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The sun's out!
I was doing some cataloguing last week, and I came to a CD by well-known BC children’s performer Norman Foote. It was called “Be Sun Safe: Sun Safety Songs for Kids.” The two songs on the CD are entitled “Slip, Slap, Slop, Cover Up” and “Block Out the Rays.”
I don’t know about you, but the only “sunscreen” available when I was little was Coppertone. Being extremely fair-skinned, I became accustomed to the endless cycle of burning and peeling that was my summertime. Now, of course, I’m paying the price and dealing with some minor sun damage – not too bad, because in spite of living in places like Los Angeles, Hawai’i and Colorado, I have never been much of a sun worshiper. The summer I spent in Tucson, I carried a large umbrella covered with Monet’s “Water Lilies” everywhere I went.
The people who call Whistler home tend to be the outdoor type. Because of the scarcity of sunshine for much of the year, we also tend to get as much sun time as we can when the weather is like it has been this week. Don’t overdo it, though; even a short time in the sun can be damaging. The Canadian Cancer Society’s Sunsense Guidelines recommend that we:
- Reduce exposure to the sun between 11 and 4
- SLIP on clothing to cover your arms and legs/trunk
- SLAP on a wide brimmed hat (brim of hat should be 3.0 inches or 7.5 cm)
- SLOP on broad spectrum sunscreen with SPF #15 or higher
- Avoid tanning parlours and sunlamps
- Keep babies under one year out of the sun
- Teach your children to Slip, Slap, Slop
- Use a "broad spectrum" sunscreen to absorb both UVB and UVA rays
- Such sunscreens are rated in strength
- Each strength is designated by a number (Sun Protection Factor or SPF)
- The higher the SPF, the greater the protection
The BC Cancer Agency also has extensive information about types of sunscreens and other sun-safe products. Go to their website at www.bccancer.bc.ca and click on “Types of Cancer.” Then choose “Skin, Non-Melanoma” on the left side of the page.
You may have panicked, as I did, when you heard the CBC story about sunscreens potentially causing cancer in May. The bottom line of the controversy is that nobody knows for sure; but the chemical in question is called retinyl palmitate and is used in only 40% of sunscreens. If you really want to be sure, read your label! Or you could just stay in the shade.
Lauren Stara, Library Director