A recent study has shown that the incidence in skin cancer continues to rise by approximately 1.5 percent per year. Indeed it is 50 percent higher today than it was thirty years ago, with nearly 80,000 Canadians expected to be diagnosed with the disease in 2009 alone.
According to the Canadian Cancer Society, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in Canada.
What exactly is skin cancer and what can we do to avoid joining these gruesome statistics?
In brief, skin cancer is a malignant growth on the skin. There are a variety of different skin cancer symptoms. These include changes in the skin that do not heal, ulcering in the skin, discoloured skin, and changes in existing moles. In Canada, the major cause is overexposure to radiation from the sun or from artificial UV light such as tanning beds or sun lamps.
Some other risk factors include
· light skin, eyes or hair
· skin that burns or freckles easily
· a strong family history of skin cancer
· having many moles
Why do cancer rates continue to increase despite the fact that sales of sunscreen are climbing by 2.5 percent each year, reaching over $100 million in Canada alone last year?
The answer is straightforward: Skin cancer generally has a 20- to 30-year latency period. Many instances of skin cancer in older individuals today can be traced to their behaviours as young adults in the 1970s and early 1980s. Deep tans at that time were routinely regarded as "healthy." Sunburns represented an inconvenient rite of spring or an awkward preliminary stage in the process of acquiring a "healthy" tan. Severe burns were commonplace. Today we know this approach to be reckless. The incidence rates of skin cancer today in persons over 50 years of age reflect that day's popular ignorance.
Interestingly, there are reports coming out of Australia of infants developing rickets, most often caused by a lack of exposure to sunshine due, perhaps, to their overprotective parents.
So then, how much sunshine is the right amount? There is no precise answer, but, I have always used the rule that 10-15 minutes per day is all that is needed to keep our bodies healthy. If you plan to stay outdoors longer, then simply apply a natural sunscreen on all exposed skin. The longer you plan to stay in the sun, the higher the SPF that you need to use. Because it is impractical to apply sunscreen to your head, it is wise to wear a hat or cap to protect your scalp. There is a lot of controversy about sunscreen use, but I will save that discussion for a future article.
What should you do if you do get a sunburn? Treat your skin immediately with a natural cream or gel that should contain one or more of the following ingredients: lavender oil, aloe vera, chamomile or rosehip. These are natural antiseptics, analgesics or are anti-inflammatory and moisturizing.
If you overdid it in the sun, you hopefully only have a mild sunburn. However, if you have a fever or chills or if you feel nauseous, dizzy or faint, it's probably a good idea to call your physician, as these are signs of heat exhaustion and require medical attention.
The summers in Canada are short and it's fun to be outdoors to play or relax, but we all need to have a healthy respect for getting too much of a good thing!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Sunday, August 2, 2009
What would you give for a good night's sleep?
A new study reported last week at an international sleep conference in Seattle that men and women who slept six or fewer hours a night were about four times more likely to die over the course of 14 years of follow-up then those who slept more than six hours per night.
Furthermore, the National Sleep Foundation recently reported that 20 percent of Americans, up from 13 percent just eight years ago, sleep fewer than six hours a night. It said the lucky few who sleep a full eight hours or more dropped to 28 percent, from 38 percent. There is no reason to believe that Canadians are any different from Americans when it comes to our sleep habits.
Is this news really important to you and me? Are we walking zombies during the day, craving a mid-day snooze?
Here's my take: Would you believe scientists aren't yet really certain why we need sleep at all? One recent and controversial conclusion is that our immune system is being recharged while we sleep. If this were true, it is reason enough why a good night's sleep, however elusive, is most important to maintaining good health.
But we do all agree what happens when we do not get enough sleep. We have low energy, a lack of motivation, concentration problems, daytime drowsiness, headaches and/or mood changes.
What are the causes of sleeplessness or insomnia? Some of the more frequent causes are anxiety, depression, various diseases, excitement, grief, stress and stimulants such as alcohol, nicotine, caffeine and food.
