Focus on skin care: medical tips for a healthy expat lifestyle
easyexpat
05 October, 2009 11:30
Article sponsored by William Russell
By William Russell’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr Jace Clarke
Focus on skin care
Better weather and more sunshine is one of the big attractions of overseas living for many expatriates, but over-exposure to the sun can also be extremely harmful, causing faster skin aging and potentially lethal skin cancers. Dr Jace Clarke provides some basic guidance on the health issues expats should consider before going out in the sun – but the golden rule is to consult a health professional if you are in any doubt about your skin health.
There’s no doubt that being out in the sun makes you feel better. Unfortunately, it’s easy to get to get too much of a good thing and overexposure to the sun can cause serious skin health problems. Caucasian expats in sunny countries are particularly at risk, especially if they have fair skin, red hair or freckles however anyone can suffer from skin damage or skin cancers. The key to healthy living is taking sensible precautions to avoid being exposed to too much sunshine and to recognise the signs quickly if something is amiss.
The problem is caused by the ultraviolet rays in sunlight; UVA light causes wrinkles and skin aging and can also damage the deeper skin layers, while UVB causes sun burn and other damage to the skin. The are a number of conditions caused by too much sunshine, some are minor such as sunburn, but even this can be very unpleasant if severe and sunstroke which can cause headaches, fevers and vomiting. More serious conditions caused by the sun are premature skin aging, including wrinkling, brown spots, growths and skin cancers. (More)
