Description of the video:
Hello and welcome to this month's Simon Says Expert Series. I'm Scott Haney, director of strategic partnerships at WTHR Channel 13 and vice president of Outrun Run the Sun's board of directors. Outrun the Sun is Indiana's only nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to skin cancer education and melanoma research. We're proud to have a long-standing partnership with the IU Simon Cancer Center and the IU Fairbanks School of Public Health. Together, we've collaborated on a variety of important programs. We're also grateful for their generous support of our upcoming fundraising event, the SPF 500, benefiting skin cancer education and melanoma research. We invite you to join us on October the 11th at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. If you've not had a chance to check out the newly renovated high-tech interactive museum, this is your chance to do it while also helping out a great cause. You can get tickets and more details at outrunthesun.org. Today's session is titled SPF, UVA, UVB, OMG, making sense of sunscreen. With so much information and misinformation out there, we're honored to welcome a true expert to help set the record straight. Joining us today is Dr. Jiali Han, an internationally renowned epidemiologist specializing in skin cancer. Dr. Han is chair of epidemiology at the IU Fairbanks School of Public Health and he also serves as director of the Epidemiology Consultation Corps at the IU Simon Cancer Center. He's also a proud member of the Outrun the Sun President's Council. Dr. Han, thank you for being here today. We look forward to learning from you. Great to see you, Scott. Happy to be here with you today. Let's kick it off talking about sun safety and what we should know. Yeah. Uh, normally let me ask where do you get your health information? If you are like most people, you probably look online. In fact, about 72% of internet users search for health information on the web. Younger folks especially may check Tik Tok for skin care tips that's now more popular than Google. But here's the thing. Only about 17% of sun protection concern on Tik Tok comes from actual dermatologist. Most of it is from beauty bloggers who may not have medical training. Thank you. Since it's part of our session title today, can you tell us about UVA and UVB? UVA and the UVB are two type of ultraviolet rays from the sun that are harmful to our skin, but they differ in their wavelength, energy level, and how they penetrate the skin. UVA has a longer and longer wavelength penetrated deeper and are the primary cause of premature skin aging. Whereas UVB is shorter high energy waves that cause sunburns that are directly linked to skin cell mutation and most skin cancers. There's also UVC but the UVC is reflected back to the space and not get the surface of the earth. That's the reason we focus on UVA and the B when we talk about skin cancer. Can you talk a little bit about sunscreen usage? Um are we doing a good job using it? People talk about using sunscreen all the time, but not enough of us use sunscreen regularly. Study shows less than 20% of men and about 40% of women regularly put sunscreen on their face. Even fewer people say less than 15% of men and about 30% of women put it on both their face and other exposed skin. And many people don't know that sunscreen need to be applied thoroughly and often not just once. So reapplication is a key factor when it's come to effective sunscreen use. Okay. Hey, you covered UVA and UVB. What about SPF? What does that really mean? SPF stands for sun protection factor. It tells you how much longer you can stay in the sun without burning compared to using no sunscreen at all. If you spend 10 minutes in the sunlight without burning, a lotion as of SPF 30 will multiply this self protection time by 30 to equal 300 minutes. Most of American use SPF 30 or higher. SPF 30 blocks about 97% of harmful UVB whereas SPF 50 blocks about 98%. But no sunscreen block 100% UV rays. A common mistake is not using enough sunscreen. Most of people only apply 20 to 50% of what's need for the protection promised on the label. Here's a rule of thumb. Use about a shot glass full like about one ends for exposed skin. Using higher SPF helps make up for using too little, but even high SPF products need to be reapplied regularly. Broadspectctrum sunscreen blocks UVA by using a combination of chemical and mineral ingredients to absorb or reflect the UV radiation. So ensure you get a UVA protection. Look for board spectrum label on the product. As the SPF reading only measures protection against UVB, not UVA. Though I'm guilty of this. I headed to an event. I stop in a drugstore, pick up sunscreen. Going on a trip, pick up sunscreen. I have all of these bottles of sunscreen in my cabinet. Do they expire? Yes, sunscreen expires. The active ingredients are not active once they are expired. So, always check the expiration day on the sunscreen bottle. Okay. Swimming. If I go if I put sunscreen on before I go swimming, does it really wash off all of it in the water or does some of it stay on to protect my skin? Sunscreen washes off. So you need to reapply after swimming or sweating. So it's very important to reapply the sunscreen time to time. Okay. How often should we be applying sunscreen? Normally you put sunscreen on dry skin for 15 minutes before going out. Then reapply at at least every 2 hours or more often like 80 or 90 minutes if you are swimming or sweating. Don't