SEASONS CHANGE UVA STAYS THE SAME

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SOLAR PROTECTION FORMULA    The main environmental cause of skin cancer is the sun

Skin Types    Definitions    Sunburn    Light Facts    Benefits of Sunlight    Who is Lightsensitive?   Drugs & Lightsensitivity

DEFINITIONS

Lightsensitive: sensitive or sensitized to the action of radiant energy

Phototoxic: 1. rendering the skin susceptible to damage (as sunburn or blisters) upon exposure to light and especially ultraviolet light: 2. induced by a phototoxic substance

Photoallergic: of, relating to, caused by, or affected with a photoallergy

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SUNBURN AT A GLANCE

• Sunburn is inflammation of the skin due to overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays.
• The UV from "sun tanning" lamps is as damaging to skin as sun exposure.
• Ultraviolet B rays have long been known to harm the skin.
• Sunburn damages the skin; the damage can be permanent.
• The main environmental cause of skin cancer is the sun.
• Sunburn can be serious and require professional medical attention.
• Victims of severe sunburn should avoid drinking or bathing in cold water.
• Many prescription and non-prescription drugs and products increase the skin's sensitivity to sunlight.
• Wear a broad brimmed hat and sunglasses that specify 95% or greater UVR (ultraviolet radiation) absorption. Wear protective, tightly woven clothing.
• Reapply sunscreen frequently, especially if it is sunny or you are perspiring heavily.
• Always use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with UVA and UVB coverage and a high SPF on all exposed skin, including the lips - even on cloudy days. If exposed to water, either through swimming or sweating, a water-resistant sunscreen should be used.

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LIGHT FACTS

• Sun damage to the skin is cumulative.
• Not all skin is the same. Different skin types respond differently to sunlight. Know your skin type and determine your exposure.
• A suntan can do you more harm than good. A suntan is actually a sign of skin damage. Any level of tanning indicates photo-damage, leading to wrinkling, aging and skin cancer.
• The skin has a memory of all the sun damage that has happened to it before resulting in greater susceptibility to skin cancer.
• Normal, healthy skin acts as a barrier and protects us from injury. Our skin regulates our temperature, receives sensory impulses and synthesizes Vitamin D.
• The skin is the largest organ in the human body.
• More than 90% of non-melanoma skin cancers occur in fair skinned people who tend to burn. However, even though the incidence of skin cancer is lower in dark skinned people, they are nevertheless susceptible to the damaging effects of UV radiation, especially to the effects on the eye and immune system.
• Every 7 minutes someone dies of Melanoma.
• Use of a higher SPF sunscreen helps overcome "user-errors": e.g., Sunscreen use is sporadic, reapplication is not frequent enough or with enough sunscreen.
• The accuracy of the SPF number is questionable as testing is done with much more product than is realistically used when sunscreen is applied. Consider the reality that the true SPF number is about 1/2 or 1/3 of the stated number
• When utilizing titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, the higher the SPF, the more UVA coverage.
• SPF merely addresses the UVB wavelength not UVA, UVC, visible, or infrared light.
• The UVA ray is more difficult to study on human subjects due to the length of time it takes for damage to appear. Aging skin or mutating skin cells are cumulative and can take decades to manifest fully.
• Sun elevation: The higher the sun in the sky, the higher the UV radiation level.
• Latitude: the closer to equatorial regions, the higher the UV radiation levels
• Cloud cover: UV radiation levels are highest under a cloudless sky, but even with cloud cover, they can be high. Altitude: at higher altitudes, a thinner atmosphere absorbs less UV radiation.
• Ozone: ozone absorbs some of the UV radiation that would otherwise reach the earth's surface.
• Ground reflection: grass, soil & water reflect less than 10% of UV radiation; fresh snow reflects as much as 80%; dry beach sand about 15%; sea foam about 25%.
• UVA radiation can penetrate glass. Even casual exposure to sunlight, while driving, walking to the store, taking an outdoor break is incremental in contributing to our cumulative lifetime radiation exposure, resulting in skin damage.
• The UV index, developed by the National Weather Service and the Environmental Protection Agency, is a forecast of the amount of ultraviolet light expected to make it to the earth's surface when the sun is highest in the sky. The higher the index, the faster the UV radiation causes damage to the skin and eyes.
• 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime as a direct result of sun exposure.
• Summer is not the only time to be aware of the sun's impact. The sun can cause significant damage during the winter months. Snow reflects up to 80% of the sun's rays, causing sunburn and damage to uncovered skin. High altitude increases the risk of sunburn, affording less atmosphere to block the sun's rays.
• As the skin absorbs UV radiation from the sun, the melanocytes, the skin cells that produce melanin (pigment), enlarge, increase in number and are transported to cells of the outer skin, giving the sun damaged skin a leather-like appearance
• Some of the damage caused by the sun's ultraviolet radiation are: permanent destruction of the skin's supporting structure; premature wrinkling; pre-cancerous skin lesions; drug reactions; eye damage; dilated blood vessels; sunburn; and skin cancer.
• Ultraviolet radiation is a significant source of eye disease.
• The sun's invisible rays are able to pass through clouds, making the skin almost as susceptible to sunburn on cloudy days as on sunny days.
• UVA light has been shown to have immunosuppression effects and a direct relationship between these effects and skin carcinogensis in humans has been established
• While those with naturally (inherited) dark skin are less prone to melanoma, those with artificially acquired darkened skin (i.e., a tan) do not have the same protection
• Melanoma is the most common cancer for women aged 25-29 and the second most common cancer for women aged 30-34
• The death rate for men over 50 with melanoma has risen 50% in the past 15 years
• The immune system is vulnerable to modification by environmental agents such as UV radiation, which appears to diminish the effectiveness of the immune system by changing the activity and distribution of the cells responsible for triggering immune responses.
• The probability of developing skin cancer in one's lifetime is one in five. Nearly 50% of all Americans age 65 or over will develop skin cancer at least once during their lifetime.
• Skin cancer is the most prevalent of all cancers, with more than a million cases diagnosed each year in the US.
• Skin is more vulnerable to sun damage post surgery or while undergoing treatments such as chemical peels.
• Sunscreen has been proven effective at preventing tumors of squamous cell cancer
• Consider specific products for specific areas. (eg: The face and chest typically receive significantly more exposure than do the back and abdomen.)
   

