National Sunscreen Day falls every year on the Friday before Memorial Day. The National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention calls it “Don’t Fry Day”, which is another way to say, use sunscreen and other tools to protect your family’s skin while enjoying the outdoors.
The sun shines most of the year in the Coastal Bend, which is why sunscreen and sun protection is so important. From skincancerprevention.org:
- “Each year in the U.S., there are more new cases of skin cancer than new cases of breast, prostate, lung, and colon cancer COMBINED.
- One in five children will grow up to get skin cancer.
- The incidence of many common cancers is falling, but the incidence of melanoma continues to rise significantly, at a rate faster than that of any of the seven most common cancers.
- Melanoma is the second most common form of cancer for young adults ages 15 – 29.
- Melanoma is the most common form of cancer for young adults ages 25 – 29.”
Here’s another way to look at it:
Courtesy skincancerprevention.org:
Do I have your attention now? Good. Here are some items or actions you can take to reduce your sun exposure and protect your family’s skin.
- Use sunscreen and use it properly by applying at least 15 minutes before going out into the sun. Read more HERE.
- Wear a shirt.
- Wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Wear sunglasses.
- Avoid the sun between 10am and 4pm when the sun’s rays are strongest.
Some other ideas to promote sunscreen use:
- As you wrap up your (home) school year, incorporate a lesson on sun safety and ask kids to draw a picture or poster showing sunscreen use.
- If you plan on getting end of school year gifts for teachers or school staff, include bottles of sunscreen or lip balm with SPF.
- Download the UV Index Widget – Worldwide app on your smartphone to check the UV index in your area.
National Sunscreen Day is one day designed to highlight the importance of sunscreen use. Please, please incorporate sunscreen use into your family’s routine every day. Your family’s skin will thank you!
