Sunscreen: Not your only layer of defence

It's easy to head out into the summer heat thinking you're protected because of all that sunscreen you've slathered on. You've judiciously checked the labels and decided on a sunscreen with an SPF rating of 30 or more. Slap it on and soak up the sun without fear of burning. But Canadian dermatologists say you could be setting yourself up for trouble. There are 75,000 new cases of skin cancer in the country every year. "We estimate that from one in five to one in seven people will develop a skin cancer during the course of their lifetime," Vancouver dermatologist Dr. Jason Rivers told CBC News. "Unfortunately, the incidence rates have more than doubled in the last 20 years for all types of skin cancer." "Further, in North America, someone dies from a skin cancer every hour, so this is obviously a problem that we have to deal with because it is largely preventable." Australia's Stuart Appleby applies sunscreen to his face during a practice round for the British Open golf championship in 2003. (Alastair Grant/Associated Press)Rivers says one of the biggest mistakes people make about sunscreen is they don't use enough of it. If you buy one tube in the spring and still have some left at the end of summer, you're not using enough, unless, of course, you've spent the whole summer indoors. Rivers says a 120-millilitre tube of sunscreen is only good for about four or five applications. You should be applying approximately a shot glass full of sunscreen about half an hour before you go outside. You should also re-apply sunscreen every few hours, especially if you're swimming, riding, running or playing other sports. Another problem is that many people don't purchase the proper kind of sunscreen. You should get a sunscreen that offers broad protection from both UVA and UVB rays.

After reading this I thought to myself I never really put on sunscreen so this freaked me out. But this article stresses the importance of sunscreen to prevent skin cancer which is treatable but obviously not wanted and dangerous. Now, during my summer and my vacations I will definitely put on sunscreen and reapply it when I come out of the water and every hour or so. You should do the same to prevent skin cancer and just a simply a sun burn.

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/05/21/f-health-sunscreen.html