Dans l'hémisphère Nord, les mois de juillet et août sont synonymes de soleil et de farniente. Mais ces mois sont aussi trop souvent synonymes de coups de soleil...

< Afficher le texte
> Télécharger le son

It’s the summer season, and many of us embrace this time of the year when we like to  indulge in sun and water sports. After all, for half the planet, this season is all about getting out in the sun and relaxing on the beach.
With the ozone layer thinning out, or showing holes in the Far North and the Far South, sunburn is becoming a much more serious issue, even during some of the winter months.
Melanin is a substance in your skin that helps to protect you against ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun. Melanin also gives you your tan, if you have one. Sunburn results when the amount of UV radiation from the sun exceeds the protective ability of the melanin in your skin.
Depending on where in the world you are located, and the position of the sun, it can take as little as 10 minutes for you to start to burn. Once you’ve started to burn, the length of time you remain in the sun increases the severity of that burn.
Sunburn  varies from  mild redness and irritation to extreme blistering, requiring hospitalization… But sunburn can easily be prevented by using an appropriate sun block.
The sun blocks work by absorbing or reflecting ultraviolet light so that it does not operate on the skin directly. This can help you to tan without burning.
The amount of air that light has to pass through has an impact on the amount of ultraviolet that reaches your body. The light from the sun on the horizon is safer because it needs to pass through much more of the Earth’s atmosphere than if it was directly overhead.
The sunburn itself however is the lesser problem...a short-term pain and irritation that fades after a few days. The main concern is the link between UV radiation exposure, sunburn, and skin cancer. Unprotected exposure to UV radiation that results in severe sunburn can more than double your chances of contracting malignant melanoma… one of the more devastating skin cancers.
With the amount of UV radiation around the globe being measured at higher levels (in some cases, slightly higher, while in the far north and south, much higher, even extreme), in part due to the reduction of ozone in the upper atmosphere, it is becoming increasingly important to ensure that you have good solar protection year-round… not just while lying on the beach in summer.
Even cloud cover is no guarantee of protection, as UV radiation can pass right through the cloud layer.

By RobM