Health Tips

Skin Care Tips:

Taking good care of your skin can help it stay healthy and looking its best all year long. Dry, winter weather and bright, sunny summers can damage your skin if you don’t take care of it. But, some simple tips can help you prevent damage to your skin.

• Treating dry winter skin

• Preventing sun-damaged skin

• Treating sunburns

Treating Dry Winter Skin:

In addition to bitter wind chills and seemingly endless shoveling, dry, itchy, flaky skin seems to be a curse of winter. However, the winter weather isn’t the culprit. Dry skin is a result of the hot, dry inside air. Hot showers and hand washing also remove the natural oil from our skin, so there is nothing to hold the moisture in the skin. It is the loss of water from the skin, evaporating into the dry air, which makes the skin feel dry.

But relief is just a bottle of lotion away. During the winter months, it is especially important to make sure the skin is well moisturized. You should pat yourself dry after a bath or shower, and apply a moisturizing lotion within three minutes to lock in the moisture from the shower or bath. Most people can use any kind of moisturizing lotion as long as they like how it feels.

You should also apply a moisturizing lotion to exposed skin and a moisturizing lip balm to your lips before going outside, especially on windy days.

• Some other things to keep in mind:

* Look for effective ingredients in lotions such as urea or alpha hydroxy acids that help your skin absorb and retain moisture.
* You may have to apply lotion two to three times per day.
* Look for lotions with sunscreen—SPF 30 or higher—especially if you’re outside or driving in the sun for any length of time. Snow and ice reflect a lot of the ultraviolet rays that can damage your skin.
* For your face, use a water-based lotion. They are lighter and less likely to plug pores that can lead to acne.

• Preventing Sun-Damaged Skin:

Protecting your skin from the sun is important to keep your skin looking younger and healthier. When you are out in the sun for long periods of time, it’s helpful to wear a hat with a three inch brim, long sleeve shirts and long pants to protect your skin. It’s also important to get the right sunscreen and apply it correctly.

Sunscreens are designed to protect the skin from invisible ultraviolet (UV) light. UV light includes both UVA and UVB rays. UVB primarily causes skin cancer, while the longer-range UVA rays produce the wrinkling and aging of the skin, and also tend to intensify the cancer-producing aspects of the UVB. The goal of sunscreens is to prevent burning of the skin and premature aging, wrinkling and skin cancer.

Here are some tips to make sure your sunscreen will give you the best protection.

• Buying sunscreen:

1. The sun protective factor (SPF) is a number that indicates the degree of protection that a sunscreen provides. All sunscreens will carry an SPF number on their label. The higher the number, the more the protection.
2. Expensive products are not necessarily better, so ask your doctor or pharmacist about specific brands.
3. Always buy a product with SPF 30 or higher, as well as UVA, UVB and broad spectrum protection.
4. Waterproof sunscreen protects you from the sun for up to 80 minutes in water, while water-resistant sunscreen protects you from the sun for only 40 minutes.
5. If you have sensitive skin, use a product that says hypoallergenic on the label.
6. If you are acne prone, look for a product that is noncomedogenic.

• Applying sunscreen:

In order to get the maximum benefit from sunscreen, make sure you apply it correctly:

1. Sunscreen should be applied to dry skin, at least 30 minutes before going outdoors.
2. Reapply sunscreen every two hours, in addition to immediately after swimming, toweling off, sweating or strenuous exercise.
3. ‘Test’ a small dab first on the back of your hand to see if you are allergic to the product. If you develop a rash or itching, stop using it. Call your doctor or pharmacist about using a different product.
4. Apply a thick, even layer over all exposed skin, but do not rub into skin. Don’t forget the neck, ears, scalp, face and lips. Avoid eyes and eyelids.
5. Use at least one ounce to cover your entire body or approximately a quarter-sized amount for each body area.
6. If you have leftover or expired sunscreen at the end of summer, you may be applying too little.

Treating Sunburns:

Minor sunburns turn the skin pink or red. Symptoms do not begin until two to four hours after exposure. Prolonged exposure to the sun can cause blistering, which indicates a second-degree burn. Follow these guidelines to ease the discomfort of sunburn:

* Minimize pain by taking cool baths or putting cold wet cloths on the burned area several times a day. Showers may be too painful.
* Drink extra water to replace fluid loss and to prevent dehydration and dizziness.
* Aspirin or ibuprofen can reduce swelling and discomfort.
* Apply over-the-counter one percent hydrocortisone cream to reduce swelling and pain. Do not use creams or sprays for burns that contain benzocaine. It can cause an allergic rash.
* Apply an antibiotic ointment to any open blisters