Protect Your Skin!

With such sunny days this summer, it is so important to our family doctors that you and your family take care of your skin. UV rays can cause a variety of short and long-term effects on your skin such as sunburn, change in pigmentation, accelerated aging, and even skin cancer. With skin cancer being the most common type of cancer to affect people, we want to rest assured that your family’s wellness maintains when exposed to our Dallas rays.

Our first suggestion is to avoid being in the sun for long periods of time. We understand that many extracurricular activities take place outside such as sports, swimming and even some nice Texas barbecues, so if there happens to be shade around, spend as much time as you can inside of it, your skin will thank you. Also, remember that many recreation centers and gyms in our hot and humid Dallas area have indoor pools and other activities, so we recommend that you take advantage of doing your exercises indoors if the sun is beating down too hard one day.
Another suggestion we have is to cover up as much as possible. Sleeves and hats can benefit your health by preventing UV rays from direct contact with your skin. The more surface area you can cover, the better the prevention. If you feel that you would like to wear long sleeves, our Dr. Bescos suggests light, breathable fabric and light colors so that you do not succumb to heat exhaustion in our North Texas hot summers. She also recommends that you wear a hat whenever possible, especially for those who have their scalps exposed to the sun all day, they can burn, too!

Our last recommendation is to wear sunscreen! Yes, darker skin is less susceptible to harm from UV rays, but we highly recommend that everybody wear sunscreen if you know you will be spending time outside this summer. Remember, sunscreen does not last all day, so be sure to reapply as your bottle instructs you to do so that it can perform at its finest for your skin. When swimming, make sure to completely rub it into your skin, and to also reapply when exiting the pool. The water can wash off much of the sunscreen, which will cause more exposure.

Please, protect you and your family’s skin, and enjoy what remains of our summer in a healthy way!