Sunglasses and cancer

[watervole]

Spotted this while browsing newspapers.

It sounds at least plausible that the brain produces less chemicals to protect your skin if you wear sunglasses.  If you stop bright light reaching your eyes, it stands to reason that the brain is going to make mistakes about the actual level of sunshine.

Me, I never wear sunglasses - why waste a lovely sunny day by making it all gray?  Sunlight is good for depression.

My solution to sunburn?  Never wear sunscreen (unless I have no choice but to be out because I'm manning a stall or rattling a tin - and then I try to wear loose clothing to protect as much as possible) - it gives you a false sense of security.  Instead, I go out little and often and build up a gradual tan.  If my skin gets hot, I get out of the sun.  Result - I haven't had sunburn in years (apart from the days when I'm forced by circumstances to use sunscreen)

And if you think about the chemicals that go into sunscreen, would you really want it on your skin?  Wear a hat instead, and a loose shirt.

Comments

[fjm.livejournal.com]

Gradual tans can give you sun cancer also. And for those of us with sensitive eyes, sunglasses are a must.

Don't forget that many of us living in this country have bodies designed for other climates.

As for covering up: I'm *trying* but I'm finding very hard to find summer tops that aren't low cut. I bought a parasol last year and it's shortly to come out of the cupboard again.

[reapermum.livejournal.com]

At last, someone else who prefers clothes and shade as the answer to too much sun. I realised what I was doing after a holiday in Rome when I didn't get much of a tan. I tended to walk on the shady side of the street and rest under trees and didn't go out when it was too hot.

[johncoxon.livejournal.com]

Your methods for tackling sunburn could lead to skin cancer and isn't the best way to protect your skin - sure, you won't get burned, which will reduce the risk of skin cancer, but not wearing sunscreen increases the risk you'll get it - even if you take the measures you suggest, you should still be wearing sunscreen to protect against cancer, not just against sunburn. Sunscreen should be applied fifteen to thirty minutes before exposure, at exposure, and then once hourly until you are out of the sun.

The chemicals in sunscreen protect your skin in the same way that the chemicals in medicine help your body, and yet I bet you rarely complain about the chemicals found in pills or injections you've had.

Oh, and sunglasses are useful - particularly when driving, in which case it's useful to be able to see, or when walking along the beach, to reduce the glare from the sea. I know that my Dad always takes sunglasses to the beach and I've never seen tobesv drive any long distance without a pair on.

[watervole.livejournal.com]

I think sunscreen creates an additional risk - you believe you're protected and end up spending more time in the sun and forget to keep replacing it.

Skin cancer rates are going up, not down, since sunscreen became widely available. (though ozone loss may account for a bit of that)

Polaroids when driving can make sense, but that's a very specific use.

[elfinessy.livejournal.com]

If it didn't wear sunglasses I'd crash the car....

[alex-holden.livejournal.com]

My mum did crash her car into a lamp post after forgetting her sunglasses one day.

[elfinessy.livejournal.com]

yeah, I kinda figured out last year that driving a convertible in the sunshine means I need to wear proper sports sunglasses or I get blinded from above....

[cobrabay.livejournal.com]

If it is bright and sunny out it is no point in my leaving the house without sunglasses. No unless I want to spend the time half blind. If it looks grey with sunglasses then you are using the wrong kind. They are one thing I do not stint on though none of the ones I buy are fashionable, they are designed for sports mostly.

[lexin.livejournal.com]

Good advice...but dangerous if you have a skin condition which reacts to sunlight. Something like acne rosacea, which is what I have.

This condition is made worse by sunlight in very many sufferers. Sunlight can cause a bad flare up, which may last several days and may leave permanent scarring or other damage. In sunlight, I have to wear a hat, a loose top, SPF 50+ sunscreen and sunglasses. The sunglasses because problems with eyes, which can lead to blindness, is a known complication of acne rosacea.

It's also worth bearing in mind that acne rosacea is particularly dangerous to black people (where it may reach the dangerous-to-the-sight stage without even being recognised) and to men, in whom it tends to be more severe.

[watervole.livejournal.com]

Richard has a different skin condition. He has spots with no melanin - sunscreen is essential for him on the hands as he will burn almost instantly.

[johnrw.livejournal.com]

Sounds like vitiligo, I have relatives with the condition.

Actually the main risk in using sun glasses is if they do not have UV filters in the glass. You reduce the amount of visible light reaching the eye so the pupil is more dilated and hence receives an enhamced dose of UV which can promote the formation of a cataract. also the formation of a pterygium on the eyeball(well the associated hot dry climate is thought to be the main factor for this!).