forget often missed the spots tops of feet, neck, ears, and head. For men, one third of melanoma appears on the back. For women, 20% shows up at the back of the legs. So, don't forget about your lips as well. Using lip balm with SPF 30 or higher. There's some claim that sunscreen causes skin cancer. Can you can you comment on that? Some people think sunscreen might increase the risk of skin cancer because the study shows the people who use sunscreen get more skin cancer. But this is misleading. People who know they will be in the sun a lot tend to use more sunscreen. So it's the sun exposure causing the risk, not the sunscreen. The sunscreen is actually helping protect them is a danger in assuring that or in assuming that putting on the sunscreen by itself is enough to protect you against the sun. Many study have demonstrated that individuals who use sunscreen tend to stay out in the sun for a longer period of time. Thus may actually increase the risk of skin cancer. So there's a lot of choices out there. Uh what's what's the difference between like physical and chemical sunscreen? There are two main type of sunscreens. The physical sunscreens also called the mineral sunscreen use ingredients like zinc oxidize or titani de oxidize. They just sit on top of the skin block UVA and UVB by reflecting them away. Chemical sunscreen use carbon based ingredient that absorb UV rays before they can damage your skin and it is 100% complete clear. Both type works very well when you use correctly. Those even some doctors it's like about 5% have concern about the chemical sunscreen despite years of safety data showingthey are fine to use. Health authorities maintain that the proven benefits of consistent sunscreen use in preventing skin cancer outweigh the unconfirmed risks. But why there's concern about the chemical sunscreen? There's multiple reasons. First, systemic absorption. Some key chemical ingredients are absorbed in our body. But it does not mean they are unsafe, but it does indicate a need for more research into potential long-term effects. And another potential factor is endocrine disruption. Some studies have suggested that ingredient like oxyenzone may act as endocrine disruptor potentially affecting hormones. However, this is largely based on animal models with much higher dose and has not been conclusively proven in human with our daily average dose. But please note, even if you avoid sunscreen with oxyenzone, you may encounter it in other products including plastic, hairspray, and nail polish. So people should be aware that chemical exist in many other common products of daily use. There are some other concern such as skin irritation. The chemical filtered in these products can cause skin irritation or allergic reaction in some people with a sensitive skin, rosacea or eczema. There's also some recall for contamination. Some sunscreen product may have been recalled for contamination with some casino that come from the manufacturing process, not active chemical ingredients themselves. So obviously we've established that number one is sunscreen but beyond that what are other ways to say sunsafe? Remember sunscreen alone is not perfect. I would suggest to take some extra steps. Limited time in direct sunlight, especially between 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. when UV rays are strongest. Second, wear protective clothing, long sleeves, pants, hats, and UV blocking sunglasses. Look for clothes with UPF on the label. UPF stands for the ultraviolet protection factor. Seek shade when possible. Use sunscreen even on cloudy day because about 80% of UV rays still get through the clouds. All right, let's talk suns versus reality. Is it good or bad? There's a survey show about like 5,000 people and we found some concerning beliefs. For example, 78% said they know about sun danger and 80% knew sun burn increased risk of skin cancer. But twothird of people thought sun exposure was good for them. Almost half believe getting a base 10 protect against sun damage. It does not. The truth is more complicated. Yes, sunlight help your body make vitamin D which is important for strong bones, immune system and may help prevent certain diseases. Sun exposure can also boost your mood and might lower the risk of depression. But too much sun leads to burn and increase risk of skin cancer. And no, getting a base 10 does not protect you. Any tan is a sign of skin reaction to UV damage. Everything in moderation. I think I can stop here and let's see some questions from the audience. Thank you Dr. Han for sharing some valuable and practical information. I think we all now have a much clearer understanding of sunscreen and how we can better protect ourselves and our families against skin cancer. Um we have received some excellent questions from the audience. So let's dive into the Q&A session. If you haven't submitted your questions yet, there's still time. You can post your question in the comment box below or in the chat if you're joining us via Facebook. We'll answer as many as we can. All right, the first one. I have thick hair and don't enjoy getting hat hair when I wear a hat. Does my hair protect my scalp? Yes and no. Hair protects the scalp from the sun's harmful UV radiation by acting just as a natural physical barrier. But this protection is significantly reduced for people with the thin, fine or short hair and those who are balding. The density and the thickness of hair are the most important factors for