Can Sunscreens Prevent Melanoma?

Preventing melanoma is the main objective of any protection against the sun. Beyond the sun’s rays causing dryness or premature aging, the most important thing is that they cause cancer, and that is why appropriate precautions must be taken.

Community awareness of the risks of sun exposure has increased. However, there are still doubts on some points. One of them is whether sunscreens can prevent melanoma.

The answer to this question is that sunscreens do not completely prevent melanoma, but they do contribute to that purpose. By themselves, they are not capable of avoiding risk, although together with other measures they enhance their defense effect.

Solar radiation and melanoma

The sun emits different types of radiation that differ from each other by wavelength. The famous ultraviolet rays are of three types: A, B and C. The most dangerous are type C, but the ozone layer manages to absorb them and they do not reach the earth’s surface.

Type B ultraviolet rays are the cause of skin cancer, and type A rays cause skin aging, but also tanning. In addition, the sun emits visible rays that allow us to perceive colors, and infrared rays that produce heat and vasodilation.

Long-term sun exposure increases the risk of developing melanoma. The damage that the sun’s rays cause to the skin is cumulative, therefore, the greater the number of exposures, the greater the risk of having skin cancer. It should be noted that this neoplasm has tripled in the world in recent decades.

The word melanoma comes from the Greek roots ” melas ” and ” oma “, which mean ” black tumor “. As can be inferred, it is a dark and malignant tumor that appears due to the indiscriminate growth of melanocytes, which are skin cells.

Prevent melanoma with sunscreens

The idea that sun exposure is not dangerous when wearing sunscreen has become popular. This is a misconception, as these products alone cannot prevent melanoma, which is the most aggressive skin cancer.

Sunscreens do help stop radiation entering the skin as long as its use is correct and is accompanied by other care measures. The first thing is the correct use of these products. And you have to talk about it because mistakes are common, such as the following:

• Do not use sunscreen every day: no matter how cloudy the sky is, the sun’s rays always penetrate the skin.
• Use an inappropriate protector: it is advisable for the dermatologist to determine the type of sunscreen that each person should use.
• Err in graduation: you have to use a broad spectrum sunscreen; that is, it protects against UVA and UBV rays. Likewise, those who have a sun protection factor (SPF) greater than 35.

• Apply only once: although it is said that the protector is of high duration, it is advisable to repeat the application of it every two hours if it is exposed to direct sun.

Other data of interest

Sunscreen helps prevent melanoma if other care measures are applied simultaneously. Mainly, avoid exposing yourself to the sun, whenever possible, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. It is important to cover yourself well, with a cap and sun glasses with a UV filter.

It is more than advisable to consult a dermatologist when a mole appears, or when an existing mole changes its appearance. To know if one of these injuries is risky, we must apply the so-called ABCD rule:

• A for asymmetry: the more asymmetric a mole, the more suspicious.
• Border B: Irregular borders can be a sign of melanoma.
• C for color: those moles that present color variation in the same area are more suspicious.
• D in diameter: If the diameter is 6 millimeters or more, the mole is highly suspect.

Melanoma can be prevented

As with many other pathologies, prevention is possible and at our fingertips. With some basic measures that combine the use of sunscreen, plus exposure at the appropriate times, we will avoid cancer. And before the doubt that a mole generates us, the opportune consultation with the dermatologist will put us on alert.