So, what can we do to ensure that we sleep deeply and wake up refreshed and rested every day? Eliminating the root cause of the problem is a good start. But in the meantime, I have some ideas for you that have proved successful for others:
Avoid stressful situations before bedtime.
Exercise regularly, but not in the last three hours before going to bed.
Relax by reading, taking a bath, or listening to soothing music before going to bed.
Remove your TV or computer from your bedroom. Otherwise, your brain becomes used to the stimulation and starts to expect it when you are there. This makes it harder for you to fall asleep.
Establish a regular bedtime, but do not go to bed if you feel wide awake.
Avoid using alcohol in the evening. Avoid caffeine for at least four hours before bedtime. Give up smoking, because nicotine is a stimulant.
If you can't fall asleep after 20 minutes, get out of bed and do a quiet activity such as reading or listening to music. When you feel sleepy, get back in bed and try again. If not successful in 20 minutes, repeat.
If you do wake up in the middle of the night, do not let that worry you. Some sleep researchers feel that waking up in the middle of the night is normal, even expected. You can decide to read or have a glass of milk to become sleepy again. Milk? Yes, that old tale of a drinking a glass of milk to help you sleep has some scientific merit after all. Milk contains a natural sleep inducer called L-tryptophan. This may help explain why babies sleep so much.
Tonight would be a good time to begin reading that book you've been meaning to start, so relax, enjoy the slower pace before bedtime, and you, too, should be able to "sleep like a baby!"
Furthermore, the National Sleep Foundation recently reported that 20 percent of Americans, up from 13 percent just eight years ago, sleep fewer than six hours a night. It said the lucky few who sleep a full eight hours or more dropped to 28 percent, from 38 percent. There is no reason to believe that Canadians are any different from Americans when it comes to our sleep habits.
Is this news really important to you and me? Are we walking zombies during the day, craving a mid-day snooze?
Here's my take: Would you believe scientists aren't yet really certain why we need sleep at all? One recent and controversial conclusion is that our immune system is being recharged while we sleep. If this were true, it is reason enough why a good night's sleep, however elusive, is most important to maintaining good health.
But we do all agree what happens when we do not get enough sleep. We have low energy, a lack of motivation, concentration problems, daytime drowsiness, headaches and/or mood changes.
What are the causes of sleeplessness or insomnia? Some of the more frequent causes are anxiety, depression, various diseases, excitement, grief, stress and stimulants such as alcohol, nicotine, caffeine and food.
So, what can we do to ensure that we sleep deeply and wake up refreshed and rested every day? Eliminating the root cause of the problem is a good start. But in the meantime, I have some ideas for you that have proved successful for others:
Avoid stressful situations before bedtime.
Exercise regularly, but not in the last three hours before going to bed.
Relax by reading, taking a bath, or listening to soothing music before going to bed.
Remove your TV or computer from your bedroom. Otherwise, your brain becomes used to the stimulation and starts to expect it when you are there. This makes it harder for you to fall asleep.
Establish a regular bedtime, but do not go to bed if you feel wide awake.
Avoid using alcohol in the evening. Avoid caffeine for at least four hours before bedtime. Give up smoking, because nicotine is a stimulant.
If you can't fall asleep after 20 minutes, get out of bed and do a quiet activity such as reading or listening to music. When you feel sleepy, get back in bed and try again. If not successful in 20 minutes, repeat.
If you do wake up in the middle of the night, do not let that worry you. Some sleep researchers feel that waking up in the middle of the night is normal, even expected. You can decide to read or have a glass of milk to become sleepy again. Milk? Yes, that old tale of a drinking a glass of milk to help you sleep has some scientific merit after all. Milk contains a natural sleep inducer called L-tryptophan. This may help explain why babies sleep so much.
Tonight would be a good time to begin reading that book you've been meaning to start, so relax, enjoy the slower pace before bedtime, and you, too, should be able to "sleep like a baby!"
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