I’m not usually an outdoors type, but this past weekend, I spent hours under the sun. Much of it was under an umbrella, but not all of it by a longshot.
I had sunscreen on hand, and I did use it, but I didn’t cover my face as much as I should’ve. Result? Arms are fine, except for a few spots that were redder than others. But my face? Ugh.
There are now spots that are like scrapes on my left cheek. Skin is peeling off on cheeks, around mouth, and forehead. Those parts are my fault entirely; I should’ve put sunscreen there. But then there’s my nose, where the skin is cracking, like it was ultra-dry (which of course it is). I DID put sunscreen there, but it still got burnt. Still, that’s partly my fault too, since I forgot to reapply sunscreen partway through the day on Saturday (though I did on Sunday). And there’s my ears. I didn’t even occur to me to put sunscreen on my frickin’ EARS. So much the worse for me.
Like I said, it’s my fault for skimping, and for thinking my face would be shadowed by my cap. But it’s still annoying and painful. Oh, well - if I get malignant melanoma, at least I know the sunscreen wouldn’t have helped (if Wikipedia is to be believed).
(Odd thing, though; when I got home Sunday, the skin on my neck - where I also put sunscreen - was very red, enough to see where my shirt neckline was. But the very next day, the redness was mostly gone, the neckline much much less visible. It obviously couldn’t have been sunburn in that case, but it was still odd…)
I burn so easily that I carry SPF 30 or higher with me at all times from March to November. The jury may be out on whether or not it prevents cancer but it sure as hell keeps me from being in extreme amounts of pain for days at a time after being in the sun. I wish all the people in the world would adapt to being active at night so I wouldn’t have to be out and exposed to the day star to go about my life. shakes fist at the sun
Yeah. The first time I went to Aruba, I got a serious sunburn and I was in the shade 100% of the time that day. And it wasn’t left over from the day before or anything. That seemed odd, as I grew up at the beach and that has never happened before.
I once got sunburned after 45 minutes of sitting in the shade. At 9 AM.
Granted, this is at high altitude, and it wasn’t a particularly bad burn, but I was still red for a couple days. Someone with skin like mine really has no business at any significant altitude, and I figure that by the time I finally leave this place, I’ll have destroyed any probability of not getting skin cancer some day.
My daughter got burnt to a crisp on Day 1 of our recent trip to Maui. She slathered herself several times with SPF 45 but to no avail. She’s fair complected and she just can’t be in the sun. She still has blisters on her shoulders from it and will probably scar.
On Day 2 we got smart and bought a round of those anti-chafing/anti-sun surfer shirts for $25. Cheaper than sunscreen and re-usable! And we all snorkeled to our heart’s content without fear of getting burned.
As an added bonus, I must say Mr. Pundit looked quite yummy in it.
That’s what I got (shirt and shorts) for the cruise to the Caribbean–worked out great. That’s also where I learned the tip to sunscreen the part in one’s hair.
Update: I now see not one, but TWO small brown spots on my nose that I’d never noticed before. I don’t THINK it can be any kind of cancer caused by the weekend, since it’s only been a few days… I think they’re just pimples, but it’s sure disconcerting.
My worst one was in a Brazilian summer (i.e. January) many years ago. The sun was straight overhead, it was well into the hundreds, and the water felt great.
It took only an hour or so to get such a bad sunburn that I had a Speedo-shaped tan for two years after that. I was in agony for several days after the incident and tried everything anyone could think of to alleviate the pain.
My secret weapon for soothing sunburn is Desitin creamy. Yes it is for diaper rash, but the aloe in it almost “cures” sunburn.
And, of course, Desitin does not rub on clear like regular lotion so only use it on your face when you’re not planning on going out in public There’s a clear desitin now but it doesn’t have aloe so I’m not sure how effective it would be.
Just be thankful that it could have been a whole lot worse had you been on a glacier :eek:
One guy I met had been walking over a glacier in summer. He was covered in high factor sun screen but was wearing shorts. The sun bounced off the white white snow, up his leg and burned the tops of his thighs so bad he had to sleep spread-eagled for fear of chaffing. Never wear shorts on a glacier.
On the same trip a companion of mine managed to burn the inside of her nostrils by the same mechanism. She did have rather a big nose, though don’t tell her I said so - rather sensitive on the subject, especially after it all swelled up (is there a schadenfreude smiley?)
Count me in, too!
I have somehow burned ONE leg to excruciating pain. The left one is killing me, the right one is tickety-boo. How on earth did I manage that?
At least my face is back to normal - I did not blend the sunscreen on my face very well, and had a diagonal slash of sunburn on my otherwise pasty face. Cute.
It still beats the time many years ago when I fell asleep on my stomach and burned the backs of my legs aand the soles of my feet. I do not recommend that at all.
Gahhhh! Now I have, like, FIVE OR SIX new moles/brown spots on my face! (New = never noticed before.)
Considering the amount of sunscreen I put on my face this past Saturday, that might be a huge factor. Nevertheless, it’s a reminder of what the past sunburn did to me.
Wikipedia may not be the world’s best source of information on protecting yourself against melanoma.
Exposure to ultraviolet radiation (i.e. sun exposure) is the single biggest modifiable risk factor for melanoma.
There is a degree of controversy over just how much sunscreens protect against melanoma (limited evidence suggesting an association between melanoma and sunscreen use may actually be due to overall greater sun exposure in this population).
There’s been a big p.r. push lately by the tanning bed industry to minimize risks of melanoma associated with tanning, aided by one maverick dermatopathologist.
Even if you found this minority view believable, there’s no room for doubt that excessive sun increases your risk of other types of skin cancer.
There’s a