply SPF 30 to exposed skin 15 minutes before going outdoors. Reapply sunscreen at least every two hours of sun exposure. Don’t apply one minute before your child runs into the ocean; by then, it’s too late. Caution: Don’t depend on sunscreen alone to block UV rays. For kids with sensitive skin, test sunscreen on a small patch of skin, such as the underside of the forearm, to see if any irritation develops within 24 hours. The California Department of Health Services’ Skin Cancer Prevention Program (SCPP) has a webpage that provides important information and links to resources regarding the cause, impact and prevention of skin cancer: dhs.ca.gov/cpns/skin/index.htm. (Click on “Resources” at the bottom of the opening page.) Be sure to read the parent flier and letter. Andrew Manthe has served as chief of the California Department of Health Services’ Skin Cancer Prevention Program for more than 10 years. He holds a master’s degree in public health and has won two national awards for his work in preventing skin cancer. |
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