WITH the recent hot weather, most will have been wary of harmful UV exporsure, however a local doctor has warned hat even on sunny days everyone should still take steps to protect against skin cancer.<\/p>\n
With cases of skin cancer continuing to rise, the Western Trust\u2019s Dr James Irwin encouraged everyone to take extra care when spending time outdoors.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough Northern Ireland is not typically known for a sunny climate, we can still experience significant UV exposure, even on cloudy days, as UV rays can pass through clouds and glass,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cCombined with the common skin types in this region, this means the risk of developing skin cancer remains high.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe risk is even higher for people who use sunbeds. Using a sunbed before the age of 35 increases your lifetime risk of skin cancer by around 75 per-cent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe UV light from tanning devices damages the DNA in skin cells and is classified alongside substances like asbestos and tobacco as a major cause of cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Skin cancer is now the most common cancer in the North,\u00a0with around 11 new cases diagnosed every day.<\/p>\n
Across the UK, one in four men and one in five women will develop a form of skin cancer in their lifetime. The most serious type, malignant melanoma, is expected to increase by 28 per-cent\u00a0by 2040.<\/p>\n
Dr Irwin said most cases of serious skin cancer can be avoided, however.<\/p>\n
\u201cAround 85 per-cent\u00a0of melanomas are avoidable by limiting exposure to UV,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSimple steps can make a big difference, such as seeking shade during the hottest part of the day, between 10am and 4pm, and wearing clothing that covers your skin, along with a hat to protect your face and scalp.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also highlighted correct sunscreen use as key protection against UV damage.<\/p>\n
Daily application helps guard against UVB rays, with reapplication needed every two hours, especially after swimming or prolonged sun exposure.<\/p>\n
He also advised choosing broad-spectrum protection against UVA and UVB rays, and regularly checking skin for changes or unusual lesions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WITH the recent hot weather, most will have been wary of harmful UV exporsure, however a local doctor…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":522492,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[258,22073,40056,103,61,60,20066],"class_list":["post-522491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-cancer","tag-cancer-diagnosis","tag-diagnosis","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-skin-cancer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=522491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522491\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/522492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=522491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=522491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=522491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}