FitSugar

Boating Safety: Things to Know Before You Go Afloat

Jenny Sugar — Sat, 26 May 2012 19:27:32 PDT

It seems like boating season unofficially begins on Memorial Day weekend with everyone headed to their lake houses, weekend river residences, or the beach. In different parts of the nation, boating accidents, injuries, and unfortunately fatalities are on the rise. Now that I've captured your attention, let's review a few tips on boating safety.

Boater's fatigue is real, and it can wear you down. The US Coast Guard warns people about this condition, created by the combination of wind, noise, heat, and vibration of the boat. All these elements can mentally and physically fatigue boaters and subsequently impair their judgment.
Personal flotation devices, otherwise known as life jackets, are vitally important for everyone on board the boat, be it a canoe or a speed boat. Some states even require children under a certain age to wear life jackets, so if the little ones complain about wearing the big orange life vest, tell them it's the law.
Boating and alcohol don't mix. Alcohol impairs your judgment, balance, and coordination, affects your swimming and diving skills, and reduces your body's ability to stay warm. Coupled with boater's fatigue, folks on a boat will feel the effects of alcohol faster than they would on land. Plus, driving a boat while intoxicated is illegal.
The wind can keep you cool and make you forget you're in the sun, but don't forget to reapply sunscreen every two hours and always after swimming. Lube up even if it's overcast since UV rays can still damage your skin through clouds.
Watch the weather to keep an eye on local weather conditions, and be prepared for electrical storms. Water conducts electricity, so you don't want to find yourself on the open water during a lightning storm.

Don't Be Shady! How to Choose the Right Sunglasses For Eye Health

Jenny Sugar — Thu, 24 May 2012 01:19:22 PDT

Sunglasses aren't just for complementing your bikini while you lounge on the beach. They're a must for protecting your eyes from UV damage. Sunglasses also shield the eyelids and the skin around your eyes, helping to prevent wrinkles and skin cancer. But before you run out and drop a small fortune on a pair, here are some things to consider.

UV protection is most important: UV rays can damage the eyes causing cataracts, benign growths on the eye's surface, and snow blindness, a temporary and painful sunburn of the eye. As mentioned above, it can also lead to skin cancer around the eye, so make sure your pair guarantees 100 percent UV protection.
Polarized lenses have nothing to do with UV protection: Polarized lenses act as a filter to absorb light waves, which helps to reduce glare that bounces off smooth surfaces like pavement or water. While they're great for offering clearer vision in extreme sun, being labeled "polarized" has nothing to do with how well they protect the eyes.

Keep reading to find out what else to think about when buying sunglasses.

Be Wary of Chemicals: The Safest Sunscreens on the Market

Jenny Sugar — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:42:05 PDT

It's hard enough to remember to put on sunscreen when you leave the house, but now you also need to make sure your sunscreen is safe to use. The Environmental Working Group has just released its 2012 Sunscreen Guide, and in order to make the list, a sunscreen must be free of oxybenzone and retinyl palmitate, not have an SPF above 50, and must be broad spectrum (protects against both UVA and UVB rays).

What's wrong with oxybenzone? Although it does a great job of absorbing ultraviolet rays, some studies show that it can be absorbed through the skin and into the bloodstream. The Environmental Working Group and toxicology experts believe this can disrupt hormones, damage cells, and potentially lead to skin cancer. Other experts disagree, like the American Academy of Dermatology, and oxybenzone has been FDA-approved since 1978 for use in children older than 6 months.

Keep reading to find out what else you need to consider when buying sunscreen, and for a list of the safest sunscreens on the market.

Melanoma Risk Factors: What You Need to Know

Jaime Richards — Mon, 07 May 2012 11:00:07 PDT

Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer, and unfortunately, it's a disease that's on the rise. However, melanoma, which can be described as the uncontrolled spread of pigment-producing cells, can be easily cured when detected early enough.

It's National Skin Cancer Awareness month, so for more tips on prevention, stay tuned. But first, discover more about this type of cancer and who has a greater risk for developing it, when you keep reading.

What to Expect When You're Getting a Skin Cancer Screening

Allure — Thu, 03 May 2012 03:25:00 PDT

We're happy to present this story from our friends at Allure:

Nonmelanoma skin cancers may be slowly decreasing, but melanoma is on the rise - and it's the most common cancer for my age group (25- to 29-year-olds). Since this is Skin Cancer Awareness Month, I asked dermatologist Jeannette Graf, an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, to demystify this important annual appointment. "Patients fear the unknown, or they cancel their appointment because they've been on vacation and they feel guilty about their tan. But before they know it, six months have gone by." Graf says there's nothing to fear. The appointment will be quick and painless - at least this time. Learn what really happens at a screening when you read more.

