Page 8
The INDEPENDENT, July 5, 2007
Learn how to protect your skin from cancers caused by the sun
As we soak up the sun’s
rays, we often do not consider
that we are putting ourselves at
risk for skin cancer, the most
common form of cancer in the
U.S. More than one million skin
cancers are diagnosed each
year. Most skin cancer deaths
are caused by malignant
melanoma. A person today is
twice as likely to develop
melanoma than 10 years ago,
and 12 times as likely than 50
years ago. This is probably be-
cause more ultraviolet (UV) ra-
diation is reaching the earth as
the ozone layer is depleted.
Skin cancer can affect any-
one regardless of race or skin
color. However, it is more com-
mon in people with fair or light-
color skin, those with a family
history of skin cancer, people
who spend a lot of time out-
doors working in the sun, and
people who were severely sun-
burned as children. One seri-
ous sunburn can increase the
risk of skin cancer by as much
as 50 percent. Here are some
tips for protecting yourself:
• Stay out of the sun, espe-
cially from 10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
when the sun’s rays are most
damaging. Arrange outside ac-
tivities around these times and
seek as much shade as possi-
ble. You can burn on a cloudy
day.
• Wear protective clothes
such as a long-sleeve shirt and
long pants. Dark colors gener-
ally provide more protection
than light colors. Covering up
doesn’t block out all UV rays. A
typical light T-shirt usually pro-
vides less protection than a
sunscreen with a Sun Protec-
tion Factor (SPF) of 15 or high-
er.
• Wear a sun-safe hat. Base-
ball hats do not protect vulnera-
ble areas on your ears, face, or
neck. Try a wide-brim hat made
of tightly woven fabric.
• Do not use tanning beds or
sun lamps. They give off just as
much UV radiation as the sun.
• Finally, check your skin
every month for abnormal or
changing areas, especially
moles. Use a mirror or ask a
family member to check areas
you cannot see. Ask your doc-
tor to examine questionable ar-
eas.
Source: Denise Rennekamp,
Oregon State University.
Lightning kills: Do you know how to avoid this common danger?
Lightning is the second
cause of storm deaths in the
U.S., killing more than torna-
does or hurricanes. Lightning
also inflicts life-long debilitating
injury on many more than it
kills. While Florida is the ‘Thun-
derstorm Capital’ of the U.S.,
other parts of the country have
lots of lightning, too, especially
in the Southeast, Midwest, and
the front ranges of the Rocky
Mountains. However, all states
have some lightning threat.
Most of the lightning deaths
and injuries are easily avoided.
Remember, no place outside is
safe near a thunderstorm, so
when thunder roars, go in-
doors!
The annual Lightning Safety
Awareness Week is June 24-
30. The awareness campaign
will cover general lightning
safety (indoors and outdoors),
lightning science, and the med-
ical aspects of lightning. Learn
more at www.lightningsafety.
noaa.gov.
The first step in lightning
safety is to plan your outdoor
activities to avoid as much of
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the lightning threat as you can.
Watch local weather forecasts
and know your local weather
patterns. The forecast from
your local National Weather
Service office can be found at
www.weather.gov or through
www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov.
When outside, use the ‘30-
30 Rule’ to know if lightning is
close enough to be a danger.
When you see lightning, count
the time until you hear its thun-
der. If that time is 30 seconds or
less, the thunderstorm is close
enough to be a threat – go in-
side immediately. If you can’t
see the lightning, then a back-
up rule is that just hearing thun-
der means the lightning is close
enough to be a threat.
Don’t go outside until 30
minutes or more after hearing
the last thunder. When outside,
also watch the skies for locally
developing thunderstorms. If
thunderstorms are brewing
nearby, go inside even before
the first lightning flash.
The safest place from light-
ning that is readily available to
most people, is inside a large,
fully enclosed building with
wiring and plumbing, e.g. a typ-
ical house. But stay away from
any conducting path to the out-
side: corded telephones, elec-
trical appliances, and plumbing.
Don’t watch lightning from
doorways or windows. If you
can’t get to a house, a vehicle
with a metal roof and metal
sides is a good second choice.
Roll-up the windows, lean away
from the door, and don’t touch
any conducting path going out-
side, e.g. radio, keys in the igni-
tion, steering wheel, etc. Re-
member, it’s not the rubber tires
insulating you from the ground
that make vehicles safe, but
rather the metal shell that con-
ducts the electricity around you
– convertibles, motorcycles,
cars made of fiberglass and
plastic, and open shelled out-
door recreation vehicles don’t
count.
If you can’t get to a house or
vehicle, then at least avoid the
most hazardous places and ac-
tivities. Stay off elevated
places, like mountains, build-
ings, high playground equip-
ment, etc. Keep away from
open areas, including sports
fields and beaches. Get away
from tall isolated objects like
trees. Going under trees to
keep dry persists as the second
leading cause of lightning casu-
alties in the U.S. Don’t do this;
going under trees is just asking
to be hit by lightning! Stop wa-
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ter related activities, including
swimming, boating, and fishing.
Get out of the pool at the first
hint of lightning threat! Get off
of open vehicles like cabin-less
tractors, bulldozers, etc.
Remember, NO PLACE
OUTSIDE IS SAFE NEAR A
THUNDERSTORM – you are
much safer going inside a
house or car. WHEN THUN-
DER ROARS, GO INDOORS!
All lightning deaths are from
cardiac arrest. Stopped breath-
ing may follow the stopped
heart. First call 9-1-1 to get pro-
fessional medical help. Then
apply CPR or mouth-to-mouth
resuscitation, as appropriate. A
common myth is that lightning
victims are electrified. False! It
is perfectly safe to give first aid
to a lightning victim (just make
sure they aren’t touching live
power wires). Ninety percent of
lightning victims survive, so
your first aid has an excellent
chance of saving a life.
Lightning is definitely the un-
derrated thunderstorm threat.
While no set of guidelines can
give you 100 percent guaran-
teed safety from lightning, the
procedures discussed above
can help you avoid most light-
ning casualties. For more infor-
mation on lightning safety, visit
www.lightningsafety.n.
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