Shocked By So Many Badly Sunburnt People Around

[MarmaladeSandwich7]

I live in Cornwall which obviously gets very large numbers of holidaymakers but I notice locals that don’t seem to know what sunscreen is for either - customers come to my till looking like lobsters! There’s enough information around about the dangers of not using sun protection at all or not applying it frequently enough, yet people carry on regardless. I have a friend with stage 4 cancer which started because of unprotected sunbathing (she ended up with several moles) 😢 The whole situation is worse because of global warming & these extreme temperatures. I would never even consider anything less than Factor 50 yet you can still buy Factor 15. Reckon we are in for a whole load of skin cancer cases.

Extreme heat is a woke conspiracy. Like vaccines. As the Venn diagram shows.

We didn't need sunscreen in 1976, so why now ?

No I didn’t. Depending on the context, you can be old enough to know better when you’re still a child. I was old enough to know better than to wind the cat up when I was a teenager; it had scratched me many times when I was younger.

I’m sorry I didn’t include anecdotes about sunburn for people I know in every age range above 0-6 months. It might have escaped your attention but the OP mentioned is based in Cornwall and we are still in June. That was my only reason for bringing up my anecdote, which happened in Cornwall in June a few years ago.

You can see it from the how much spf to take on holiday threads. People aren’t using enough a lot of the time, it’s pretty large amounts to cover your whole body and regularly

We didn't need sunscreen in 1976

You really did. Wasn't that the year of the two week heatwave?

The factor doesn’t really matter all that much (within reason, not suggesting anyone brings back spf 2 tanning oil!). Unless you’re very fair or spending hours in the full sun then 15 would actually be fine for most people. The point is to apply it properly- use enough, rub it in, 20 minutes before sun exposure and reapply every 2 hours/after swimming. Fail to do that and you’ll burn even with factor 50.

In my teens I used sunbeds. When I went on holiday I used suncream but aimed to get a tan. This was in the 70s and I think we know better now.

I now wear F50 and cover up. I still enjoy the sun but on holiday I sit in the shade and come home the same colour. I've had a BCC removed this month.

So am I! The worst I've ever seen it in fact - likely because people 'forget' about needing sun protection in the UK - especially now! 🔥

It doesn’t need to be hot to get sunburn. It’s only going to get to 13c today in Buenos Aires but UV 3 which is enough to burn fair skin without sun cream in an hour.

In case anyone needs to know, a MASSIVE single dose of vitamin D3 might help. There are many papers on this

https://academic.oup.com/bjd/article-abstract/192/2/181/7756515?redirectedFrom=fulltext

Indeed. I pondered this very thing a few days ago where I was on the way home from my holiday, in the car all day so I hadn’t put suncream on. Stopped at a service station and found shade to stand and have my cigarette because I didn’t want to get skin cancer. I really did have a good laugh at myself. 😆

In in Australia and more than 9 times out of 10 when you come across a really sunburnt person it's a tourist from the UK. Figure they get caught out because they aren't used to the conditions - didn't know they were doing it at home too!

Adults - nothing surprises me

But 252 children were admitted for severe sunburn last year, which is unacceptable.

https://cbtrust.org.uk/get-informed/causes-of-burns-and-preventions/sun-safety/

I was rather being facetious ...

I was there, although it's mildly amusing hearing 40 somethings tell me what it was like.

I was 3 in that heatwave. My mum tells me I had prickly heat, she had to keep me in the shade, and even though she could barely afford it, we got sunscreen. She also reminisces fondly about shared baths and how we had the best crop of tomatoes ever because they used old bath water to keep them hydrated during the hosepipe ban.

I get sunburnt even in regularly applied factor 50 (pale). I just have to stay out of the sun but you can’t always!

I actually can't believe that sun beds are still legal. They seemed to die a death 20ish years ago but I've recently seen a few popping up. Unbelievable.

I got a mild sunburn from hanging the washing out on my garden at 5 pm yesterday. I was out for 10 mins max and had applied sunscreen in the morning. I didn't reapply because I didn't think I'd be out long enough for it to be an issue.

I think people just aren't used to how strong the sun is this week.

Im white and Irish so double whammy.

We are suncreamed to the hilt on our hols, reapplying regularly.

Hats, tshirts sun glasses, the lot.

Sun still managed to burn me and my daughter. Not hugely, but visible.

My sons tanned as they always do.

I got burned last week talking to my neighbour at the door for 15 mins. I wasnt expecting to be outside so hadn't suncream up so v annoyed on both counts !

I'm in Cornwall too, in the far west where it has been hot but not nearly as hot as further east. I saw a woman yesterday who was so burned it made me gasp - yet still she was wandering around in full sun with all that burned skin exposed.

I actually think there's a bit of a risk in all the shouting about "FACTOR 50 IS ESSENTIAL EVEN IN MIDWINTER EVEN IF YOU'RE INSIDE" because it means people do their usual "oh it's all a conspiracy" bollocks.

The point is to apply it properly- use enough, rub it in, 20 minutes before sun exposure and reapply every 2 hours/after swimming. Fail to do that and you’ll burn even with factor 50.

That's what I always think when people say "I put factor 50 on and still burned". You shouldn't burn with factor 50. You just didn't apply enough or frequently enough.

Not sure whether you are being ironic, sarcastic or just ignorant?

You're assuming my age, although you're right I wasn't there. However, I didn't need to be there to know you'd need sunscreen for it.

And if you aren't denying that you needed it, I don't know what you're arguing about. I guess you're hot.

Also, the advice was always to avoid midday sun - it seems to be hotter later now. To me it feels like it intensifies around 3-5ish.

Between 11 and 2, or 3, I think was the ideal. The ground heats up and that can cause heat to stick around and intensify even after the sun is past its strongest for the day.

I wear facctor 50 and am fairly diligent in reapllying and putting it on 30 mins before leaving the house. Haven't burnt at all but I'm shocked that I have tanned through it! People vastly underestimate the power off the sun and overestimate the power of suncream!