Peoria, ILL. (WMBD)- The Memorial Day weekend is upon us and that means the unofficial start to summer, and the start to sunburn season.
When it comes to summer, UV rays start to get mentioned more and more. There are three types of UV, or ultraviolent, rays. UV-A is the biggest issue when it comes to getting sunburned as these rays easily pass through the stratospheric ozone layer. UV-B is the second type we frequently hear about. These get filtered by the ozone layer, but some of the harmful radiation can make it to the surface and your skin.
Protection from these rays comes down to a few things: sunscreen, hats, sunglasses, and long sleeve shirts. The most common form of protection is of course the sunscreen. OSF Healthcare’s Dr. Brian Curtis says that a minimum of SPF 15 is recommended for everyone. People with fairer skin should lean more towards SPF 50 or higher and people with darker complexions can still run the risk of skin cancer.
Skin cancer is the most common and most treatable type of cancer, especially when caught early. Skin cancer is also a cumulative disease, meaning that even one sunburn can increase your risk.
The UV index is a good way to determine how long it’ll take to get a sunburn. A rating of 6-7 or high is a burn time of around 15-25 minutes. A rating of 8-10 or very high means you should add some sunglasses to your look and damage will occur in 15 minutes. A rating above a 10 is an extreme risk and sun damage will occur in less than 10 minutes.
