Dr. Heck provides useful tips to help you prevent skin cancer.
Dr. Heck:
So a few tips to avoid skin cancer – avoiding sun is the most important thing you could do and you can do that by staying out of the sun from 10:00 to 4:00. If you can be in the sun from 10:00 to 4:00, or anytime, you want to apply a broad-spectrum sunscreen SPF 30 or greater.
Quite a few different clothing manufacturers make clothing with SPF impregnated in the clothing. So broad brimmed hats with SPF are wonderful. You can even obtain a laundry detergent that gives your clothes SPF 30 that lasts for 30 washings.
There’s really no optimal exposure to the sun. The sun is a carcinogen and so to get adequate vitamin D levels we recommend taking supplements in oral form.
Whether or not you plan on being in the sun you should make application of sunscreen part of your normal morning routine because the UVA rays can make it through windows such as car windows and that’s why frequently the left side of the face looks slightly more aged than the right because of a lifetime of driving.
About Dr. Shannon Heck, M.D.:
Shannon Heck, M.D., F.A.A.D., is a board certified dermatologist and a partner in a large, thriving dermatologic practice in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona. She specializes in general and cosmetic dermatology.