Keep your eye out for new sunscreen labels!

Dr James Dowd’s recent post about sun screen caught my eye. This topic tends to be a little confusing, so I had to read the official fda page over a couple of times to start to understand this. I have to admit, I had forgotten that SPF stands for Sunburn Protection Factor. What I hadn’t pieced together until now is that SPF refers to UVB protection. Remember, we get our D from UVB, so a very strong SPF is going to block you from getting your D. With this new star rating, you’ll now know how much UVB and UVA protection you’re getting. You’re going to have to do a bit of a balancing act with this new rating system. If you’re opting to primarily get your vitamin D from regular sun exposure, you want a good UVA protection combined with decent (but not complete) UVB protection. Dr. Dowd gives the example of a SPF 8 combined with a 3 star UVA as sunscreen that fits the bill. Personally I’m thinking I’ll go with the 4 star UVA and a little higher SPF since I tend to burn. Then again, I’m still not convinced we get any UVB to speak of where I live so I’ll likely stick with minimal sun exposure combined with oral vitamin D and limited tanning bed use.

By the way, the only thing I’ve seen that’s new at my drug store is a “broad spectrum” UVA and UVB sun block. Have you seen any of these new sunscreen labels in your area?

It’s important to be very careful with sunscreens that only have SPF since you won’t be protected from UVA rays when you use those products! If a sunscreen has no UVA protection it will have a warning statement near the SPF rating.

You can few the FDA’s frequently asked questions about sun screen.

Dr Dowd also mentions a recent study about various types of skin cancer, you can see that study here. The article discusses the various types of skin cancer and their correlation to UV exposure. I don’t know about you, but when I hear “skin cancer” I always think melanoma. Interestingly, Squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma appear more UV related than melanoma!

It’s a bright and sunny day today, but lots of long shadows so probably not much D out there! Either way, it sure makes me feel better when it’s sunny - so it’ certainly not all about the D!