The Dangers of UV Exposure

Dangers of UV Exposure

While we are out enjoying the summer sun, it’s important to remember the risks of UV radiation exposure.
The sun is the bringer of life. Without it, we would not exist as humans. It provides us with warmth and light; it nourishes the land and our bodies, and in modern times fuels our vehicles and homes. The sun also has it’s dark side. Over exposure to the sun can lead to skin cancer (melanoma) caused by harmful UV radiation.
There are two types of harmful UV radiation that make it through our earth’s atmosphere; UVA and UVB. UVB is the one we are most familiar with. It is the one mainly responsible for sunburns to the skin, but can also lead to permanent skin damage. UVA is by far the most detrimental to your skin, and least talked about. UVA penetrates deep into the skin layers, and is the leading cause of skin cancer.

What many people may not know is that it only takes a single blistering sunburn to double your chances of skin cancer.

This is especially true for children and young adults. That’s why it is critical that you protect yourself and your family. One way is to apply a healthy dose of sunscreen or sun block when it is likely you will have direct exposure to the sun for long periods of from activities as going to the beach, camping, hiking, or sporting events. There are times when sunscreen is NOT the best form of protection from the sun’s radiation. Sunscreens are not all the same, and some contain potentially harmful ingredients. Also, many people are allergic to certain ingredients in sunscreens. When sunscreen is not an option, you can still safeguard your family by making sure your children especially are wearing clothing with  strong UV protected finish.

How ever you choose to protect your family from sun exposure, everyone should be familiar with SPF (Sun Protection Factor), which is a measure of how well something protects against sunburns (UVB radiation). A little know rating, but arguably more important in defense against long term skin damage, is PPD (Persistent Pigment Darkening) rating. PPD protect against harmful UVA radiation – as with SPF a rating, the higher the PPD rating the better. A PPD rating of 20, for example, allows you to be exposed to UVA radiation 20x longer than if you had no protection at all.

Agoo is proud to be offering an SPF 50 protective coating on all active wear. They contain a strong UV protected finish, blocking out any harmful ultra violet rays. No matter how many times you wash it or expose it to sunlight or saltwater, the protection is always there. We felt this made an ideal fabric so we developed a complete line that would allow your kids to stay out and play a little longer.

Have fun this summer!

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Tags: radiation, summer, sun, uv

This entry was posted on Monday, June 27th, 2011 at 5:26 am and is filed under Health and Fitness, Mommy Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.