4 1GT Tuesday August 11 2020 | the times

bodyhealth&soulhealth

Why

doing this

is a bad

idea —

even if

you’re on

staycation

Skin cancer can occur in melanoma

or non-melanoma form, melanoma

being the more serious. It can develop

at any stage of your adult life and

usually appears as a flat, dark,

irregular mole. In 70 per cent of cases

this will be a new mole. “They can

grow in three months or over many

years, the time frame isn’t set,” Perry

says. “And they can occur on any site

of the body. For men, the commonest

site is the back, for women it’s the legs.

They don’t often itch or bleed, and

may not call attention to themselves,

which is why you need to check

yourself regularly.”

Exposure to the sun is one of

several factors that contribute to the

development of melanoma. Sun

exposure is also generally the cause

of non-melanoma skin cancer, or

“classic skin cancer”, Perry says.

“There are a few types and they are

ten times more common than

melanomas.”

You don’t have to be a regular

sunbather for exposure to cause

problems. “One episode of nasty

sunburn doubles your risk of later

developing skin cancer,” Perry warns.

“This is especially important to

consider for children and adolescents.

It’s so important to keep them safe.

I see many patients in their fifties and

sixties who recount getting badly

burnt in a particular area, and then

that’s the area where the skin cancer

later develops.”

The dermatologist Dr Fauzia Khan

uses lasers to treat the long-term

effects of sun damage, including

pigmentation (sun spots) and fine

lines, in her northwest London skin

clinic. She too has seen evidence of

a rise in sun damage during this

strange, sultry year. “Coronavirus has

been such an overwhelming source

of anxiety, it’s possible that we have

been a bit more lax about risks that

we would normally consider,” she says.

“It may not have been our biggest

priority, but this attitude could be

having a huge impact on our skin in

terms of premature ageing and skin

cancer risk.”

There are, she explains, two types

of ultraviolet radiation emitted by the

sun that are harmful. UVA is more

associated with skin ageing, while

UVB is more associated with skin

cancers.

“Sun protection is vital to protect

ourselves, but not all sun protection

is equal,” Khan says. “Some studies

indicate that when sun protection is

infused with make-up, moisturisers

etc, the efficacy reduces. When

purchasing one, look out for the term

‘broad-spectrum’ — ideally SPF 30 or

above. It’s also a misconception that

we only need to apply SPF in the

summer months or on holiday; we

need it all year round. The majority

of SPFs are not waterproof and ought

to be reapplied every few hours.

Reapplication is very important.”

Khan is discerning in her choice

of product. “There are many debates

about chemical and physical

sunscreens, but I’m very cautious

about the use of chemical sunscreens

because of the by-products produced

through their use. An FDA [Food and

Drug Administration] test in America

showed blood levels of certain

chemicals rising shortly after a

If you’ve been spending the heatwave basking in

the sun, the risks could be greater than you think.

Here’s how to protect yourself, says Rebecca Ley

P

erhaps the saving grace

of this annus horribilis

has been the weather —

unseasonably blissful in

those first disquieting

weeks of lockdown and

reliably warm ever since.

Freed from the office,

we’ve taken to our gardens and local

parks, earning consoling tans in

between Zoom meetings. That

Spanish holiday may be on hold, but

we can look as if we’ve spent time on

an Ibizan beach after all. However,

since any tan is a sign of harm to the

skin, will 2020 end up being a record

year for sunburn, skin damage and

skin cancer?

The skin cancer expert Dr Ross

Perry, the medical director of

Cosmedics Skin Clinics, certainly

thinks it’s a possibility. He has noticed

more cases of sunburn than usual in

recent months during online

consultations.

“It’s that classic British thing,” he

says. “We always chance our arm with

the sun in this country, invariably it’s

stronger than we think and we get a

bit sunburnt. We aren’t prepared for it.

That has certainly been the case in

lockdown. We’ve all seen the

photographs of the packed-out

beaches, and so many people have

been spending more time outside than

usual. I’ve definitely witnessed some

nasty cases of sunburn, often on

consultations for other things.”

Sunburn can cause terrible

blistering. “If someone falls asleep in

the sun — perhaps sunbathing after

a couple of glasses of rosé — the

results can be truly dire. In the worst

case I’ve seen the entire skin of the

face turned into one huge blister. It

was appalling. It can take weeks for

something like that to settle. You are

literally damaging the full thickness

of your skin and will probably

increase your risk of skin cancer by

about ten times.”

Less dramatic cases of reddening

can be dangerous too, he says. “Skin

cancer takes a while to develop.

Nobody really knows the exact

mechanism in terms of time. It can

take months to years or decades. But

I would not be surprised if people

have exposed themselves to more UV

damage than is ideal this year, which

could cause an impact further down

the line.”

People with naturally dark brown

or black skin can still burn, albeit less

easily — if skin feels irritated, tender

or itchy, it’s likely to be sunburn.

Those with black or brown skin are

also less likely to get skin cancer

because darker skin has some

protection against ultraviolet rays,

but can still get the disease, and using

sunscreen is advised.

Your face

gets

exposure

to the sun

year-round

— always

prioritise

it for SPF