Summer sun, safe fun

AccuWeather

Dr. Susan Taylor, President of the American Academy of Dermatology, discusses sun safety for this summer.

Transcript

00:00Now with summer sun in full force in much of the country, we're joined by the president of the

00:04American Academy of Dermatology to talk smart sun safety. Welcome Dr. Susan Taylor. This has been

00:11something I have been so passionate about and I'm so excited to talk to you. In fact, she already

00:17told me, doctor, she wants me to leave the set so you can conduct the interview. I can get all my

00:22questions answered. Good morning. Good morning. Sorry, quite an intro. All right, let's start.

00:27What are some of the most important steps people should take every day to protect their skin from

00:33the sun? Well, everyone should have a comprehensive sun protection plan and that includes a broad

00:41spectrum SPF sunscreen that is water resistant that's applied every two hours. Avoiding the sun

00:49when it's at its peak, that would be between 10 and 2. Walking on the shady side of the street is

00:55really a simple thing. And then accessories, wearing hats, wearing visors, and of course,

01:02sunglasses. So all of it adds up and makes a difference to protect our skin from the sun.

01:09Now I hear you on the hat. Listen, when you have my head, everything's got to be covered

01:14anytime the sun is out. Why is it so important to choose a broad spectrum of sunscreen with at least

01:21SPF of 30 and how often should it be reapplied? Right. So the first thing that's very important

01:29to know is what a broad spectrum sunscreen means. That means that it will protect our skin from both

01:36ultraviolet A and ultraviolet B light. And both of those are very important because ultraviolet B is

01:43what causes burning of the skin, sunburns, but also ultraviolet B can lead to skin cancers.

01:50We want to protect from ultraviolet A. Those are the deeper rays that go very deeply into our skin

01:55and can cause premature aging as well as skin cancer. So we want to protect from both. It's important

02:04to reapply sunscreen every two hours. And that's what people commonly forget. It only lasts for two hours.

02:10It's inactivated after it's been in the sun. So again, an SPF 30 is going to block out about 97%

02:19of the sun's rays. All right. There are so many different kinds of sunscreens out there.

02:24What type should people look for? And then how do we use them correctly?

02:28Yeah. So my simple answer is you're going to select the sunscreen that you like best that you're

02:34going to apply. If you don't like it, you're not going to use it. That's going to defeat the whole

02:39purpose. So there are two different types of sunscreen. They're inorganic and organic. Some

02:45contain zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. They can sometimes give a little white cast to the skin,

02:51but that has gotten much better. And then there are what we call chemical sunscreens. Now, all of them

02:58come in different formulations. So there are sprays, which you just showed a few minutes ago.

03:03There are creams and lotions and gels. So there's really something for everyone.

03:10All right. What should we look for during a self-exam and how often should these be done?

03:18Well, it's very important for you to see your board certified dermatologist once a year

03:22so that you can have a complete skin check. And what are we looking for? We are looking for signs of skin

03:29cancer. The most serious type of skin cancer is called melanoma. And often that will present as

03:36a changing mole, a mole that has gotten darker or larger or is multiple colors, a mole that was

03:43formerly flat and becomes raised. And then there are two other types of skin cancer that are very common,

03:50basal cell skin cancer and squamous cell skin cancer. And they can appear as red bumps on the skin,

03:57scaly patches on the skin. So anything that changes, bring it immediately to the attention

04:04of your physician and go in once a year because it's really board certified dermatologists. We call

04:11us FAADs who are best qualified to identify all kinds of skin cancer and the 3,000 different kinds of

04:21skin, hair and nail disorders that people can experience.

04:24Got it. Way more trusted than my internet search of what does, what is this? All right. With summer

04:30heat rising, what are some of the practical sun safety habits for families spending time outdoors

04:35or at the beach?

04:37Well, again, it's very easy for parents to use the spray sunscreen for their kids because kids often,

04:44you know, they're running around, they don't want to keep still, but you have to be very careful

04:49that it's applied evenly. So you want to have multiple passes and then you want to rub it in

04:55just like this person is rubbing in a cream sunscreen. And also you want to make sure that

05:01no one inhales spray sunscreens. Remember, apply that sunscreen to your family, to your children 20

05:08minutes before you go outside. Many people wait till they get to the beach and apply it. You want to

05:13apply it before you're exposed to the sun. Don't forget those umbrellas. You want to be under the

05:19shade as much as possible as you enjoy this gorgeous summer weather.

05:24I love it. Dr. Susan Taylor, president of the American Academy of Dermatology. Thank you so much

05:28for joining us here on AccuEther Early.

Category

Transcript

Recommended