I currently work for the Penn State Police as an Auxiliary Officer. I had the chance to work for the season opening game for Penn State football against Kent State university. Whenever there is an even on campus we are present at these events. For the most part for football weekends we are out in different locations of campus or you can be directing traffic but one thing for sure is that you will be out in a sun for long periods of time. I wasn’t aware of how long we would be out in the sun and being that my skin color is dark and I wanted to test my luck and didn’t believe I would need any sun screen for the day or wear any protective gear. For the beginning of the shift I was fine because early in the morning the sun isn’t very potent so I wasn’t worried. As the hours went by and the sun’s rays started getting stronger and I still didn’t apply any sun screen or use and shades. At the end of my shift I was burned I was darker than when I started the shift.
According to this awesome article from 10 in the morning through 4 in the afternoon that is the time when the sun’s rays are strongest and can do a lot of harm if you aren’t well protected. It is important to wear protective wear if your going to be out in the sun for a long period of time. The articles says that a persons skin can start to burn after 20 minutes of being out in the sun without any protection. Something that really caught my attention towards the end of the article is that everyone should use sun screen; even if you are of a dark skin complexion. It is essential that we use sun screen that has preferably SPF 15 because it will keep our skin protected and avoid any skin diseases.
Although being out in the sun can have its negative effects it also has benefits. It is important that we are out and be in the sun for a little because the sun provides vitamin D. According to healthyeating.sfgate.com it says that for us youngsters being out in the sun a couple of times a week we absorb the Vitamin D that our skin needs.
What I got out all of this is that It that we aren’t super human. It is truly important that we protect our skin. We must use sun screen if we will be outside and exposing our skin to sun for a long period of time. There isn’t one type of skin color that isn’t prone to getting sun burn. So we must stay protected from the sun at all times.
Source:
http://www.americanskin.org/resource/safety.php
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/much-vitamin-d-absorbed-body-sunlight-5668.html
Picture:
http://onegoodthingbyjillee.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Will-Ferrell-sunburn.jpg
I am addicted to the sun. Since a young age I have loved laying out and soaking in the sun. However I have fair skin so this has always posed some problems. I used to think I would not get tan if I wore sunscreen but as I have matured I realized I was wrong. The uv rays and the sun index have enough power to give you just the right amount of color while you keep your skin safe. Great post, I really enjoyed reading it.
Being a man of Irish decent this post is extremely valid. My family loves to vacation in Long Beach Island, New Jersey at the jersey shore and my mother always tells me to put sunscreen on every 15 minutes to a half hour. Before going out to direct traffic or knowing that you will be out in the sun I would recommend sunscreen. From personal experience there is nothing worse than sun burn, especially when it gets so bad that blisters begin to form and you begin to peel and even puss (I know it sounds gross). I always apply a heavy SPF. Also, i recommend to go to a dermatologist to check the whole body for skin cancer because it is surprisingly very common. Another thing is to check the UV index when outside even in the winter. Here’s a link to show you more about why to use sunscreen.
https://www.aad.org/media/stats/prevention-and-care/sunscreen-faqs