To think sunny holidays are actually incredibly dangerous

[Monikaems]

People go to the Mediterranean or other warm destination soley with the purpose of baking themselves in sun, often times this is done without sunprotection but even with sunprotection it can still be dangerous. The UV exposure from just two weeks in the sun can be months and months of what someone would get in the UK.

AIBU to think we should be better educated about the risks of sun exposure. It breaks my heart seeing little kids burnt.

Melanoma rates are increasing every year, we place warnings on sunbeds but not on sunny holidays. It seems absolutely bizzare that there is no warning on sun loungers about the risks of exposure.

AIBU

So warnings around the vegetable sections to remind people that not having enough Vegas will increase colon cancer

My limited study of those who don't use sunscreen seems to show that the worst offenders are middle-aged men. XH, despite having lived in South Africa until he was 22ish, who is covered in moles, whose father and sister regularly go for mole checks (mapping?), was adamant that he "didn't need" sunscreen. One holiday, when I forced him to use it, he left an actual oil slick in the pool as he no clue how to apply it properly.

Re the vitamin D deficiency- this is something I've heard a fair bit about recently, and my ds2, who has had factor 50 put on him every time there's a slight hint of sun, has had to take vitamin D supplements (as ordered by the doctor). Like with most things, a balance is required.

@geekone Vit D supplements and sunscreen is a safer option for health.

vimeo.com/120372122

The trouble with vitamin D supplements are that they are quite a low dose and if already deficient they won't help much. If you take high doses and are not deficient this can lead to toxicity.

So, people go to warm destinations for the sole reason that they want to bake in the sun?? Really?

I go to warm destinations so I can spend time outside without it affecting my hayfever.

I use factor 50 and always sit in the shade. I never go outside between 11:00 and 3:00, I wear a big hat which shades my eyes and my neck.

Some people i know never go to warm countries. They do, however,have an allotment in this country and I can see them now, in their allotment. They have told me that they "don't bother" with Sun screen.

So, who is at most risk? Me, with my factor 50 in a warm country, or them, in this country with no protection?

In my opinion, you are taking aim at the wrong people.It's not those who choose to go abroad that deserve your ire, it's those who don't take appropriate precautions where ever they are.

I don’t know anyone who goes on holiday solely for the sun. People go to sunny places as it makes activities more enjoyable when it’s not freezing or pouring with rain.
I don’t know anyone who doesn’t use suncream.
I don’t know anyone who doesn’t know to avoid the sun in the hottest part of the day.
I don’t know anyone who doesn’t put hats/uv costumes etc on their children.

I hate sunblock. Really hate it.

Consequently I’m inside today hiding until much much later. Sunny holidays are my idea of hell. I also hate the heat 😂

Lots of things are fine in moderation, including sun-loungers. People are perfectly able to bear responsibility for their decisions re sun exposure.

I grew up in very hot tropical climates and was burned on a regular basis as a kid (prior to skin cancer awareness). Then moved to Oz - where the "Slip, Slop, Slap" campaign is still going strong. Now in the UK and I do admit that it frightens me that whilst going on hols and dousing themselves in factor 15, 30, 50, people are still going on sun-beds to get that slight tan before their hols. I think that's the major worry... Sun tan parlours just don't exist in Oz. All those tanned lovelies on Home & Away etc just have very good make-up artists (and decent fake tans). The only people at the beach between 11am and 4pm in the summer are the newly immigrated English.

Am in 2 minds about this; I know (as every Aussie does) a few people who've passed away from skin cancer. Mostly men who worked outdoors - hands mostly affected. But then I've a friend who is making a killing selling Vitamin D supplements as osteoporosis is on the rise. As a previous poster said, it's all about being educated and sensible.

I'm in my late 40s and don't have many wrinkles, but my hands are the hands of a 70 year old. I always forgot to put suncream on those!

@Dungeondragon15 I take 10,000 IU a day. You would have to take 40,000 IU a day for toxicity to be an issue.

Here they are es.iherb.com/pr/Healthy-Origins-Vitamin-D3-10-000-IU-30-Softgels/58115?

Because I've a health condition where vit D is very important I've looked into it a lot over the years.

It's not the holiday, it's the behaviours.

