When working in the sun, you want to be sure to protect yourself from the effects of dangerous ultraviolet (UV) rays. Exposure to UV rays increases your risk of many health problems including skin cancer, the suppression of your skin’s immune system, early aging, uneven skin pigmentation, serious skin burns that can become infected, and eye problems such as cataracts and others.
While people who don’t work outside have the option of going out during safer times of the day to limit their time in the sun, you won’t have these options when you must work in the sunlight. Therefore, you want to take all necessary precautions to protect yourself.
Wear Longer Clothing
The last thing you want to do on a hot day is wearing a long-sleeved shirt. However, if you wear a thin one, you’ll find you won’t feel as hot as you may have expected. More importantly, you will be protecting the areas of your skin that are covered by the shirt all day. You also want to wear pants instead of shorts.
Keep in mind, some fabrics are better at blocking UV rays than others. Tightly woven fabrics protect you better than loosely woven fabrics. Therefore, lycra, polyester, acrylic, and nylon are more protective than cotton fabrics. Brightly colored shirts also offer more protection than pale ones. A bright orange shirt will offer more UV protection than a white one.
Wear a Hat
When you spend most of your day working in the sun, you can end up with a sunburn on your scalp. Even if you aren’t bald or don’t have thinning hair, you most likely have a part in your hair that can be susceptible to sunburn. Also, wearing a hat will give your face and eyes more protection from the sun’s direct rays. If you can’t wear a hat, a bandana can at least protect your head.
Wear Sunscreen
Of course, when you work outdoors all day, you want to wear sunscreen. However, sunscreen will sweat off and only offer protection for so long. This is where those long clothes really help. You only need to put sunscreen on the exposed areas of your skin. These areas can include your neck, your ears, your face, and the tops of your hands. Reapply often throughout the day.
For most people working in the sun, sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of SPF 15 is advisable. For working outdoors, you also want a sunscreen that advertises it is water and sweat resistant. If you have specific risk factors such as fair skin or a family history of skin cancer, then you should opt for SPF 30.
Wear Sunglasses
When you are going to be working in the sun, you want to have a UV protectant coating put on your prescription glasses. If you don’t wear prescription glasses, then you want to wear sunglasses.
The sunglasses you wear should offer 100 percent protection from both UVA and UVB rays. Not only will the sunglasses protect your eyes, but they will also protect your eyelids from getting sunburned since you won’t want to put sunscreen that close to your eyes.
Know When to Seek Treatment
You should see a dermatologist anytime you are concerned about the condition of your skin. If you have a severe sunburn, you develop age spots, you develop atypical moles, you want to discuss options for wrinkles, or you have any other concerning issues going on with your skin that you feel may be dangerous or that you want to see about treating.
Contact us for an appointment to have your concerns addressed.
