By Claire Cox
Valley Voices Staff Writer
Teens sprung from school for the summer don’t always think about the damaging potential of the blazing sun, but experts say preventing long-term damage should be a teenagers’ foremost outdoor activity.
Most often the effects of sun damage appear later in life, but according to family nurse practitioner Emily Brewer, more than 80 percent of the signs of skin aging in adults results from tanning during teen years.
“There is no such thing as a safe amount of sun exposure,” Ms. Brewer said. She recommends sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or greater applied 30 minutes before UV exposure and reapplication every two hours to keep skin protected.
When asked how they prepare for periods of sun exposure, some teens said they’re only intermittently concerned with the possible damages from sun exposure.
“I use sunscreen when I go outside to tan because my skin burns really easily, but when I play soccer I don’t think about it,” said Kayla Toth, a sophomore at Boyd-Buchanan School. “I’m not outside tanning that much, so I’m not really worried about skin cancer or anything like that.”
Not only do some teens, at times, fail to protect their skin from sun exposure, many, like Kayla, actively seek it for the tan it gives their skin.
Not all teens are so cavalier about safe tanning. Some already have experienced the effects of skin damage and have a much different attitude toward skin protection.
When Soddy-Daisy High School junior Taylor Gibson had a mole removed in December 2007, the dermatologist determined it to be dysplastic, a common type of skin damage. Dysplastic moles are considered to be a precursor for melanoma, which is the most deadly form of skin cancer, Ms. Brewer said.
Taylor said she now uses sunscreen daily, avoids tanning beds and likes to tell people that “pale is the new tan.”
“It left a scar, which I see every day as a reminder of the damages that the sun can do,” she said.
Claire Cox is a student at Red Bank High School.
ACRONYM
Emily Brewer, a family nurse practitioner with the office of Dr. C. Rodney Susong, said the “ABCDE” rule can help to identify potentially dangerous skin lesions.
A — Asymmetry (one half of the lesion doesn’t look like the other half)
B — Border (the edges are irregular, uneven or blurred)
C — Color (the colors vary)
D — Diameter (should be 6 mm or less, no bigger than a pencil eraser)
E — Evolving (any changes are significant)
Source: Emily Brewer, family nurse practitioner with the office of C. Rodney Susong, M.D.
RISK FACTOR
Several factors put an individual at a higher risk for developing skin cancers, including:
* Fair skin (blond/red hair, blue eyes, freckle or sunburn easily)
* History of sunburns (risk is doubled with five or more burns)
* Excessive sun/UV exposure (sunlight or tanning bed)
* Multiple moles
* Precancerous skin lesions
* Family history of skin cancer
Source: Emily Brewer, family nurse practitioner