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.

I just can’t understand why people want to lie in the sun for what seems to me, the purpose of ageing their skin. It is bad enough that they inflict this on their own skin but to do it to their children is bordering on abuse.

Thanks @Comefromaway, Cerave is the one I used last winter so I’ll stick with that and make sure I’m applying plenty.

Yes as long as they learn how to carry them without sticking them in people’s faces, taking up loads of space on pavements etc.

I burned once, never again.

In my defence I was on a beach in Jersey with DS who was 4. I was so stressed making sure he had sunscreen on, was wearing his hat and keeping in the shade as much as possible I forgot about myself. Plus it was windy so didn’t feel hot.

Got back to the hotel that evening, bloody hell was I ill. Being sick, dizzy and felt like I was on fire. I spent hours lying in tepid water in the bath.

Like I said, never again. That was 33 years ago and I have avoided the sun like the plague ever since

I have dark hair , hazel eyes probably Fitzpatrick level 2 skin colour .
I have never burned because I don’t like being in the sun and I usually wear a hat .
My arms and lower legs do seem to pick up a little colour because of course I’m out walking my dog all year round ( of course he’s walked very early morning and late evening for now )

We used factor 2 religiously in 76.

Also don’t forget your lips! I religiously wear spf 50, even during the winter, especially when we had a horse.

Last year none of my usual lip balms (Burts Bees) helped, for want of a better word they were fraying. I visited my Dr who looked at them through a special device and diagnosed Solar keratosis, pre cancerous cells 😵‍💫. I was diagnosed a form of chemo in a cream. It’s worked but was really viscous, I persevered with it every night for 4 weeks as prescribed. My lips erupted every night, I could feel them getting ready to burst.

I’d urge everyone not to forget their LIPS! Surprisingly sun cream adverts don’t mention the lip area, which isn’t good, it was soo painful, but it’s worked 🤗

It's not just that you don't want to get cancer though.

You also don't want to get that uncomfortable, tight, tender skin sensation.

When I cover myself head to to in factor 50, I'm not thinking of cancer. I'm thinking of the pain of sitting in a bath on holiday as a child in tears due to simple burn.

This is brilliant advice thanks. I’m the type who burns just as soon as they look at the sun so always covered in factor 50, but I can easily count 15 just on one forearm (excluding normal face-style freckles) so mapping them would be great.

Ah, you’re welcome @Boreded- glad you found that helpful. I really appreciate the peace of mind from my mole checks. I expect there is a skin clinic somewhere near you where you could have this done.

I’m looking into it tonight

Just had a BCC removed from my forehead, no sunscreen when I was a kid living in Southend. I HATE the number of children not wearing hats

Sight of Sunburnt people is a lot less common in UK than it was when I first came to live here.

You see so many bald men with really awful skin damage on their heads. A hat is essential.

Lobsters....that's what the French used to call the British sailors during the napoleonic wars, so bad suntan isn't new for us brits....😅

My brother used to be a sunbather and used sunbeds , he inherited skin that tanned unlike my Viking skin - I would post a photo of what skin cancer did to his head but it’s not something I’d share without his agreement. He required many surgeries to remove cancer that had buried through his scalp to his skull and extensive skin grafts - he was in intensive care for sometime. Put the cream
on folks and wear a hat

I burned a lot s a child. My Scottish and Irish ancestors blessed me with the palest skin on the planet.

I can burn through a window, in the shade, you name it I burn.

I have relatives in Australia, when I visited a few years ago my aunt said to my cousin, "please make sure she uses sunscreen", my cousin said "She reapplies it all the time" which coming from an Australian I took as a complement.

Can I also say, it isn't just those of us with pale skin who need to be careful, black skin can and does burn. It obviously takes much longer but sun exposure does damage.

Bullshit, poor awful terrible advice.

FFS!!!!

I agree with you, OP. It's crazy. I thought everyone knew not to get sunburnt.

We are simply not used to hot weather in the UK, hence all the terrible tragedies from drowning each year. We are not educated about things like cold water shock, because we mostly don't have to think about it. Same with sunscreen. I suppose in hot countries they just have this cultural knowledge, which is why they organise themselves differently, staying indoors during the hottest part of the day.

It absolutely amazes me that in the UK, so many people bake themselves in the peak heat. The UVA/B must have been so high in these awful temps we've just had, and sunbathing in this fierce sun must have been so bad for you. If I was off work, I'd have been home in front of a fan, chilling water in the fridge and having a cold shower if necessary. I saw all the photos of so many people outside, many without hats, and I just think they're all barking.

Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.

Yeah, an Indian friend of mine was like, "I'm not covered in a magic shield, folks!" 🤣

True.

In Australia, the Bureau of Meteorology notes the need for sun protection, the times needed, and UV level every day. along with the weather forecast. It's sunny and wintry here in Melbourne today, so UV1 and no protection recommended.

By the way, sun protection does not mean sunscreen only, but hat, sleeves, sunnies and keeping an eye out for shade.

This is dangerously misleading because it encourages a false equivalence. Yes, SPF 15 blocks 93% of UVB, but it still lets through more than three times as much UV as SPF 50. During a heatwave, that's not a trivial difference, it's exactly why health authorities recommend SPF 30+ rather than SPF 15.

People are so ignorant. Shits me no end.

I live in Devon and worked in probate. I found it pretty shocking how many Death Certificates had melanoma on them.

I slather our very pale family in factor 50 but I'm increasingly having to pretend I don't in front of friends and the family because I get a 30 minute lecture about how "toxic" it is.

As far as i can see it's online messaging that seems to be targeting people who are quite health anxious. So it's hitting the crunchy mum crowd.

If he goes pink every summer, he's not being careful enough. That's skin damage, and is bad for him. You'll have to hose him down with factor 100!