Save this article
Use this article for free on your own website
Republish this article for free on your own website or blog. Or search or browse for more articles that your audience will appreciate. Huge choice available. Ideal for finding quality, free content. Read our publishers guide.
What Causes Skin Cancer ?
Skin cancer is becoming more and more prevalent. This may be down to a number of factors. Firstly that more research is being done on it, making people more aware of the disease. Secondly, areas where the ozone layer is depleted are creating more cases of skin cancer as UV radiation is not being filtered out. So what causes skin cancer ? This article will examine some of the reasons for the increase in skin cancer.
Skin cancer is becoming more and more prevalent. This may be down to a number of factors. Firstly that more research is being done on it, making people more aware of the disease. Secondly, areas where the ozone layer is depleted are creating more cases of skin cancer as UV radiation is not being filtered out. So what causes skin cancer ? This article will examine some of the reasons for the increase in skin cancer.
The number one skin cancer cause, according to current thinking is being exposed to direct sunlight for a long period of time. Do you remember when people thought of a suntan as a sign of good health ?
Well this thinking has largely fallen away now (or at least it should be falling away). You will find in regions in the world where the sun is particularly strong the idea of sun baking yourself every day has been replaced with the need to wear a shirt, hat, eye protection and a 30+ sun protection factor sunscreen.
The fact is that, although everyone wants to spend a bit of time in the sun once in a while, too much sun on the skin will lead to skin cancer. How much sun is too much is largely down to the individuals skin type.
People that find their skin burning quickly in the sun are at greater risk of skin cancer. Burning could be the skin turning red or even peeling but ultimately the person will feel pain on the burned portions of the skin. And pain is the body telling you that something is wrong. People often ignore the pain because they are having a good time or their work requires them to work in sunny conditions.
People that burn easily are people that have less melanin. Melanin is the substance found in the skin, hair and eyes and is responsible for producing pigmentation or color. People with less melanin will have fairer skin, red or blond hair and lighter colored irises. The most pronounced case of deficiency of melanin is known as Albinism. Albinos have little or no color in their skin, hair and eyes.
Melanin, in effect, protects the skin from skin cancer and melanoma by darkening it. This helps it resist sun burn which is an outward sign of over exposure to sunlight. A lack of melanin leaves a person open to ultra violet radiation from the sun. This is the case with albinos who must be extremely careful in the sun.
Using equipment that leads to exposure to UV radiation is another way to increase the risk of skin cancer. The sunbed is a prime example of this. Many sunbeds are used to get that healthy tan all year round but too much of the sunbed is bad news for your skin.
To finish, exposure to UV radiation will cause skin cancer. You should take action to avoid being exposed to UV radiation, most commonly by being exposed to the sun. At all times, when in the sun you should wear a hat, clothing to protect your body, sunglasses and sunscreen on areas of the body that are nor concealed like the face.