Beach Safety - How and When to Apply Sunscreen

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Transcripts

Butch Arbin: Hi! I am captain Butch Arbin with the Ocean City, Maryland, Beach Patrol. We are talking about how to have a safe and enjoyable day at the beach. This clip talks about sunscreen, how to apply and how to choose it. Sunscreen is an important part of your beach day. It should be applied 30 minutes before you actually come out into the sun, to give it a chance to absorb into your body. It also needs to be reapplied throughout the day. Sunscreen should be applied after you sweated or after you have been swimming because it will be washed off and it become less effective. Also, you need to go to understand about the SPF value of the sunscreen, the higher the SPF number, the greater protection it gives you. A low SPF will not give you a very long exposure time in the sun and also may not give you much protection. Even dark skin individuals, those peoples who have a lot of experience in the sun need to be aware that you do need sunscreen. Even a dark skin individual can have sun damage from the sun. Dermatologist tells us that even one sunburn is really too many and can cause lifelong problems with skin. So again, you need to apply your sunscreen prior to coming out on the beach and then you need to reapply throughout the day. Often with children, they have wiped it off; they need to have it reapplied even though they don t want to stand still let you do it, you need to force them to do it.

Also, sunscreen, you need a quality sunscreen product. Sunscreen can be made for different parts of the body. They make lip coat, which is designed just for the lips, which can become very sunburn very quickly. Also the nose, a different type of it, where you can put it in your nose to keep all the sun off and then there is some for faces, they make it for the body, and they make it for kids. Most companies make a product specifically for children. It is beneficial to you to get one of those products because very often when they manufacture it, they are hypoallergenic and also manufactured without the harsh chemicals and alcohols that cause burning or irritation to the eyes. We know children will put things in their eyes and in their mouth and it is important to have a product designed for children. You need to apply it again 30 minutes before the kids are going to be out in the sun and reapply it often. Even though the kids may resist that, you need to stop them, sit them down and reapply, making sure you cover all parts of the body that are exposed and even pull the bathing suit up and down to make sure you get those areas that are going to be moved around while they play.

Children s SPF should be 35 or higher and should be applied again throughout the day. After a day at the beach if you find that you have been sunburned, you need to remember that it is a first-degree burn and needs to be treated as such. Sunburn cream or burn cream works for the redness of a first-degree burn, minor burn. However, if you start seeing blistering or anything worse in that, that s a medical condition and needs medical treatment. Second-degree burns can be dangerous, can become infected and our indication that the burn is occurred into lower levels of the skin; this needs to be treated as a medical emergency and you need to seek medical help. Again, supply the sunscreen to everyone in your group, apply it often liberally and reapply it throughout the day. If you do this, it will help you to have a safe and enjoyable day at the beech.

Next, we are going to be talking about sunglasses.

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