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SUNLIGHT HAS ITS BENEFITS

Sunlight is a primary source for Vitamin D which helps keep our bones strong. The current recommended daily intake of Vitamin D is 200 IU from birth to age 50, 400 IU between 51 and 70 years, and 600 IU after age 71.

Recent studies suggest that 1,000 IU a day may reduce the incidence of certain cancers - such as those of the ovary, breast and colon - by as much as 50%. That is because Vitamin D strengthens the immune system and controls cell growth.

Vitamin D requirements may also be satisfied by diet (a serving of oily fish contains between 250 and 360 IU, and one tablespoon of cod liver oil has 1,360 IU); supplements (alone or combined with calcium).

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WHO IS LIGHTSENSITIVE?

Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer and pre-malignant conditions: A direct cause and effect relationship has been established between ultraviolet light and skin cancer. Melanoma is life threatening and the most common cancer for women age 25-29. It is the second most common cancer for women 30-34. Melanoma has also been reported as having a 50% increase in death rates in men over 50 during the past 15 years

Lupus: Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disease that can affect single or multiple organ systems, especially the skin. Exposure to sunlight may result in the development of, or an increase in skin rash; more importantly, it may exacerbate the disease. Patients require complete full spectrum sun protection.

Chemotherapy and Post Radiation Therapy: Patients require complete full spectrum protection to help minimize specific drug-induced lightsensitive reactions experienced secondary to chemotherapy and tissue damage as a result of radiation therapy.

Transplant Immunosuppressed Therapy: Patients require complete full spectrum protection from all the damaging rays of the sun since immunosuppression after an organ transplant often puts the patient at risk for the development of skin cancer. One transplant patient can develop many small skin cancers, resulting in an overall risk that one of these cancers can pose a problem and can even cause death if left untreated.

Post Laser Skin Resurfacing, Chemical Peels, Microdermabrasion: Procedures which result in sensitive skin in which the overall healing process can be enhanced through proper sun protection.

Facial Cosmetic Surgery and Facial Trauma: Patients require complete full spectrum protection from the sun's damaging rays.

Vitiligo: A pigmentation disorder in which melanocytes (the cells that make pigment) in the skin are destroyed. As a result, depigmented patches of skin appear on the body. A single event, such as sunburn, can trigger the disorder and the treatment therapies for Vitiligo require that patients use complete full spectrum protection.

Rosacea: Rosacea is a chronic condition, aggravated by sunlight. The disease affects the skin of the face which usually starts with redness on the cheeks and can slowly worsen to include one or more additional symptoms. Patients require full spectrum sun protection and are advised to use non-comedogenic facial products.

Polymorphous Light Eruption: An acquired disease and is the most common of the idiopathic photodermatoses. PMLE is characterized by recurrent, abnormal, delayed reactions to sunlight, (ranging from erythematous papules, papulovesicles, and plaques to erythema multiformeˆêlike lesions on sunlight-exposed surfaces).

