July 9, 2001. Copyright 2001. Graphic News. All rights reserved

Using sunscreen correctly is key to avoiding sunburn 

LONDON, July 9, Graphic News: All over the world, people are packing up towels, blankets and a good book and heading out to the beach to enjoy the summer. But while many will be tossing a bottle of sunscreen into their beach bag, the majority of them will return home sunburned from not using their sunscreen correctly.

Despite warnings about the dangers of exposure to the sunÕs ultraviolet (UV) radiation, skin-cancer cases are increasing -- roughly doubling among pale-skinned people of European origin in the last 20 years. 

Australians have the highest rate of skin cancer in the world. With only 0.3 percent of the worldÕs population, they account for 6 percent of all the lethal forms of skin cancer diagnosed globally. The Australian Skin and Cancer Foundation estimates that Australians are more than four times as likely to get a melanoma -- the deadliest form of skin cancer -- as Americans and more than nine times as likely as Britons. Six out of 10 Australians will develop skin cancer at some stage during their lifetime as opposed to one in 200 Americans and one in 1,400 Britons.

The skin cancer rate is likely to increase when many of the Òbaby-boomersÓ who loved the sun in their youth enter their 50s and find that cancers have developed. In addition, ozone depletion in the stratosphere is increasing the amount of UV radiation reaching the ground, thereby heightening the risk.

There are two main layers and several kinds of cells in the skin. The top layer of skin is called the epidermis. It contains three kinds of cells: flat, scaly cells on the surface called squamous cells; round cells called basal cells; and cells called melanocytes, which give the skin its colour.

Skin cancer is a disease in which malignant cells are found in these outer layers. When detected and treated early, the most common types of skin cancer, squamous cell and basal cell carcinoma, can be more easily controlled and cured. But melanoma, which is more likely to spread to other parts of the body through the lymph nodes -- small, bean-shaped structures that produce and store infection-fighting cells -- or through the blood, can kill.

It is estimated that 51,400 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with melanoma -- the deadliest form of skin cancer -- this year, a nine percent increase from 2000. In addition, approximately 7,800 deaths will be attributed to melanoma in 2001.

The following steps have been recommended by health groups to reduce the risk of sunburn and skin cancer.

¥ Wear hats and shirts to protect the skin.

¥ Avoid the sun during the peak hours of the day (10 a.m.-4 p.m.)

¥ Wear sunscreen, ideally with a SPF (sun protection factor) of 15 or higher on all areas of the body which are exposed to the sun.

¥ Reapply sunscreen every two hours, even on cloudy days. Reapply after swimming or perspiring. 

¥ Avoid exposure to UV radiation from sunlamps or tanning parlours. 

¥ Protect children -- keep them from excessive sun exposure when the sun is strongest, and apply sunscreen liberally and frequently to children 6 months of age and older. Do not use sunscreen on children under 6 months of age. Parents with children under 6 months of age should severely limit their exposure exposure to the sun.
/ENDS
Sources: American Academy of Dermatology, Skin Cancer Foundation, Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, Cancer Research Campaign