By Kayla Bell
As the sun shines brighter and the days get hotter, you’ll start putting on sunscreen and other products to protect your skin, especially if you spend a lot of time outdoors. Those who spend most of their time under direct sunlight are outside workers such as farmers, construction workers, etc. They’ll spend at least four to six hours, five to six days per week, for months in the sun for their jobs, yet most of the time, skincare isn’t practiced.
Inadequate sun protection can cause skin issues ranging from photoaging to skin malignant growth. Photoaging is a skin condition caused by overexposure to the sun; symptoms include fine and coarse skin, irregular pigmentation, lentigines(large freckle-like spots), yellowish complexion, and rough, leathery texture. Another issue is actinic keratoses, or sun spots, which are precancerous growths that can be pink, red, gray, or brown. Unfortunately, UV damage is inevitable, but you can minimize it by implementing sun safety into your routine.
Sun protection isn’t limited to sunscreen, especially for outside workers. Determining how much time you spend in sunlight by intervals will lessen the damage. Finding shade, whether it’s shelter, trees, or even an umbrella, can also help. Dressing in protective clothing such as long-sleeved shirts and bottoms or those specified for UV protection also helps to battle harmful rays. You can do many things, yet protecting yourself from the most prominent star in the sky is only sometimes at the forefront of most people’s minds.
“We were raised working outside, playing outside, and we didn’t put on sunscreen or nothing like that,” said Chris Butler, a produce dealer for 6 B’s Produce & Gooden’s Strawberry Farms.
This is the consensus for most as it’s something that only some workers truly focus on or participate in sun protection. Tradition and routine greatly influence our lives, so please incorporate sun safety into your daily routine. Your skin is the most vulnerable of organs, so make sure to protect it.
Related Links:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21128911/
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