Why do we need to use sunscreen?

cooperates here in Vermont. But just as you're about to run out the door to go play outside, you have probably had this

about hair, we also think about nails. So there is a lot to it that we are experts in. We wanted to talk a little bit about sun safety today and how we can make sure that we are keeping our skin and our whole bodies safe during the summer season.

not so happy about it, and it ends up being burned. When you get a sunburn, the skin turns red, a common sensation that probably many of us have had, and it hurts when you touch it. It feels hot to the touch, and after about a few days or a week or two, you start to notice some of those dead skin cells kind of peeling off or sloughing off, and the new skin comes in from

below it. People who have darker skin tend to be more protected from sunburns, because if you imagine the color in your skin cells acting as kind of an umbrella, protecting your skin from those ultraviolet lights, or from those sun rays, it is a little bit harder for people who have darker skin to get a sunburn, but not impossible, and folks who have lighter skin cells just don't have that type of protection, and they can get sunburned more easily.

if you get a sunburn and then you get over it, is there a problem? Dr. Yu: Short term, your body has an amazing ability to heal itself, so short term, probably not a huge issue. But if you're someone who grew up getting sunburned over and over again every single summer, this leads to many problems when you get a little bit older. So when people are in their 30s and 40s and 50s, one of the first things that we as dermatologists really worry about is the increased risk of developing skin cancers.

So these are these abnormal growths that can show up on the skin, whether they're a lump, whether they're a bump, something that is bleeding, uncomfortable, can be painful, and if they're untreated, they can grow bigger and bigger, and sometimes they can travel to other parts of your body, and they can really cause health problems down the road. So we tend to see this more in people who had a lot of sun exposure, especially sunburns when they're younger.

Dr. Yu says when it comes to protecting our skin, practicing sun safety and avoiding sunburns is key. We'll talk more about the different things we can do to play safe in the sun in a couple of minutes. But before we get to that, when your skin is exposed to the sun, sometimes there's something else that happens that's a little bit different from a sunburn. Sometimes, instead of your skin turning all red and itchy, it

just gets a little darker. People call this a tan. And Dylan, who's four, is wondering, how does our skin get tanned? Dr. Yu: Yeah, that's a great question. In your skin cells, there are these very specific type of cells that are kind of scattered among them, called melanocytes. These are special types of cells that contain the ability to produce a type of

color in your skin called melanin. And when you get a lot of sun exposure, these melanocytes kind of eat it all up, and they get really happy, and they start making more of this chemical called melanin that is supposed to be used to protect your skin against sunlight. So these are the little umbrellas that I was talking about earlier that people who have darker skin tend to have more of in their cells, and the purpose of them is to kind of reflect that sunlight or

deflect it and prevent it from damaging the cells. So when your skin gets a lot of sunlight, it sees this as a signal to make more of the melanin. And the more melanin you make, the darker your skin becomes. So should you go out first thing in the spring and summer and try to get really tan so that you're protected against getting sunburns? Dr. Yu: So that's a very common question that I get asked by my

patients. And the short answer is no, because every time you are getting a tan, you are exposing yourself to large amounts of ultraviolet rays or sunlight. So one of the ways that I've been thinking about the way your skin changes color is a little bit like when you put bread in a toaster, and if you toast it a little bit, it gets a little bit of a light kind of caramel color. If you toast it a little longer, it gets a little bit darker. And if you toast it

for too long, it burns. Is a similar thing happening with our skin? Dr. Yu: Absolutely, you know, you can always do too much, but even a little bit, even a little bit of heat or a little bit of exposure, that doesn't mean that you are sparing your cells from getting damaged. You are still damaging your cells to a certain degree, just not enough to the point where you are burned. Okay, so then one of the main ways that we can protect our skin, if it's exposed to the sunlight, is by wearing

sunscreen. What is sunscreen and how does it work?

sunscreen. So sunscreen, in essence, is just a type of lotion that you put on your skin to protect your skin from the light. It's almost like putting on invisible armor to protect your skin from the harmful effects of sunlight and

ultraviolet rays. We often recommend people to use sunscreen starting in the springtime and then extending it through the summer into the fall, and then sometimes even into the early winter, when the sun can still be strong enough to cause both tanning as well as any sort of a sunburn.

nicely into the skin. And the reason for that is because chemical sunscreens include these chemicals that are made to go into your skin cells. Mineral sunscreens are the ones that tend to go on a little bit whiter, and the reason for that is because the minerals used in these sunscreens do not get absorbed into the skin. The most common minerals that you are going to see in mineral sunscreen is either titanium or

zinc. Both of these are different types of metals, and these are really small, tiny, little metal particles, zinc and titanium, that will then sit on the top of your skin. So chemical goes in, but the mineral sunscreen sit on top of

your skin, and they actually deflect the light. So imagine if you have these little particles, these little glass-looking things that the light shines on, and it just kind of shoots that light right off of your skin, so preventing the cells underneath it from coming in contact with the ultraviolet light. Sometimes, too, with zinc sunscreens or mineral

sunscreens, you don't have to get white ones. And in my family, we have a lot of fun with some colorful mineral sunscreen, and we put it on our bodies to make patterns that are pink or blue or, you know, yellow and green.

Dr. Yu: Yes, that's really fun for the kids to put it on in different colors, and then sometimes for kids who might have darker skin tones, you know, one of the other things that some companies have done a really good job with is actually making tinted mineral sunscreens that will then match your skin tone much better than some of these more traditional mineral sunscreen that just come out chalky white. So I would definitely encourage kids and parents to kind of look for these.

