ROANOKE, Va. – The pools are open and the heat is on, but before you or your family makes a splash this summer, be sure to lather up.
“It should be applied 15 minutes before you’re going to enter the water, or even 15 minutes before you go outdoors so it has a chance to dry and give that layer to your skin so it can protect it,” said Dr. Tara Stone, DNP of LewisGale Medical Center.
The FDA recommends wearing a sunscreen of 15 SPF or higher daily no matter the time of year. Stone says at least 30 SPF for adults if you’re in the sun and the higher the better for kids.
“50 is kind of an average, and it’s more an average of 50-70 SPF for children,” she added.
Sunscreen should be applied every two hours, especially if you plan on getting in the water. There are other ways to protect your skin as well.
“Long sleeves, some people like the sun shirts, so you still stay cool even with long sleeves on, hat, sunglasses, umbrella.”
Whether you have fair skin or tan easily, everyone is at risk for skin cancer.
“In primary care, we biopsy spots that look abnormal on various types of skin, so anybody is at risk for skin cancer.”
If you’re ready to beat the heat, or catch some rays, be sure to slide into summer safely.