insideKENT Magazine Issue 39 - June 2015 | Page 93
HEALTH+WELLNESS
TAKE CARE IN THE SUN
all you need to know about
sunburn
BY LISAMARIE LAMB
We all know what it’s like – the first few rays of actual hot-enough-to-sunbathe
sun and we go a little bit warm-weather loopy. Getting the right amount of sun
is good for us in part, as our bodies can absorb the vitamin D it produces, giving
us healthy bones and teeth. Brilliant! But too much sun is definitely not a good
idea, and the health implications it can bring with it can be devastating.
The most obvious – and immediate – result of
too much hot sun is sunburn. It can happen
quickly – so fast in fact that it often isn’t noticed
until much later, when someone points out the
pinkness (or bright redness) of our skin, or when
we get into the shower or bath and realise that
the hot water is actually hurting our sensitive skin.
One moment you could be safely enjoying the
sunshine, and the next you could be in some
incredibly intense pain. Factors such as a cool
breeze or dipping in and out of the sea, a pool,
or evening paddling in the garden can all trick us
into not realising quite what is happening – until
it is too late.
Sunburn is caused by the ultraviolet (UV) rays
coming from the sun. It is, in other words, a form
of radiation burn, and it affects us differently,
depending on our skin tone, where on our bodies
we have been burned (our feet, for example, fare
badly when it comes to burning, but our faces –
because they are usually exposed to Mother
Nature – won’t burn quite so much). The main
symptoms include red skin that is sensitive and
hot to the touch. It can also be itchy, and this is
caused by the skin cont