Saturday Short Subjects: Safe Fun in the Sun– 2013 Edition

For the last several years, at the start of Summer, I have compiled and posted some best tips for protecting yourself while having fun in the sun. In the northern hemisphere, late June is the time of year when the sun’s rays are the longest and most powerful. Check out this animated graphic if you need convincing. It is also the season when many people spend more time outdoors. 

Being out in the sun can lift your spirits, making you feel good. But unprotected exposure to intense sunlight increases the risk of skin cancer. Skin cancer accounts for nearly half of all cancers in the United States; over 12,000 people die from skin cancer each year. If you are going to be out in the summer sun, particularly between the hours of 10 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon, you really should take some precautionary measures.

EVERYONE who spends time outdoors at this time of year needs a good sunscreen, no matter how dark you are or how easily you tan. All sunscreens are not created equal, and it is impossible to judge the effectiveness of a product from its label alone.

Here are two places to turn for some expert assistance. GoodGuide and the Environmental Working Group (EWG) are excellent sources of the latest test results on sunscreen effectiveness and safety.  Both have updated reports. Here is a link to EWG’s 2013 Guide to Safer Sunscreens and here is one to GoodGuide’s Ratings. 

GoodGuide is also available as a free app for Android and iPhone. Once you have installed the app, simply scan a product barcode, and, if it is in the GoodGuide database, you will get its rating instantly. GoodGuide is particularly useful if you don’t have time to shop online and are limited to the selection in your neighborhood store. You may not be able to purchase the highest rated product, but GoodGuide will help you make the best choice of what is available.

DRINK PLENTY OF WATER. [Popsicles work, too, especially the juice ones you make yourself.]

And, DON’T FORGET A HAT. Tilley, Sunday Afternoons, and Outdoor Research offer protective headgear in a wide range of styles. Some hats can even make you feel cooler. They can be found in outdoor outfitters including EMS, REI, and TrailBlazer, as well as online. Hats can be serious, silly,  stylish — whatever works for you. If you insist on wearing a baseball cap, be sure to protect your neck and ears.

Me and my hat in Point Lobos, CA — ready for adventure

Here’s wishing you a safe and happy summer… Good times.

Why Saturday Short Subjects? Some readers may recall  being dropped at the movie theater for the Saturday matinee — two action-packed feature films with a series of short subjects (cartoons or short movies, sometimes a serial cliffhanger) sandwiched in between. Often the short subjects were the most memorable, and enjoyable, part of the morning. That explains the name. The reason behind these particular posts is that we are all short on time. My Short Subject posts should not take me as long to write or you as long to read (or try).

Safe Fun in the Sun Redux

While records were being broken in my region last week, most people were hunkering down in the A/C whenever they could.

The temperature last Friday in NYC — 104° — was the highest ever on that date, breaking a record set in 1957. In Boston, the 103° temperature matched the July 22 record reached in 1926. Some 35 miles from here, the day’s 103° temperature was the hottest ever recorded in the greater Hartford area.

  

As if these temperatures weren’t bad enough, the problems with the heat were compounded by high humidity, leading to extraordinarily high heat indexes. In short, the heat index is a measure of how hot it really feels once you factor in the humidity. This site explains what the Heat Index is and how the formula is derived, provides a Heat Index Calculator, and includes a chart indicating how dangerous it is for almost anyone whenever it is over 90° and even the least bit humid. It was very humid during the heat wave of last week. In some places it felt like 107°. 

We are enjoying a bit of a respite here (although Saturday may be another doozie as my Dad used to say), and nature lovers and those with cabin fever are venturing out once again. I’m hoping for an afternoon at Hammonasset State Park one day soon. 

It’s only been about a month since the Summer Solstice. When the sun is shining, its rays are still pretty direct (i.e. strong) in our part of the world. Check out this interactive graphic to watch how this changes throughout the year.  Early last Summer I wrote a popular post on tips for Safe Fun in the Sun to help you prepare for the season. Most of what it contains still holds true, but there is some updated info on sunscreens which I’d like to pass on to you.

First up:

The 2011 Environmental Working Group Sunscreen Guide was released late in June. 

Second:

Over the past year I have become a big fan of GoodGuide. GoodGuide rates products for Health (of the consumer), Environment (how environmentally friendly the company is), and Society (how the company stands on labor and human rights) on a scale of 1-10. You can read more here. You can currently browse over 115,000 products for their ratings. Each category is also broken down into “Top Rated” and “Bottom Rated” for a quick read.

GoodGuide was founded in 2007 by Dara O'Rourke, a professor of environmental and labor policy at the University of California at Berkeley. Chief Scientist is Bill Pease, an expert in chemical risk assessment and creator of the pollution information resource, scorecard.org., which allows the user to find the biggest polluters in his or her community by entering a zipcode.

GoodGuide is available as a free app for both Android and Apple phones. We gave it a try in a CVS while on vacation when our sunscreen ran low. Use the phone’s camera to scan the barcode of a product in which you are interested, and if it is in the GoodGuide database, you will instantly get the rating.  We learned that the tube of Burt’s Bees sunscreen I had picked off the shelf was rated 7.8 overall (8.0 for health, 8.1 for environment, and 7.3 for society), placing it in the top 15, and the only product on the list actually in the store. We bought it.

GoodGuide is adding more products everyday. If the one you scanned is not yet rated, search GoodGuide by category for a list of similar products in the database, and then check the list against what’s in stock on the store shelves to see what your choices are. If you don’t find what you are looking for, be sure to send GoodGuide a rating request.

That wraps up what I have on sunscreens. Check out my earlier post for advice on hats and the best time of day to stay indoors.

Please protect Yourself. Skin cancer is on the rise; there are now over one million cases diagnosed each year. It can be deadly. But you can also lower your risk by following some or all of this pretty simple advice. Whatever you do, stay away from tanning beds. 

Wishing you good weather and fun times in the remaining days of Summer…