Safety Tip of the Week – Skin Cancer Prevention

The sun is essential to all life on Earth, however too much exposure to the sun can be harmful to us. Excessive exposure to ultraviolent light, also called “UV rays,” emitted from the sun can cause many skin conditions, as well as skin cancer.

Overexposing our skin to the sun’s ultraviolet rays causes skin cancer and skin damage. Outdoor workers have a higher risk of skin cancer, as they can spend many hours outside.

Safety Tips to Prevent Skin Cancer:

• The best thing to do is to avoid excessive exposure to the sun and tanning beds altogether.
• Water-resistant sunscreen should always be used on exposed skin (face, neck, arms, and back of hands).
  • For maximum protection, outdoor workers should wear sunscreen with an SPF 30+ rating and re-apply every 2 to 3 hours.
  • When applying sunscreen, wipe it onto the skin; do not rub it into the skin.
• The majority of our exposure to the sun in our lifetime occurs during childhood. While it may be too late to worry about whether you had adequate protection when you were a kid, it is not too late to protect your kids or other young family members from being overexposed to the sun.
• Periodically check yourself for irregular moles or markings on your skin. A new lesion on your skin, a new mole, or change in an existing mole may indicate skin cancer.

EARLY DETECTION SAVES LIVES!!