I see bright red skinned tourists around me all the time, of all ages. Children, in fact, a lot less. It looks like parents are careful with their children but adults less so with themselves.

You are right, though, that there should be regular campaigns to warn of the risk of sunburn. People relax about it, and new adults are not likely to have paid attention to ads in their teens or earlier.

People are aware. The hear about it at school, it's talked about on the TV, there are adverts about it, there are loads of documentaries about it. Its in newspapers and magazines.
But many people don't care. They ignore the warnings because they are idiots. Because they 'wont be told what to do'. Because it will never happen to them. There is no cure for willful ignorance.

A sun holiday can be really good - people are outside more, in better humor, relaxed. So long as they dress properly with hats, sunglasses, cover up in direct sun, high SPF they will come to no harm. People need to take responsibility for themselves. Unfortunately many won't.

Wrong link, sorry. es.iherb.com/pr/Healthy-Origins-Vitamin-D3-10-000-IU-360-Softgels/21298 I buy a years supply at a time. 1 years for €15. I also have regular bloodwork, so taking these daily makes me a normal level, nowhere near toxic level, just normal.

A lot has been spent over the years by governments to educate people about the risks of sun damage. This really isn’t a new thing. If people are stupid enough not to protect themselves from the sun then more fool them.

Granted I agree that it’s sad when I see people rock up at the beach for 5 hours in the midday sun without an umbrella with a very small child. I might add the people who do this aren’t usually English but Spanish/french where we holiday. When I see English families on the beach abroad you can usually spot them a mile off, they have 3 umbrellas, a sun tent, their kids are in sunsuits and they spend the entire time shouting “you need more sun tan lotion on”.

I think 95% of the population know the risk though, they don’t need signs at the beach or on sun loungers, those not covering up or putting on high factor know what they are doing.

I think they know. They just don't care.

It's not gas, it's plasma

I love a good dose of pedantry.

The British are the worst at; hats, shade, sleeves, indoors during the middle of the day. I lived in Italy for years and never saw a sunburned Italian. But there was always a rash of scantily clad, lobster coloured Brits and Germans.

People are far more aware now than they were in the 80,s my mum did used to put Sun cream on us but it was a fairly low factor and make us swim with a t shirt over our swimming costume but I still got burnt on a number of course occasions , my kids have never been burnt .

I believe there was a study on health propaganda, which showed it does not work when people won’t believe it will happen to them!

However, the flip side of the coin is people using so much sun cream, they get vitamin D deficiency (which from personal experience feels dreadful) - and iirc, there is a correlation between sunlight and MS, so Scotland has a high incidence!

I've worn a high factor sun screen on my face since I was a teen, winter and summer in the UK. I'm 50, people are surprised that I'm even over 40.

I’m pleased to say that despite holidays in the tropics their whole lives, my teens have never been sunburnt.

It’s more about feckless parenting than hot holidays being dangerous..

@MontStMichel Please watch that video I posted.

and iirc, there is a correlation between sunlight and MS

There is a correlation between vitamin D and MS, I know, I have it.

What a miserable thread. I love summer and the sun. In fact I'm in the garden soaking up all the rays

"I wear factor 50, stay in the shade and never sunbathe"

Surely the point of putting factor 50 on is that you can be out in the sun... it blocks the harmful rays....

Hmm, there was a study done recently (JAMA) that particles from suncream are ending up in the bloodstream at 300x the safe levels, and those levels have never been tested in the bloodstream. Also Vitamin D is really important and protects you from cancers. Not to mention the mental health benefits of Vitamin D and being in the sun.

Ultimately, people can make decisions for themselves. People still eat sausages, bacon, smoke, drink alcohol, do drugs, live in polluted cities, etc even those all those things are carcinogenic/dangerous - because they enjoy them.

Personally I like being tanned and feeling the sun on my skin more than I care about the risk of skin cancer or getting wrinkles. Being in the sun gives me great joy. I have to die of something one day. And actually, the incidence of skin cancer has gone up with suncream usage, and is actually lowest in sunny countries like Greece. I don't think it's as simple as it seems and predict that lots of counter-studies might start coming out about suncream ingredients; oxybenzone for example.

www.outsideonline.com/2380751/sunscreen-sun-exposure-skin-cancer-science

*Vitamin D deficiency increases your risk of various cancers by 13%