Solar Urticaria: An abnormal reaction to sunlight or artificial light. When exposed to light, the skin cells of someone with solar urticaria release potent chemicals (including histamine), causing their blood vessels to open and fluid to collect within the skin. Their skin feels itchy and has red patches, which may be swollen. These may look like wheals or a nettle rash, and can take up to an hour to appear after exposure to light, then coming on quickly and settling within a similar period.

Atopic Dermatitis: A skin disease characterized by areas of severe itching, redness, scaling, and loss of the surface of the skin (excoriation). When the eruption (rash) has been present for a prolonged time, chronic changes occur due to the constant scratching and rubbing known as lichenification (thickening of the skin with accentuation of the skin lines to form a crisscross pattern).

Genetic and Congenital Diseases can cause Heightened Photosensitivity

Bloom Syndrome: a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by telangiectases and photosensitivity, growth deficiency of prenatal onset, variable degrees of immunodeficiency, and increased susceptibility to neoplasms of many sites and types.

Cockayne's syndrome: a rare inherited disorder characterized by growth retardation, photosensitivity, premature ageing and early death. The extent and severity of the clinical symptoms vary in the affected individuals. Onset of symptoms in the second year of life is heralded by a scaly erythematous eruption in the sun-exposed areas of the skin that may resolve, leaving hyperpigmentation or scarring.

Chediak-Higashi syndrome: an inherited disorder of the immune system that results in chronic infection, decreased pigmentation in skin and eyes, neurological disease, and early death.

Darier's disease: also known as "keratosis follicularis", it is a rare genetic disorder that is manifested predominantly by skin changes. Onset of skin changes is usually in adolescence and the disease is usually chronic.

Dermatomyositis: A chronic inflammatory disease of skin and muscle which is associated with patches of slightly raised reddish or scaly rash.

Oculocutaneous Albinism: An hereditary disorder characterized by deficiency of the pigment melanin in the eyes, skin and hair. The lack of eye pigment causes photophobia (sensitivity to light), nystagmus, and decreased visual acuity.

Phenylketonuria: Phenylketonuria (commonly known as PKU) is an inherited disorder that increases the amount of the amino acid phenylalanine to harmful levels in the blood. (Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins.) If PKU is not treated, excess phenylalanine can cause mental retardation and other serious health problems. Children with classic PKU tend to have lighter skin and hair than unaffected family members, because phenylalanine is important for skin pigmentation. Children with the disorder are also likely to have skin disorders such as eczema.

Porphyrias: A diverse group of diseases in which the production of heme is disrupted. Porphyria is derived from the Greek word "porphyra", which means purple. When heme production is faulty, porphyrins are overproduced and lend a reddish-purple color to urine. All forms of porphyrias are inherited. The key clinical features are skin sensitivity to sunlight and/or by intermittent acute attacks of abdominal and nerve pain.

Rothmund-Thomson syndrome: An hereditary disease characterized by progressive degeneration (atrophy), scarring and abnormal pigmentation of the skin together with growth retardation, premature baldness, juvenile cataracts, depressed nasal bridge, and malformations of the teeth, hair, and bone.

Xeroderma pigmentosum: A genetic disease characterized by such extraordinary sensitivity to sunlight that it results in the development of skin cancer at a very early age. Children with xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) can only play outdoors safely after nightfall. They have been called midnight children, the children of the dark, the children of the night and, perjoratively, vampire children.

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PRESCRIPTION DRUGS AND PHOTOSENSITIVITY

Four-hundred drugs are known to cause lightsensitive and photo-allergic reactions. Photosensitivity can be caused by commonly used drugs such as certain antibiotics, birth control pills, diuretics, antihistamines, antidepressants and many retinoids (such as Vitamin A acid).

Commonly Prescribed Drugs That Can Cause Photosensitivity: NSAIDs Chemotherapy Agents Immunosuppressive Agents ACE Inhibitors Statins Quinilones Hydrochlorothiazide Interferon Sulfa Drugs Calcium Channel Blockers Birth Control Pills Antiarrythmic Agents SSRIs Premarin Anti-Depressants Retin A™ Conticosteroids

Many medications as well as certain medical conditions increase one's sensitivity to the sun. Ask your Doctor or Pharmacist.

A. Drugs known to cause photoallergic, photo-recall, lightsensitive and phototoxic reactions by generic name *
 

Sun Damage to the Skin is Cumulative   

1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer in
their lifetime as a direct result of sun exposure