BioQuakes

AP Biology class blog for discussing current research in Biology

With Summer Around the Corner, Will You Keep An Eye Out to Protect Your Skin?

Piece of Human Skin
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Human_skin_structure.jpg

Tanning Salons are extremely dangerous to one’s health due to the unnatural and intense UVA and UVB rays that are aimed at the skin. These Ultra Violet rays can lead to premature aging of the skin and skin cancer. While most people know the dangers of tanning salons, many people are unaware of the dangers of natural sun tanning.

Natural sun tanning can be as bad as tanning salons. Your risk of skin cancer increases as you spend more time underneath the strong sun. “According to Arthur Sober, M.D., associate professor of dermatology at Harvard University Medical School, ‘On a cloudy day, a person feels cooler, but is still getting a good amount of UV exposure’.” (FDA,enotalone.com) Which means that although it may be cloudy you are still coming in contact with UV rays. There is still enough sun rays penetrating the newly weakened ozone layer to have an effect on your skin!

The sun has vitamin D which is beneficial to our bodies, so about fifteen to twenty minutes of sun a day is healthy, but not more than that.

The sun emits two major wavelengths- UVA and UVB and these wavelengths increase one’s chances of skin cancer. The body tans because the body is being injured by ultra violet radiation that hits the skin. “These UV rays cause the body to produce an excess amount of melanin which acts like a natural sun screen. In order to get a tan, you must injure your skin first.” (FDA,enotalone.com) In addition to the risk of skin cancer from sun tanning, UVB rays impair the body’s immune system, which normally defends against disease. This increases one’s chances of skin cancers and other diseases.

“UVA rays speed up the skin’s aging due to the changes in the skin’s collagen, the protein in the skin’s connective tissue.” (FDA, enotalone.com). Many cosmetic companies make cremes enhanced with collagen for older women; they add extra collagen on their skin in hopes of reducing the amount of wrinkles they have.– These UVA rays speed up the wrinkling process of you skin, causing pre-mature aging.

Statistics about skin cancer:

“-Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. More than 3.5 million cases in two million people are diagnosed annually.

-Melanoma accounts for about three percent of skin cancer cases, but it causes more than 75% of skin cancer deaths.

-Melanoma is the most common form of cancer for young adults 25-29 years old and the second most common form of cancer for adolescents and young adults 15-29 years old.

-A person’s risk for melanoma doubles if he or she has had five or more sunburns at any age.

-More than 20 Americans die each day from skin cancer, primarily melanoma. One person dies of melanoma almost every hour.”

(www.skincancer.org)

Try to keep these statistics in mind and protect your skin from being harmed by excess sun!

Read more at:

http://www.medicinenet.com/skin_cancer/article.htm

http://cancer.about.com/od/skincancermelanoma/f/skincancersympt.htm

http://www.skincancer.org/Skin-Cancer-Facts/

http://www.enotalone.com/article/8106.html

 

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1 Comment

  1. rubinka

    I thought this post was very interesting! I liked the discussion of why people tan; I knew that UV exposure damaged skin, but I was not aware that an excess of melanin caused the discoloration. Skin cancer is definitely a major threat, and it is important that people be well informed about the dangers of over exposure to harmful rays. I found two links- one about risk factors for skin cancer, and one about ways to reduce those risks- that I thought would be helpful. Educating people of these risks and ways to prevent them remains one of the best ways to lower skin cancer rates- great post!

    Risks factors of skin cancer: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/skin-cancer/DS00190/DSECTION=risk-factors

    Ways to prevent skin cancer: http://www.skincancer.org/prevention/sun-protection/prevention-guidelines/preventing-skin-cancer

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