The Senior Citizens Council of Madison County, Inc. held this week’s presentation on sunburn on Wednesday, July 29 at 10 a.m. Theresa Williams, a program assistant at the Madison County Extension office, explained several tips and concerns residents should be aware of about sunburn. She discussed the two types of different radiation rays people can get from the sun. Ultraviolet A (UVA) and Ultraviolet B (UVB) are two radiation rays she described. UVB rays are the rays that trigger people to get sunburn. The sun can be dangerous if people are exposed to it for a sufficient amount of time. When applying sunscreen, do not forget your face, ears and the back of your neck. “We recently did a children’s camp and they were spraying the front of themselves, not the back,” said Williams. “We, as adults, went around and sprayed the back of them. We actually had some children get sunburned on the back of their legs.”
When using sunscreen, do not keep it for more than three years. Skin cancer is one of the leading causes of death in Florida, having such strong ultraviolet rays. Anyone can get skin cancer but it is pertinent to use precautions when being in the sun. Most specialists report that people should apply sunscreen every 30-45 minutes, especially while being in direct sunlight. To avoid sunburn, look for shade, cover up and refrain from being outside between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Sunburn occurs in the winter as well. It is important to be careful when near water, snow and sand at beaches during the season. “When we apply heat to something, it breaks it down,” she said. “If we are exposed to a lot of ultraviolet rays, it’s going to break down our immune system. We’re not going to be able to fight off diseases or illnesses as easy.” Williams ended her presentation with statistics on sunburn. “In 2009, there was an estimate of almost 5,000 new cases of melatonin patients diagnosed with skin cancer,” said Williams.
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1. Greene Publishing, Inc. Photo By Shikari Hamm, July 29, 2015 Theresa Williams of the Madison County Extension Office providing tips on sunburn to Madison residents at the Madison County Senior Citizens Council.