The return of good weather and the official start of the meteorological summer undoubtedly arouse the desire to enjoy the sun outdoors. Whether it’s for a lunch break with colleagues, an afternoon in the park or sunbathing by the pool, it is essential to protect the skin from the first rays of the sun, specialists warn.
A sunburn happens very quickly.
A short break in the sun, even if it lasts less than an hour, can permanently damage your skin. In fact, it has been shown that sunburn can appear in just 15 minutes, for sensitive skin and when the UV index is greater than or equal to 9. This period increases to 30 minutes for “normal” skin. But even when the UV index is quite low (between 3 and 4), a sunburn appears in 40 minutes on fragile skin and within an hour on others.
Also be careful on the coast, when the gusts of wind refresh your arms or legs: with or without wind, the sun acts in the same way… And therefore it burns the skin in the same way.
When the climate is more temperate, we maintain “risks of skin burns,” we are also exposed to “skin aging problems” and risks “progressing to skin cancer,” Isabelle Rousseaux, a member dermatologist, testifies on BFMTV. the National Union of Venerological Dermatologists, which calls on the French to “be careful”.
Sunscreen, essential all year round
This is one of the reasons why the French should get into the habit of protecting themselves from UV rays starting in March, Héloïse Hatuel, a dermatologist, told BFMTV on Monday. “Sunscreen is not reserved for vacations, you have to apply it every morning, especially when the weather is nice, even in Paris, even where you live,” she explained.
There are two types of sunscreens, those with “organic protection,” which absorb UV rays into the skin, and those that offer so-called “mineral” protection, which is actually “a filter that will reflect UV rays off the skin.” “. explained on BFMTV Jean-Christophe Palmié, a pharmacist.
This second type of protection is recommended for people with “more fragile” skin, especially children, because it “minimizes the risk of allergy,” according to the pharmacist.
In addition to the type of sunscreen, it is also necessary to know how to choose your protection factor. And for the dermatologist Héloïse Hatuel, “you have to put at least an index of 30, because below that it doesn’t matter much.”
Nor is it enough to apply sunscreen once a day to be protected for long hours. The doctor reminds us that a mnemonic device makes it possible to remember with certainty how often to paint again: index 30, every 30 minutes, and index 50, every 50 minutes.
Sunglasses and hats, not just in the suitcase
However, Frédéric de Bels, head of the prevention department at the National Cancer Institute, told BFMTV.com that “to protect their children, many parents think that high-factor sunscreens are enough, but that’s not the case.”
“Sunscreen with an index of 50 blocks between 90 and 95% of the sun’s rays, but therefore lets some through,” he specifies.
Therefore, it is necessary to combine the application of a cream with other effective gestures, which involve the search for shade, the fact of not exposing yourself to the hottest hours, that is to say, from 12 to 16 hours in mainland France (10 am until 2:00 p.m. abroad and in the tropics). Contrary to popular belief, this is also true in cloudy weather.
It is also necessary to wear clothing that covers, sunglasses “index 3 or 4, not below” and “wide-brimmed hat”, not sufficiently protecting the cap. “High-index sunscreen is just an additional protective gesture to these good gestures,” recalls the National Cancer Institute.
Children, to be absolutely protected
The capital of the sun is not a myth. We all benefit from the maximum number of UV rays to which our skin can be exposed, “especially during childhood”, emphasizes Héloïse Hatuel.
“Everything is played before the age of 15, and it is extremely important to protect children from the sun, even in the northern regions, even when they go to the park, even when they are going to spend the day outside,” he says. Eloisa Hatuel.
According to the National Cancer Institute, only 12% of parents know that sunburns detected during childhood present a higher risk of developing cancer in adulthood, warns Frédéric de Bels. Because their skin is “more immature”, young children are “more vulnerable” to UV rays.
Therefore, sunburn detected in childhood can have serious consequences years later. Because this redness and sensation of heat characteristic of sunburn is the consequence of “overexposure to the sun. The skin becomes inflamed”, which does not directly lead to skin cancer, but does increase the risk, explains Frédéric de Bels.
This risk increases even more when exposures are repeated and skin damage multiplies, with a cumulative phenomenon, he explains, while there are 15,500 new cases of melanoma per year in France. More than 100,000 people are affected by skin cancer, and 80% of these cancers are related to “excessive exposure to the sun,” recalls the National Cancer Institute.
Brittany particularly affected
It is in Brittany that the highest number of cases of skin cancer are declared each year, “precisely because it is not considered a risk region”, since the region is reputed to benefit from much less insolation than in the south of the country warned Health Insurance last summer in a press release.
“It is not because there are clouds or it is gray that UV rays are not dangerous,” recalled the Côtes-d’Armor CPAM, while when the sky is not blue, the French can forget about skin protection reflections, which should be “systematic” in summer.
Britain, which in 2014 registered three times more cases of skin cancer than the national average, also sees a “strong impact” of morbidity and mortality linked to skin cancer, and in particular melanoma, also indicated dermatologists from the Regional Mixed Commission of Physicians. Nearly a thousand melanomas are diagnosed there each year.
Sun capsules, useless
The capsules taken before sun exposure do not prepare the skin for these exposures, “nothing prepares it for the sun”, specifies Frédéric de Bels. “A tanned skin shows that it has been exposed to the sun and therefore that it has suffered attacks”, he specifies again. At the current state of the research, these capsules “are useless”, according to him.
For Frédéric de Bels, “there is nothing worse” than UV rays in the cabin. They certainly tan the skin, even when there is no sun, but users are exposed to “very high doses” of UV rays, which “should be avoided.” It has now been shown that 350 to 400 cases of skin cancer come from these huts each year.
Source: BFM TV
