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.

😯

A tan IS skin damage. That's literally what a tan is. I'm sure it does look lovely, but tans mean damaged DNA. It's not just sunburn that does it. You should get on the fake tan and wear factor 50 from now on, also using a wide-brimmed hat and staying out of the sun 11-4.

I have one child who stays milk white and one child that does tan. We use exactly the same precautions - factor 50, stay out of the sun, wide hats, shoulders always covered. I worry a lot how I can stop the tan.

I get sunburned every summer, not intentionally I just forget when the warmer weather arrives. Lots of people get burned here (not the UK), it's just part of life and yes I know it's bad but it happens.

It's much easier to burn in this part of the world - the ozone layer is thinner, the earth is closer to the sun in our summer than it is in the northern hemisphere summer, and there are low levels of air pollution.

Could your tanned child be sunbathing when you're not around? Not sure how old they are. Or else the suncream isn't being applied thickly enough or often enough. I've never heard of anyone staying out of the sun, covering up, using factor 50 and still burning. One of those measure isn't being adhered to enough.

My DDs are young adults now but I too have one with pale skin and one who tans just by looking at the sun. Sadly they're both in the thrall of having tans. They go to tanning salons regularly and sit outside on warm days. They know the dangers but I fear they're in the "it won't happen to me" camp. I'm just seen as an old nag if I say anything.

He's not burning he gets a tan. He's 5, he's not sunbathing. We slather him with the same spf as his sibling, he's out of the sun as much as possible and is not in the sun any more than his sibling. His skin just goes a tea colour (same genetics!) while his sibling stays white as a4 paper.

I don't get it either. I'm usually careful about the sun because I have light and sensitive skin. I stupidly went to the beach for hours in Thailand a couple of years ago, and I didn't use sunscreen. I burned so badly that I was sore, warm and got millions of blisters all over my back, chest and upper arms - that eventually became flakey skin. I felt like a fish descaling.

Now I cover my skin completely, with a burkini style suit and a wide brim UV protective sunhat, when I go to the beach.

I meant with the heat more than sun. Everyone has skin damage unless you stay indoors all day every day and then you get Vitamin D deficiency and obesity. He always wears a hat, covers up, stays in the shade by the pool on holiday, uses sunscreen and limits exposure but you have to live life and go outside.

There are also a lot of deaths from drowning in countries that have a lot of bodies of water and hot weather is normal.

Blimey, that’s forgetfulness on another level! 😐 Could you set a reminder on your phone or something? Or buy some SPF and store it next to your every day moisturiser to help remind you.

If sunburn is ’just part of life’ where you are then melanoma in the local population will also sadly be ‘just part of life’.

That’s what my clinic say too (run by a dermatologist so all the staff are trained by her). The UV rays get through cloud so summer or winter SPF 50 always? There are some very ‘light’ feeling suncreams that sit nicely under foundation.

It's not bullshit? It's true. Look it up. One link Here
Many others out there.

-SPF 15 blocks approximately 93% of UVB rays
SPF 30 blocks about 97% of UVB rays
SPF 50 blocks approximately 98% of UVB rays
The higher SPF also in theory should give a longer protection time.

From the Nivea article, there's hundreds more if you care to look it up rather than accusing someone of spouting bullshit @estrogone .

I've been able to stay at home during the heatwave and indoors .
But yesterday had a previously organised coffee meet up with friends . Wore 3/4 length linen crops and a t shirt . Half hour before going out put lots of f30 sun lotion on with the best uv protection (5 star )
When we got there sat outside on a table that was in partial shade and had an umbrella . Was sat out for less than an hour but still got a bit pink from the sun .
I guess you can take all the precautions but still get caught out .

I got burned on the Great Barrier Reef. I was covered, had factor 50 on and burned through my T shirt.

I wasn't badly burned, more just a bit pink.

I also burned in Oxford through a long sleeved silk shirt.

I have to go outdoor swimming these days in a full bodysuit with long arms and legs now.
I grew up in the tropics where us children were allowed to run around half naked without any protection. In and out of the water. Ive had loads of precancerous moles dug out of my body and I dare not expose my skin to the sun any more.
Amazon sell them.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SEAUR-Swimsuit-Bathing-Snorkeling-Canoeing/dp/B0GQM8DC25/ref=mp_s_a_1_8_sspa?crid=1WCJH4OUCJDN6&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.qC_7RJP_IppxuOvF3USL8ZAYzgQf0Rc7FlyLPULnlPMtSJJnSiJ4XPRXSibwQEIxd9rxtH7tpiec7JitMUT18VHHj5fFkpRZGeK4CWneumR3fWCJcECLXUKoTJnqnrN_tkz-AOYu9IDeq4now1Nda5u25ceho6YaSZMXRAe7oOn-jMtHxjME1ZlWRVwMCw0i-XhKoWM7YFJOvgK8afkENsb9cYaJ6W9Ar-mGQbAiM0vM-QglBYINYd8vf9PzgoCdbRplvSB_Ecd_74MN7VggVqNBx1SvxsWhWAVFh-y_cIw.QvKsYO13_EJSJeuWhv35q3pXvEWzBy1iRaR92ufV3FM&dib_tag=se&keywords=swim+suit+with+long+arms+and+legs&qid=1782549353&sprefix=swim+suit+with+long+arms+and+legs%2Caps%2C128&sr=8-8-spons&aref=0rD0VyXoL3&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfbXRm&psc=1

We do have a very high rate of melanoma, some people are really good about taking care, some still go out and try to tan. It's just a part of life, we don't obsess about it. People my age got burned several times when they were young so it's probably too late now anyway, other than getting regular checks.

I don't actually care if I burn now and again, but I do use moisturiser with sunscreen every day, all year round.

There’s just a lot of ignorance all round. DS’s Reception teacher once commented that it would be virtually impossible for him to get sunburnt as he is Black🙄 Obviously that is nonsense but I nonetheless pointed out that he’s actually mixed heritage, his dad is Italian. To which she responded that was “even better” as they are olive skinned and highly resistant to sunburn.

I have also had people express surprise that I bother to put on protection in the sun and how lucky darker skinned people are as they don’t need to worry about skin cancer😵‍💫

Can I please ask, do they look at your scalp too?

@Pinkpupsx, they didn’t look at my scalp, however I have masses of hair and you can’t see my scalp at all so perhaps that’s why. They wouldn’t be able to see if there are any moles or freckles on my head without shaving my hair off. My husband is balding and they checked his head when he went for a mole check so I guess it depends how much scalp they can see.

People are stupid - ive even seen people on MN banging on about how chemicals in sunscreen are worse for you than the sun.

Clearly, they've never had anyone close to them develop skin cancer and had bits of their face cut out like my nan did

I have a photo from 1976 of me on a beach in Spain aged 8 having sun cream liberally applied to my face by my mum 🤣 So some people at least were using sunscreen although it was probably a low factor compared to now.
She was very sun aware because she grew up in a hot country and would limit our time in the sun especially the first couple of days. I learned to be cautious of the sun from her.

My lovely dad in the other hand , had no type of sun wisdom at all and thought he knew best, so when my mum whisked us all off the beach at 2pm to go home, he insisted on staying and ended up with awful sunburn 😬

NRTFT
There is a lot of scaremongering at the moment that claims suncream causes cancer. A lot of people seem to have gone back to the 80s and think that skin protection is allowing yourself to get a little burnt so you can build up a tan which then protects you (apparently).
I never tan, I just get redder and redder until I eventually blister even if I try over a couple of weeks (that was a painful lesson was 14yr old me).

Sunbeds seem to be fashionable again.