High-factor suncreams a waste of money

SUN-WORSHIPPERS buying high-factor suncreams in an attempt to protect their skin may be wasting their money.

While new figures indicate that misinformation about the dangers of the sun up to 20 years ago have led to Ireland recording the third highest rates of skin cancer in Europe, experts believe there’s little difference in the protection afforded by factor 15 suncream and factor 50.

Skin cancer is the second-highest cancer diagnosis in the 30-40 age group in Ireland and is mainly caused by over-exposure to the sun, while some experts belief that sunbeds should be banned.

Figures released by the National Cancer Registry show that Ireland has a rate of 13.2 new melanoma cases every year per 100,000 of the population among women, and eight cases per 100,000 in the male population, leaving us behind Iceland and Denmark on a table of European countries.

There were 610 new melanoma cases in 2006, but the Cancer Information Service said yesterday that 90% of all skin cancers are preventable.

Many Irish people are predisposed to developing melanoma because of fair skin, red hair and blue/green eyes and it can particularly affect people with freckles, a lot of moles (50-plus) and the over-55 age group.

“People don’t realise that tanned skin is damaged skin,” said CIS nurse Jennifer Ledwith yesterday.

She blamed the sun-worshipping days of two decades ago, when foreign holidays became more popular, for much of today’s problems: “People didn’t know anything about skin cancer then. We burned ourselves badly and it’s showing itself 20 years later.”

Meanwhile, Ms Ledwith said that some information suggests that sunbeds are even more harmful than the sun’s rays. “We don’t agree with sunbeds at all.

“They should be banned altogether.

“It’s personal choice, naturally, but it’s just creating problems for the future,” she said.

The Cancer Information Service recommends factor 15 suncream for adults — “there’s very little in the difference between factor 15 and factor 50 and there’s no such thing as full protection from the sun” — and anything between factor 15 and factor 30 for children.

“There’s a lot of chemicals in the higher factors,” explained Ms Ledwith.

Meanwhile, cancer registry figures show that Ireland has the second-highest rate of leukaemia in Europe, after Malta, and rates fifth for incidence of cancer of the oesophagus; sixth for brain and central nervous system cancer; ninth for cancer of the colon and rectum; and ninth for ovarian cancer.

Advice to protect the skin:

* Avoid the direct rays of the sun between 11am and 3pm;

* Wear a wide-brimmed hat;

* Put on a “golf ball-sized amount” of factor 15 suncream (or up to factor 30 on children) 20 minutes before going out into the sun;

* Re-apply suncream every two hours;

* Use wraparound sunglasses;

* Remember that sunlight reflected off water or passing through clouds contain just as much potentially-harmful UVA and UVB rays.