When you talk about the mineral sunscreens having zinc or titanium, I think of titanium kind of seems like something a superhero would use, and you're putting titanium all over your body, it makes me feel like maybe I'm a superhero, and then deflecting all of the sun's rays when I'm wearing it. Dr. Yu: Absolutely, yeah, and that is a great way to put it. Coming up, we tackle other sun safety questions like why are adults always telling us we need to drink water? And our

sunglasses just for looking cool? Stay with us.

where it's much hotter. So that sunscreen is going to feel like it is much colder when it first comes out of that jar or that tube, and when it goes onto your skin.

can absolutely get sunburned on your scalp. So in the summertime, we often recommend people to wear a hat of some sort, whether it's like a bucket hat or a hat with flaps on the side or nice wide brim, because not only can the hat itself protect your scalp from the sun, but the brim can protect your face, for example, your ears, back of the neck, from getting too much sun exposure and be sunburned. Here's a related question about protecting our eyes from the sun.

damaged by too much sun exposure. If you're constantly looking into the sun, or the sun is reflecting off a surface, kind of like the ground or the water, or if you're skiing and the sun is kind of bouncing off of the snow and hitting your eyes, all of those things are exposing your eyes to ultraviolet light. Not only can ultraviolet light damage skin

cells, it can also damage the cells in your eyes. So using sunglasses is a really good way to prevent you from suffering from some of these side effects of too much ultraviolet exposure.

you're looking out from the sunglasses. But more importantly, those lenses on the glasses are able to filter ultraviolet light, just like what sunscreen is doing. So when the sunlight goes through those lenses, all the bad ultraviolet light kind of gets filtered out or gets eliminated, and therefore what is actually reaching your eye is a much

safer amount of ultraviolet light. So therefore wearing sunglasses, especially if you're on the water, if you're skiing, or if it's just a really bright and sunny day, that can really protect your eyes from too much light exposure. So as we talk about how we should take care of our skin and bodies this summer so we can play as hard as we want and for as long as we want outside, another thing kids often hear

their adults say is "make sure you drink water." Or some adults might use the word hydration, like, "stay hydrated."

lot of water or fluid. And in the summertime, what you might notice when you're out there playing around is you're sweating, and sweat is the process with which your body kind of tries to cool itself off, just like the reason you get into a pool or into the ocean in the summertime is because you get water on you, and then that water on you makes

you feel cooler. So your body tries to cool itself off by sweating, by producing water that then will kind of soak your face, your arms, your hands, whatever it is so you start to cool down. But when your body does that, you are losing a lot of water from your skin, from the bloodstream and from other parts of your body. So when you start to lose too much water, you can get what's called dehydrated, or there's not

enough water in your body. And when you get dehydrated, a lot of bad things can happen to you, where you start to feel dizzy, you might start getting a headache, you might start to feel sleepy, some of your body organs might not work normally. People who are dehydrated also feel really tired, so you may not be able to run as far or jump as high in the summertime. So drinking water is really good for you, just to make sure that you do not get dehydrated in the summertime.

Dr. Yu: I do not think you need to be scared of the sun. The sun's been around for millions of years, and it's going to be around for millions more, and people for as long as you know have lived, have really taken to having a good time in the sun and doing so safely. So I absolutely do not think you need

to be afraid of the sun. I do think when you are in the sun, practicing sun safety is the best way to go about making sure that you are enjoying the summer, enjoying the sun, and really being able to spend time with your friends in nature, which I think is really important. The way that I would think about it is, if you can, try to practice more sun safety, maybe even a little bit of seeking shade and sun avoidance, especially between the hours of 10am to 4pm during the day. That

is when the sun is the strongest. That doesn't mean you can't be outside, but maybe if you're able to find areas under trees where there is shade, or if you're at the playground and there's a nice shaded area that you can play in, or if you're having a picnic and finding a nice shady spot that might not

be a bad idea, because that can protect you from the sun. During those hours, it is also very important to make sure that you are using sunscreen, making sure that you are reapplying the sunscreen every you know, 40 to 80 minutes, depending on what it says on the bottle, and/or wearing clothing that offers you some sort of ultraviolet protection factor or UPF, such as a hat, a shirt, pants, things that will protect your skin from the sun. But I do not think you need to be afraid of the sun.

Before those hours, so before ten o'clock in the morning, after four o'clock in the afternoon, the sun's a little bit weaker. That's not to say the sunlight is not out there, but it's a little bit weaker. And therefore, perhaps you don't need to be as, you know, focused on finding shade. But I still would encourage you to wear sunscreen and wear protective clothing, just so you can stay as sun smart and sun safe as possible.

Thanks to Dr. Jeff Yu, pediatric dermatologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Now put on some sunscreen, grab a hat and a water bottle and go play outside. We're putting this episode out on Friday, June 13th. If you're in the Northern Hemisphere, you'll have the longest day of the year a week from now, which is a day called the summer solstice. If your family has a special way to celebrate the solstice, we'd love to hear it. You can send us a voice recording or a video and

email it to [email protected]. As always, if you have a question about anything that you want us to tackle, have an adult record you asking it, and then have your adult email the file to the same place: [email protected]. But Why is produced by Melody Bodette, Sarah Baik and me Jane Lindholm at Vermont Public and distributed by PRX. Our video producer is Joey Palumbo, and

our theme music is by Luke Reynolds. If you like our show, please have your adults help you give us a thumbs up or a review on whatever podcast platform you use to listen to us. We'll be back in two weeks with an all new episode. Until then, stay curious... and hydrated!