Spring Screening

Hello all, I figured that I would urge everyone to take a quick stock of something very important now that spring is here and we will be shedding our heavy winter wear. I am talking about taking a look at your skin! Here is a quick way to do a melanoma screening exam on yourself or those comfortable enough to strip in front of you (;-) ). Remember the ABCDE's of melanoma...

A-Asymmetry. Melanomas have odd shapes to them.

B-Borders. Melanomas have ragged or obscure borders. Harmless moles usually have a nice sharp border with surrounding skin.

C-Color. Melanomas frequently have odd pigmentation;they can be dark brown to black with speckles of red or even blue. They also tend to crust, scab and bleed.

D-Diameter. Usually, melanomas are greater than 6mm in circumference;a good measuring stick?-a pencil eraser!

E-Expansion. Melanomas tend to grow!

As you probably know, those of us with light complexions are at greatest risk(but that does not exempt dark skinned people...think Bob Marley ) Be sure to apply sunscreen with SPF 15 at least 30 minutes before sun exposure. Wear a hat! And for goodness sake, if you have a baby or child, please take the time to protect them from sunburn...they depend on you to guard their skin, and recurrent sunburns are a known risk factor for developing skin cancer. If you are concerned about an odd spot on your skin, please, please, PLEASE show your family physician as skin cancers caught early are curable with a simple excision. Left untreated, melanoma will spread, require intensive treatments and can be fatal!

Does sun screen expire? Or how long should a bottle last? I believe there should be an expiration date on each bottle.

Thanks for the reminder, Dr. Skunky. My brother died from a rare soft tissue melanoma so I should definitely heed this advice. I've already stockpiled my SPF 50 for the upcoming beach trip.

spf 50 ????????????? :shock: (;-) )

spf 50 ????????????? :shock: (;-) )

I'm so white, I'll burn to a crisp if I use anything less potent. Sad but true. You'll also love my signature beach hairdo - ponytail and baseball cap. If you've ever had a sunburned part line, you'd understand (try running a hairbrush thru one long blister - ouch!)

There is or at least on most. My beach bag is still sitting here and I checked. The only bottle that didn't have an exp date is a bottle of No-Ad. I replace mine yearly no matter what. It does lose it's effectiveness over time.

Gosh, I didn't know that sunscreen expires. I think Big D has some sunscreen for his bald head that's 10 years old --yikes! BTW we go every August to the dermatologist for a head-to-toe checkup. It's sort of embarrassing to have him look at my big butt, but better than having an undetected skin cancer.

We despise putting on sunscreen, so we've gotten to the point that we only go to the pool after the shade from the fence blocks the sun's rays. We came up with an invention that would make putting on sunscreen so easy. You know how they have those booths with the multiple jets for spraying on a fake tan? What if the self-tanner were replaced with sunscreen so you could walk in and get sprayed with sunscreen in a matter of seconds? Someone could place one at every beach access, there could be a self-pay option like at Kroger, and then you'd walk out of the booth protected from the sun. I am so lazy regarding putting on sunscreen that I'd pay for that luxury.

Coppertone actually has a wonderful product, spray-on sunscreen. My lily white rump has been out all day using this stuff and I didn't burn. Very easy to use and spares the hands from the goop. You will still need to go 'old school' on your face, however

we discovered this last year skunky - it is a good product - unfortunately no one around here carries it anymore. i'm hoping i can find some at publix.....

Audie, I've seen the Coppertone continuous spray (spf 30) in CVS, Walgreens and Target around here. If you don't have any in your town, you can easily pick some up on the trip down to SoWal. The stuff is amazing. My only complaint is that it gets used up so quickly, much more so than a bottle of lotion sunscreen. But the convenience is something else!

Dr Skunky, does the number really matter? I had once heard that anything over 30 was all the same. Using 30 at the beach didn't even allow a tan to sneak in. I started using the 15 on the kiddos at the end of the week b/c they weren't tanning at all with the 30. We wanted a little color upon our return to dreary old Ohio!

I used SPF 30 & 45 last week & came home with a nice tan! It must of been sunnier in Dune Allen Beach!

Coppertone actually has a wonderful product, spray-on sunscreen. My lily white rump has been out all day using this stuff and I didn't burn. Very easy to use and spares the hands from the goop. You will still need to go 'old school' on your face, however