Use good quality lenses with UV-A and UV-B protection.

[steverogerson.livejournal.com]

As I tend to burn very easily, I tend to cover up in similar ways to which you suggest and not have a prolonged exposure. I too don't like sunscreen. However, as others have pointed out, stopping burning doesn't stop skin cancer, which is something we are both risking with our behaviour.

[kerravonsen]

That may be okay advice in climates like yours, but here in Australia, sunscreen is an absolute must. Skin cancer is a huge problem here.

As for sunglasses, I kinda find it odd that people would want to wear sunglasses in the UK, where the sun is hidden by clouds so much. Here, it is a lot more glarey, even in the wintertime. If I find I'm squinting, then, yes, sunglasses are a Good Thing. The sun gets very bright here.

[watervole.livejournal.com]

"Try reading a book in full summer sunlight - that has me reaching for the shades"

Whereas if it was that bright, I'd move out of the sun.

[melodyclark.livejournal.com]

Good point. I think it's important to remember that where we are now and where our ancestors are from is an important determinate when advising our interaction with the environment. There are plants in Europe, transplanted from the middle east centuries ago, that still bloom and act in accordance with the seasons and cycles of the middle east. Even 300 years in a new land won't undo tens-of-thousands of years of ancestry.

[cdybedahl.livejournal.com]

In sunnier places, I usually wear loose clothes, use sunblock (with SPF25 and up, usually) and stay in the shade. I've managed to burn anyway, from reflections off the sea.

[melodyclark.livejournal.com]

It's quite plausible, the link between skin pigment and visible light. On an evolutionary level, we white folk crawled into the darkness and painted ourselves blue, so light had a direct correlation with skin color if through nothing but mutation. And the fairer one is, the more skin cancer potential.

I'd also add that sunlight isn't good for all depression. Summer SAD is worsened by exposure to visible light, or at least to heat. I find my own depression worsened by sunlight.

[merrymaia.livejournal.com]

I don't wear sunscreen either, because I have NEVER found a sunscreen (even the ones that say they're hypoallergenic and for people with sensitive skin) that doesn't give me a rash. I know I'm risking skin cancer, but...itchy rashes are no fun.

(OTOH, I think I read somewhere that there has never been a study that shows an actual correlation between wearing sunscreen and not getting skin cancer.)
(Also, there's the vitamin D thing: you need sunlight for vitamin D, and vitamin D to fight cancer...so it's possible that sunscreen actually RAISES the risk of cancer.)

I don't wear sunglasses either. I find sunlight ESSENTIAL for fighting off depression.

I do, though, try to stay out of the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. in April, May, June, July, and August.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

But covering up doesn't provide me with enough protection. I'm going to spend much of the next fortnight watching two Test matches, for which I have a designated seat. I'm not sure about the position of my seat at Chester-le-Street, but at Old Trafford I know that, if there's sun, there will be no shade at all until about 6 p.m. Of course I wear a hat and long sleeves (twenty years ago, people laughed at me for wearing a hat; now they all do it, though many haven't caught up on covering their arms yet). But even my broadest brim doesn't shade my chin very much, and I can't protect my scoring hand from direct sunlight. One year I forgot to take the suncream, and the skin on that hand bubbled up exactly like a poppadom. I suspect that's why my right hand is already liverspotted, while the left one is still clear. And without my reactolite glasses, I can't focus for six or more hours in dazzling light.

[gaspodex.livejournal.com]

Yep - I agree with you and Eddie here - Thats the thing - Theres a major difference between cheap sunglasses and good ones - Like you I have transitions in my prescriptions lenses. Which of course also menas they are only dark when they need to be - but most important nothing is 'grey' as judith says (or brown). Good sunglasses don't make anything dark. The main problem is lots of people by cheep sunglasses which simply black out light and generally block the wrong UV.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

Well, there wouldn't be much point in having non-prescription dark glasses - I wouldn't be able to see anything in focus beyond the person sitting in front of me.

[julesjones]

Don't assume everyone else has the same tolerance for bright light that you do.

I'm a daylight-sensitive depressive, so I maximise my sunlight exposure within my tolerance limits -- but I cannot safely drive without sunglasses on a very sunny day even in the UK, and long term exposure to unfiltered Californian sunlight will significantly increase my chances of suffering a number of nasty eye conditions. I've been explicitly told by my optomotrist to use sunglasses. I wear contact lenses with UV filters, but that's not enough protection on its own.

The right sunglasses don't make everything grey. I use pale Polaroids, which cut out the glare and tone down the general light level to what I can tolerate while still giving me a nice sunny day.