Early spring nice days bad sun.

   These first hints of spring are tempting us to get down to swim shorts and go out to catch some rays. Before we do that we should review our ideas and thoughts pertaining to the sun. It can lift our spirits after months of doom and gloom of winter, like the first snow when we drag out all of the snow toys, we do the same in spring. Most likely that first nice day is a false spring, just enough to excite us. The East Coast of the US experienced a false spring, people were at the beach. Then two weeks later they had a significant snow fall. (Blizzard) I wonder if anyone had to wear long johns over sunburn.

The sunshine warms the bones.

   Why are the sun's rays so dangerous? The ozone layer is made up of 3 oxygen atoms, it is the layer that blocks a lot of the sun's ultrviolat rays, too much UV before the age of 18 can cause health problems. This fact makes the using of sun screen an absolute necessity at all ages but critical as a child. The sun can damage your DNA, causing cells to grow out of control, it may lead to skin cancer. Sun Safety is critical.
    What it means to be Sun Safe is taking steps to keep ourselves from being overexposed to the Ultraviolet rays, the CDC has guidlines to prevent skin cancer Here.
Some actions we can take to minimize our exposure are: Stay indoors when the sun is at it's highest, that's between the times of 10:00am and 4:00 pm, if you do go out cover up all exposed skin and wear sunglasses. The UV's are absorbed by your eyes and melanoma or skin cancer can be caused by it. Wear a hat and long sleeve shirt, stay in the shade and drink lots of water. Tanning beds have the same affect as the summer sun.  We get vitamin D from the sun, we get all we need in confines of safe exposure which is about 20 minutes with no sunscreen.
    There are many brands and types of sunscreen available, those with an SPF over 30 are not effective. Make sure to re-apply after swimming or sweating, again drink at least 1/2 gallon of water a day.
    A person would think the states with the most sun have the highest rate of skin cancer, Washington, Oregon and Vermont rank the highest in the US. They are also the cloudiest. Minnesota and Arkansas do not keep statistics.
   

Anyone that has had even a mild sunburn will agree it is painful. Before I lost my hair I went without a hat for a day. My scalp got sunburned through my hair (it was thinning) and my head felt like it was on fire. I don't remember going out without a hat after that.
    To keep from getting burned or worse, use sun screen, watch your exposure times, drink lots of water, cover up as much as possible and re-apply sunscreen through out the day. A little precaution may keep a painful encounter with sunburn an unknown clamity for you, or your children.
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jimandkate
emergencykitsplus.com