Sun Protection
* Use sunscreen with SPF (Sun protection factor) 15 or higher.
Everyone except babies under age 6 months
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Should be used if you're going to be in the sun for more than 20 minutes
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Even on a cloudy day 80% of the sun's UV rays pass through clouds
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Water resistant and Broad Spectrum (UVA and UVB protection)
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Check expiration date
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Apply 15-30 minutes before going outdoors
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Use one ounce a palm full
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Reapply every two hours, or after swimming, sweating, or toweling dry
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If you have sensitive skin, avoid products with para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA)
*Try to avoid the sun between 10am and 4 pm
* Wear sun-Protective clothing
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Hats, if wearing a baseball hat, be sure to apply sunscreen to ears, neck and face.
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Sun glasses - make sure they block UV rays
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Lightweight, long sleeve shirts and pants
* Seek shade whenever possible
If your shadow is shorter than you are, the sun is at its highest intensity
* There is no safe way to tan
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A suntan is the skin's response to an injury. Every time you tan, you accumulate damage to the skin. This damage in addition to accelerating the aging process, also increases your risk for all types of skin cancer.
* Some individual characteristics that are risk factors for skin cancer include:
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Blue, green, or hazel eyes
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Light-colored hair
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Tendency to burn rather than suntan
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History of severe burns, many moles, freckles
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A family history of skin cancer
* ACS sun basics include, Slip, Slop, Slap
- Slip on a shirt
- Slop on sunscreen
- Slap on a hat
* Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the US. About 1 in 5 Americans will be diagnosed with skin cancer at some point in their lives.
* Receiving one or two blistering sunburns before the age of 18 at least doubles an individual's risk for developing melanoma.
* In 2007, Idaho's Melanoma rate was 23.3 cases per 100,000 person years.
* Idaho had the highest melanoma death rate nationally from 2001-2005 - 26% higher than the US average.
* For people born in 2005, 1 in 55 will be diagnosed with melanoma - nearly 30 times the rate for people born in 1930.
