Sun Safety
Content Courtesy of the Forever Young Podcast with Christiana Egi and Cherrie-Marie Chiu.
We hope our readers are enjoying their summer so far! It's great to be outside in the fresh air, but there are a lot of things we could all be doing to protect ourselves from the sun's harmful rays. We talked about sun safety in last week's episode of the Forever Young Podcast and discussed how we can protect ourselves from the sun and ultraviolet rays. Even though we know that light-skinned people are at greater risk of some damage, I just want to emphasize that no matter how the color of your skin, it is harmful and health-threatening to spend long periods of time in direct sunlight. Listen to the full episode here:
Without protecting your face from the harmful effects of the UV rays, you are exposing yourself to premature aging, wrinkles, leathery skin, and so forth. You can use all the lotions and potions you want on your face, but if you don't wear sunscreen, none of them will work! There are three classifications of ultraviolet rays depending on their wavelength; UVA, UVB, and UVC. Although they all have damaging effects on the skin and can eventually lead to skin cancer, UVB has a higher effect on causing skin cancer.
Did you know that seniors are particularly susceptible to skin damage? This is because their skin is a lot thinner than the rest of us. So the likelihood of them developing skin cancer and melanoma is more increased. Additionally, bright spring and summer days can be really hot and steamy, and the chances that an older adult may suffer from heat exhaustion and stress are increased.
How can we help the seniors in our lives? It's very important to keep our skin protected from the harmful rays of the sun. We should make sure that our seniors apply sunscreen before going outdoors, and make sure that we are helping the seniors in our lives use some protection. Ideally, we should be looking for a protection cream that offers protection from UVA and UVB rays, as well as a sun protection factor, SPF 30 or above. We should apply sunscreen at least half an hour before going outside and make sure to regularly reapply throughout the day.
When it's super hot and humid we tend to wear a lot less clothing, but wearing long sleeves in the hottest weather can be helpful. In addition to wearing sunscreen, it's important to dress for the weather. Many experts recommend covering up as much skin as possible with light-colored light fabric. Some companies are actually making fabrics that protect us against UV rays, so it's important to wear something that is breathable and that will not make you too hot.
We forget about hats sometimes, right? Hats can help protect our scalp and also offer shade to our face and our eyes. Don't forget that we need to wear sunglasses that points to protect the eyes from the rest of the sun. The National Institute of Health estimates that 20% of cataracts are caused by extended exposure to UV rays. It's important that we help our seniors and loved ones who are older, keep their vision a lot longer by helping them to protect their vision when they go out and encouraging them to wear dark-colored sunglasses. Not to mention sunglasses keep you from squinting in the sun, and that squinting creates crow's feet around your eye.
Okay, so now that we're dressed appropriately, we are wearing our sunscreen and our sunglasses, are there other things we need to consider? You should know the warning signs of heat stress and over exhaustion. Staying hydrated cannot be over-emphasized, so it's very important for caregivers and loved ones, to make sure that seniors constantly drink water while they're out there to keep them hydrated, especially for the period that they're outside. Unfortunately, every year many adults are hospitalized due to health problems caused by high heat and dehydration. We need to be very mindful and have them stay hydrated, especially on the hazy days of the summer. Cycle back to our blog post on Water or listen to the podcast below to learn more about the importance of drinking water.
When you and your senior person go out, please look for shady places where you can rest and recharge. This way you can enjoy the benefit of being outdoors while avoiding direct rays of the sun. And remember to drink water! On particularly hot and humid days, it may be more beneficial to avoid the heat altogether and stay indoors. Similarly, remember that the rays are typically harsher during the middle of the day, between 10 am and 4 pm. So if you wish to go outside, you can go early in the morning or later in the day when it's not so hot out there. Like they say prevention is always key.
I think these hot and humid days are really difficult for everyone, especially our seniors and our young children. So what can we specifically look for in these older and younger people in our lives? Some of the common symptoms of heat stress and hypothermia include fatigue, dizziness, nausea, cramps, or headaches. If your loved one is suffering from severe symptoms, such as mental confusion or a high heart rate, we recommend seeking medical attention immediately.
Dehydration is really detrimental to our health, and it's also really hard with our seniors and the young children in our lives. It's actually one of the leading causes of hospitalization among adults. In the short term, dehydration can cause seniors to feel pain, discomfort, exhaustion, they may experience confusion and dizziness and even suffer from fainting spells. In the long term, seniors who fail to consistently drink water can also experience severe health consequences, including developing kidney stones and suffering from poor cardiovascular health, including low blood pressure and blood clots. Remember in our last podcast episode when we talked with Dr. Elmira, and she said we should be consuming half of our body weight in ounces. Listen to the full episode with Dr. Elmira and Noa Kaufman below.
This is why it's so important for us to encourage our seniors to drink water throughout the day. As we strive to consume more water ourselves, let's remember the seniors in our lives. It's better to prevent dehydration and deal with the harmful effects. Remember, by the time you actually start feeling thirsty, your body's already a little bit dehydrated, even for people who are not seniors.
The Forever Young podcast is created and produced by Christiana and Cherrie Marie Chiu. Produced and engineered by Elisse Hill. The podcast represents our opinions and those of our guests. The content should not be taken as medical advice. It is for informational purposes only. Please consult your health care professional for any medical questions. If you like our show, please tell your friends and leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts. New episodes are available every other Wednesday. Have questions? Email us at ourforeveryoungpodcast@gmail.com.