Caffeine Combined With Exercise Reduces Skin Cancer Risk, Study Says

Jenny Sugar — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 11:20:25 PDT

Warm, sunny weather is not too far away, and with it means spending more time outdoors. Of course protecting yourself from UV rays is your best defense against skin cancer, but a new study presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) suggests exercise combined with caffeine consumption could cut your skin cancer risk. This news couldn't come at a better time considering sunburns coupled with indoor tanning has made skin cancer more prevalent than ever among young adults.

The exercise and caffeine study was conducted using mice bred to be at high risk of developing skin cancer. After being exposed to UV radiation, the mice were split into four groups. One group was given plain water and no exercise wheel (the controls), another group had water mixed with caffeine and no exercise wheel, a third group had plain water and an exercise wheel, while the fourth group had water mixed with caffeine and an exercise wheel.

The results? After 14 weeks of treatment, the mice given both exercise and caffeine had 62 percent fewer nonmelanoma skin tumors, and the tumors they did have were much smaller than the mice in the other groups. Exercise and caffeine on their own did have positive effects, but not as much as when the two were combined.

This is not the first study to illustrate the benefits of caffeine combined with exercise. Previous studies have already suggested drinking caffeine can improve your endurance when working out - perhaps another reason to grab a cup of joe before hitting the gym.

Get Naked With Your S.O. and Check Your Skin

Jenny Sugar — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:32:48 PDT

Fall weather might mean your skin is all covered up, but you still shouldn't neglect the largest organ in your body. Covering Health magazine, the actress from the new film Machine Gun Preacher, Michelle Monaghan, talks candidly about her brush with skin cancer:

" . . . A few years ago I had a mole on the back of my calf, and he [husband, Peter White] was adamant that I get it checked. In Australia, they're very aware of skin cancer. I finally went and it was skin cancer. I had quite the chunk taken out of my leg. I'm so grateful he noticed it."

After my hubby's dermatologist noticed and removed a weird mole on his back, we've become super vigilant about checking each other's skin. And last year, he found a mole on my back, in the same spot as his! Weird, I know, but I feel better since I've had it removed.

Learn from Michelle and take this as a friendly reminder to get naked with your favorite person and check every inch of each other's skin for raised, abnormally shaped, or discolored moles, or moles that look different than the last time you checked. Hey, it's not the most romantic way to hang out without your clothes, but it's one way you can ensure you live a long, healthy life together. It's scary to think that you might have skin cancer, but it's way better to have anything questionable checked out and removed, so you know you're skin is cancer-free.

Why Your Stylist Might Save Your Life

Jaime Richards — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 12:16:24 PDT

In medieval Europe, there existed barber surgeons: haircutters who also happened to perform some minor medical procedures like bloodletting and teeth pulling. And in modern times, it seems the stylist/medical connection just may be drawing closer - although not quite to Middle Ages extremes.

A recent study performed by Harvard's School of Public Health found that of 203 Houston-area hairstylists polled, 58 percent had recommended that their clients have suspicious moles checked. Since stylists work so close to their clients' hair, scalps, necks, and faces, this gave Alan Gellar, the study's coauthor, pause. He, along with his Harvard colleagues, are currently working with the Melanoma Foundation of New England, and have formed The Skinny on Skin, a Massachusetts program to help educate hair professionals on what to look for when it comes to possibly cancerous spots on their clients' skin. To find out more, just keep reading.

DrSugar Schools Us on Skin Cancer

DrSugar — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 09:37:50 PDT

DrSugar is in the house! This week she's schooling us on skin cancer.

Given that summertime is right around the corner and with warmer weather blessing a good part of the country, I figured it was a good time to share some knowledge about how to recognize skin cancers and how to prevent them.

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer and is now the most common cancer among people 25-29 years old. Anyone can get melanoma and it can develop anywhere on one's body. Most often, however, according to the Mayo Clinic, it develops in areas that have had exposure to the sun, such as your back, legs, arms, and face. It can grow on areas where there is less exposure to the sun, such as the soles of the feet, palms of the hands, eyes, and fingernail beds.

Learn the signs of melanoma.

5 Reasons to Wear Sunglasses

FitSugar — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 07:30:13 PDT

We're finally enjoying some warm, sunny weather here in San Francisco, but even when it's not Summer or incredibly sunny, sunglasses are a must-have accessory for your health. Here are five reasons you should absolutely wear sunglasses.

Avoiding sunburn. It is possible to sunburn your eyes, resulting in redness, irritation, and a gritty feeling similar to sand in the eyes. Ouch!
Maintaining long-term eye health. Overexposure to UV rays can lead to cataracts and glaucoma. Choose sunglasses that screen out 75 to 90 percent of light and block at least 95 percent of UVA and 99 percent UVB radiation. Wearing a hat doesn't hurt either.

For three more reasons to get shady,

Preventing wrinkles. Sunglasses keep you from squinting, and squinting can increase the wrinkles around your eyes .
Avoiding skin cancer. Sunglasses shield you from potential skin cancer of the eyelids. Just remember, the sun is even stronger in early morning and late afternoon.
Looking cool. Do you really need another reason?