protection. To ensure adequate protection, especially in exposed area like where the hair is thin or your face or neck, you should use the sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher and wear a hat. Thank you. Uh, second question. Skin cancer seems to run in our family. I have a teenage daughter who has just started showing an interest in tanning. What is the best thing to tell her to get her to avoid tanning indoors and out? To discourage your daughter from tanning, emphasize that there's no safe tan and explain long-term risk like skin cancer and premature aging. Especially giving your family history. Offer safer sunless alternatives like a self-tanning lotion or spray tans for that desired look. Consider showing her photos of skin damage and premature aging caused by UV exposure which often resonates more with tin than cancer warning. suggests alternatives like Supreans and or um bronzers if she's concerned about appearance and help her find influencers who promote natural skin tones and sun safety. I want to emphasize one important point. When people say skin cancer runs in the family, it could be due to genetic factors but is more also reflect shared lifestyle pattern in the family. Especially specifically for this case, similar sun exposure habits and some protection practice can play a significant role. Question number three, how quickly does sun protection break down? Sun protection from sunscreen breaks down over time and typically become ineffective after about 2 hours of sun exposure. The rate of breakdown is significantly accelerated by swimming, sweating or toweling off. For standard outdoor activity, you can reapply the sunscreen at least every two hours. This is a general recommendation regardless SPF number. For swimming or heavy sweating, you should reapply immediately after toweling off or after the water resistant time stated on the product label. and water resistant sunscreen are only required to be effective about 40 or 80 minutes. Next question. Uh, what's the skin cancer risk for people of color? Overall, darker skin patients have a low risk of skin cancer. But the skin cancer infects people of all colors, especially in the area when you have a less melanin. Melanin is something produced in the skin, make the skin look tanner and provide natural protection. Even you have a darker skin tone, always a tan and rarely get a burn, you can still develop the disease. For people of color, skin cancer is often diagnosed later when it's harder to treat. People looking to ward off the aging effects from the sun would still benefit from sun protective habits which includes sunscreen, sun protective clothing and the sun avoidance. Does wearing sunscreen protect you at risk for vitamin D deficiency? Does this mean that you should skip it? It is true that a sunscreen blocks UVB rays that are important for generating vitamin D in the skin. However, because most of people apply far less than the recommended amount of the sunscreen, so user typically on deficient in vitamin D. If you are concerned that a sunscreen may put you at the risk of vitamin D deficiency or inefficiency, insufficiency, there is a a easy solution. Your doctor can recommend a vitamin D supplement such as 800 international units of vitamin D3 daily. Some experts recommend spending like 10 to 15 minutes in the sun each day before applying sunscreen. But there's also debate about this whether this is actually necessary because vitamin D now can be obtained from the food or supplement. You know milk and fish and other foods have a lot of vitamin D's. So concerns about vitamin D deficiency should not be a reason to avoid sunscreen. Thank you. Is SPF found in makeup or foundation enough or do we need to add additional SPF? No. Makeup with SPF is not enough. You must apply a separate broadspectctrum sunscreen with SPF at least 30 as a first step in your routine to achieve adequate sun protection. Applying enough makeup to get the full benefit of its SPF is very unlikely and is often not reapplied frequently enough throughout the day to protect consistent protection. So why makeup SPF may not be sufficient? the quantity may not be sufficient to achieve the stated SPF. You would need apply a very thick even layer of makeup which is not how people typically wear foundation and there's inconsistent application. makeup is not reapplied every 2 hours as recommended for effective sunscreen use. And the many SPF makeup products have a lower SPF rating compared to dedicated sunscreen products. Next question. I am a longtime cyclist and have had skin cancer removed. I just want to remind everyone that even though there aren't they aren't necessarily laying out in the sun on the beach, they're still getting sun damage when they are cycling, running, or walking outdoors. That's a wonderful comment, and we thank you for reminding everybody about the daily sun exposure, clothing, hats, sunscreen, and the shade. Thank you again, Dr. Han. We have answered all of our questions. Um, so we'll wrap up here. Uh, on behalf of the IU Simon Cancer Center and Outrun the Sun, thank you all for being a part of today's session. If you missed anything or want to share this with others, a recording of today's session will be available at cancer.iu.eduonsman says. And for more information about Outrun the Sun and how you can get involved, please visit us at outruntheson.org. Thank you again for joining us. Enjoy your day and don't forget to wear your sunscreen.
