Sunscreens may improve, but shade kids
(AP)Updated: 2007-06-12 14:18
Here's the problem: Until recently, sunscreens have filtered out mostly UVB rays that cause sunburns, not UVA rays, meaning people who depended only on sunscreen to prevent skin cancer may have gotten a false sense of security.
Today, many sunscreens promise "broad-spectrum" protection against UVA rays, too. But the government doesn't yet have testing requirements in place to prove that UVA protection.
The term broad-spectrum "means nothing. Anybody can make that claim," says a frustrated Dr. Darrell Rigel of New York University, a past president of the American Academy of Dermatology, which has long pushed to change that.
The soon-to-come FDA proposal will keep the SPF, or "sun protection factor," ratings on sunscreen bottles that refer only to UVB protection - but add a UVA rating, too, says Shuren.
Until then, dermatologist Rigel has some advice:
-Use enough sunscreen. An adult needs the equivalent of a full shot glass, and a young child a good tablespoon-full. Most people put on too thin a coat to get good UVB coverage, much less whatever UVA protection a brand might offer.
-While official recommendations say wear at least an SPF-15 sunscreen daily, a super-high SPF will counter some of the thin-coat problem.
-Products with the ingredient Helioplex - a more sun-stable mix of the sunscreen ingredients avobenzone and oxybenzone - seem to provide longer-lasting UVA protection, although they can be more expensive. Another certified anti-UVA ingredient, Mexoryl, currently is sold only in sunscreen-containing moisturizer in the US; it has long been sold in Europe.
-Apply sunscreen a half-hour before going outside. It takes that long to start working.
-And limit exposure during the peak UV hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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