We all know the feeling of health, peace and well-being what causes us moderate sun exposure. Now that the days are longer and sunnier and the weather has improved, we all want to go for a walk in the open air and leave our jackets and long pants in the closet.
Sun properties
The sun is a magnificent source of energy. Sunlight provokes in our body a series of fundamental processes for our life: favors the formation of vitamin D, (Our skin produces vitamin D when exposed to direct sunlight, a fundamental vitamin for the absorption of calcium, essential for the normal formation of bones), strengthens and regulates the immune system, contributes to the regulation of mood, helps to sleep, improves rheumatic diseases, favors the increase in the production of certain hormones ... And the anti-inflammatory power of the sun is well known for some skin diseases, such as psoriasis, eczema, acne.... The sun also has an antidepressant effect and a powerful stimulating action.
But the sun has risks
In our country we are lucky to have a high number of solar hours, which makes us lucky to be able to enjoy all its benefits, but we cannot forget that the sun has risks, the fundamental one is skin cancer (its appearance is closely related to sun exposure), the most dangerous the melanoma, whose incidence is considered high in our country, with a very important rise, especially since the 90s, diagnosing about 3600 new cases a year.
This increase seems to be related to the decrease in the ozone layer, that allows a greater passage of ultraviolet radiation. 20 years ago, a person on the beach needed 6-8 hours of exposure to suffer burns, but today it only takes 1-2 hours.
How do we balance the need for the sun and the need to protect the skin from its negative effects?
The skin is the largest organ in our body and one of the most important. It has a multitude of functions, controls our temperature, our hydration, intervenes in metabolism and has immune defense properties. And not least, it acts as an intermediary with the environment that surrounds us, it is our first barrier of protection, the one that defends us from multiple external aggressions. That is why the skin is in good condition is essential for our well-being.
A healthy skin is able to defend itself from external aggressions, when the skin receives sun, melanin as a natural defense, (in fair skin it occurs in smaller quantities and irregularly), free radicals are produced, some cellular damage is produced and the skin's ability to defend itself decreases. If the exposure to the sun is excessive or / and without protection, an attack finally occurs that the skin itself cannot repair and that ends in a burn.
But a sunburn is not just an annoying injury that ends up healing, our skin has "memory", this means that the dose of sun we take accumulates, In other words, the aggressions our skin suffers are not temporary, when they heal they leave a permanent mark on our skin and another new aggression adds its effect to the previous one.
To keep our skin healthy, the first thing is to keep correct nutrition and hydration. It is also important to use moisturizers that prevent the skin from drying out and losing its firmness and When we are exposed to the sun, it is essential to use creams with a sun protection factor.
All experts consider that the sun protection must be individualized, that is, you have to assess the type and color of skin, eye and hair color before recommending a protector and all experts seem to agree not to recommend creams with less than 30 sun protection factor and in fair skin the protection should be greater.
What should sunscreens offer?
A sunscreen is a product that blocks solar radiation, reducing the amount of rays that penetrate our skin.
It is important that the sunscreen is of good quality, What should we ask for ?:
- That contains chemical filters, who they block UV radiation.
- That contains physical filters, which manage to reflect radiation.
- Be able to curb UVA and UVB rays, you must make it clear on its packaging.
- The sun protection factor should be 30 or more. This factor tells us the ability to prevent burns caused by UVB radiation. No protector is capable of protecting us 100% from radiation, so there are no "full screen" protectors.
Apply the protector correctly; a pending subject
It is important that we bear in mind that sunscreen takes 20 minutes to take effect, so it is important that we apply it before exposing ourselves to the sun. On the other hand its effect lasts only two hours, that is to say, it is useless to apply the cream and not renew it throughout the day, every two hours we must reapply the protector, but also if we get out of the water or sweat a lot, because the water can wash away the cream and leave us unprotected.
Must apply an adequate amount of cream, applying less amount than necessary decreases its protection capacity.
It is important to choose the protector more suitable to our skin, let yourself be advised by a specialist.
Sunbathing yes, but with guarantees
To enjoy all the benefits of the sun and avoid its risks, it is important to take a series of precautions.
- Try not to sunbathe in the hours of greatest intensity of the sun (between 12 and 16 hours).
- Use high photoprotection, over 30. You will go brown without burning yourself.
- Apply suitable sunscreens and do it the right way.
- Wear clothing that protects from the sun such as approved t-shirts, caps, hats and sunglasses
- Demand do not use tanning booths
- Even if you use adequate photoprotection and the way to apply it is correct do not abuse the hours of exposure to the sun, look for the shade from time to time.
- It is important that children under one year old do not sunbathe, their skin is very sensitive, they burn easily and these burns, in addition to being very serious, we have already seen that they leave a mark on their skin.
How to get vitamin D safely
For get synthesized vitamin D Through the action of the sun on the skin we should sunbathe without protection on a daily basis, but we already know that exposure to the sun without protection poses a great risk for the appearance of skin cancer. Then what do we do? Big dilemma, the scientific community no consensus has been reached about. There are authors who recommend sunbathing for short periods and in the hours of low intensity without protector, however other authors don't even want to hear about sunbathing without a protector.
We can get vitamin D by three ways:
- Food: difficult to get the right amount. Some foods are already enriched with vitamin D, such as milk, butter ...
- Sun: Proponents of this way of getting the right amount of vitamin D say that it is enough to 20/30 minutes of sun exposure 3 times a week, but of course, without sunscreen, with only a factor 8 of sun protection, the synthesis of vitamin D is blocked and it should be in the hours of greatest intensity of the sun.
- Vitamin supplements: Widely used, especially in children and every day in more adults.
In summary; enjoy the sun safely, cautiously and with good sun protection, although its benefits are many, its risks as well.