Four Myths About Sunscreens

Four myths about sunscreens

In summer, when sun activity is at its peak, it is important to remember to protect your skin. If you are not in the shade all the time and do not always wear long sleeves and a wide-brimmed hat, then it is advisable to use sunscreen. This is a standard recommendation supported by oncologists in all countries. What are the arguments of her opponents?

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This is bad for the bones

Some may worry that UV protection will drastically reduce vitamin D production. In theory, this should have an impact on bone health in the first place.

You should be aware that in summer we usually get significantly more solar radiation than is required to produce enough vitamin D. This requires about a third of the dose that causes a sunburn (less than is needed for tanning). Studies have shown that people who use sunscreen produce vitamin D well.

Sunscreens are toxic

The toxicity of cosmetic products may depend on how well their market is regulated in a particular country. They should be purchased from pharmacies using well known brands.

There is evidence that components of sunscreens that can affect hormone function can enter the bloodstream. But the study that showed this was using doses of cream that people don't apply on themselves in real life. Therefore, today it is difficult to judge the negative effect of the cream on hormones.

In the blood of people who intensively use sunscreen, other components (for example, avobenzone, oxybenzone and others) have been found. But now it is not known whether it is harmful to health.

The US Food and Drug Administration believes that this should not be an argument against using the cream.

Sunscreen won't help if someone has skin cancer in the family

Genetic factors may indeed play a role in the development of melanoma. A family history may increase the risk of skin cancer, but sun exposure is an additional risk factor. Sunscreen is known to reduce the likelihood of melanoma in people with a family history of melanoma.

From middle age, it's too late to use sunscreen

Some studies show that sunburn at a young age has a greater effect on the risk of melanoma and basal cell carcinoma of the skin than later in life. But the cream must protect against a further increase in the likelihood of these tumors. In addition, no such age dependence was found for squamous cell carcinoma. It is also known that after the age of 40, sunscreen reduces the risk of pre-cancerous skin lesions - actinic keratosis.