Sun Safety
By Megan Z, and Savan S
How Dangerous is the Sun?
The sun can feel nice on your skin on chilly days but what you may not know is that even on days like these, the sun can cause a lot of damage to your skin. The sun has invisible ultraviolet rays that can give you sunburn, eye problems, weaken your immune system, give you unsightly spots, wrinkles, or leathery skin. it can even give you skin cancer. Not to mention the sun will do almost all of its damage to your skin before your 18th birthday! And sad to say but its not just the sun, sunlamps and tanning beds also have the harmful rays.
It doesn't matter who you are, we are all potentially susceptible to the effects of the UV rays and need to take precautions to protect our skin. Even if it does effect everyone the people who need to be the most careful are people with pale skin, blond, red, or light brown hair, and has had a family member who's had skin cancer before. Whether you are in the water, skiing in snow, or just walking outside, the suns rays will affect your skin at any time or place.
How to: Stay Safe in the Sun
As dangerous as the sun can be, there is still ways you can be outside with out getting hurt. You just need to protect yourself. Here are the ways you can help protect yourself from the sun:
- Avoid being outside when the sun is the strongest. Thats when its between 10am and 4pm. Even on a cloudy day, 80% of the suns rays can still get through them.
- Stay in the shade.
- Wear clothes that cover as much of your body as you can. You can wear a wide-brimmed hat, long sleeves, and long pants.
- Get good sunscreen. Check the labels and make sure it has a SPF of 15 or more, it has "broad spectrum" protection, and its water resistant.
- lastly use sunscreen the right way! Apply is on all uncovered skin especially your lips, ears, nose, neck, feet, and hands. And apply it 15 minutes before going out into the sun.
How To Stay Safe In The Sun