Nikki Sommer, a nurse with Key West Surgical Group, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5 FM for Medical Matters this morning.
Too much sun can lead to skin cancer and sunscreen can help prevent that.
Sommer said, “SPF, it doesn’t mean that the higher number doesn’t allow you to spend additional time outdoors without reapplication. It just means you still have to apply it every two hours.”
What about babies and toddlers?
Sommers aid, “Babies six months or older can have sunscreen. If they’re younger, you need to protect them and keep them out of the sun. Even babies that are six months old, their skin is very fragile. It’s very fair. It’s brand new baby skin. So keep them covered, dressing them in lightweight, long sleeves, pants. They need to have a wide brim hat. They do make sunglasses for babies, keeping them in the shade, making sure if they’re in the stroller, the canopy is over, or the hood of the stroller. If you’re at the beach, an umbrella they sell like small little tents you can set up. You don’t want them to get sunburned at such a young age.”
Are sunscreens safe?
Sommer said, “The FDA has regulations on the sunscreens that we have here, and they have high standards for the ones that are available over the counter. So they base it on scientific evidence. The science doesn’t show that any sunscreen ingredients currently available in the US are harmful to human health.”
What about expiration dates?
Sommer said, “The biggest recommendation is that you should never have any sunscreen left over, but if you do, there is an expiration date on the bottle. Like with any expiration date, they recommend not using it after the expiration date. They claim it loses its efficacy. The other thing is if you keep that beach bag in the car or on the boat, or in areas where the temperatures get really high, there’s a concern that it starts to degrade the quality of the sunscreen, and it will not work as much. It happens, you leave a bag in the car and it’s ridiculously hot down here, you’ll get in the car and they’ll say the car is over 100 degrees, it actually will change the consistency the sunscreen. I don’t know if that’s ever happened to you, but it’s happened to me where, like, it separates and it’s chunky, so throw it away. Get new.”
What about getting vitamin D?
Sommer said, “If you have an annual physical with blood work, they usually test your vitamin D. That’s really big right now, and they will recommend ways to replace it, and if it’s really low, sometimes they recommend a supplement over the counter, but if you’re concerned about your vitamin D level, of course, check with your primary care provider, have them draw some blood work, but they’re recommending that you protect your skin, over exposing it to get the needed vitamin D from the sun.”
How can you treat sunburn if you get it?
Sommer said, “Once you get it, unfortunately, if you suffer from sunburn, the best thing to do is to take frequent cool baths or showers to help relieve the pain. Gently, pat the skin dry, try not to rub it or irritate it even more. You can apply moisturizer containing aloe vera or soy. I use a lot of aloe vera. I’ve always used aloe vera when I’ve had sunburn, especially my younger day, when I didn’t apply sunscreen. So you can also keep the aloe vera in the fridge, that helps cool it down, especially if you have a really bad sunburn. Calamine lotion, sometimes it’s itchy. So you could put calamine lotion, a cool damn cloth to the affected area, and even an oatmeal bath they recommend, kind of like when you had chicken pox years ago, which we don’t normally have, you soaked in an oatmeal bath.”
Taking aspirin or ibuprofen can help reduce swelling and discomfort and be sure to drink extra water.
Sommer said, “When you have heat, it pulls the water out of your body, and especially down here, just from the heat alone, you sweat, you lose you lose water, so you want to replace that. That helps too when you have a bad sunburn.”
Blistering skin means you actually have a second degree sunburn and blisters should not be popped.
Sommer said, “That also helps protect your skin from getting an infection. Once you pop that blister, you have an increased risk of getting an infection. So you want to keep them clean, dry. If they do pop, you can apply petroleum jelly and allow them to heal on their own. If it gets worse seek medical attention.”
For more information, click here: https://www.keywestsurgicalgroup.com/