Earlier today, new stats were published by Cancer Research UK highlighting that two young adult Britons are diagnosed with skin cancer every day; a rate which has tripled since the 1970s. There were several factors highlighted as contributing to this increase, but one was most clearly singled out in the release:
“using a sunbed before the age of 35 can increase your risk of melanoma by 75%”
Following a curious tweet on her ‘sun allergy’ we invited Amanda from Texas to share her experiences as a guest blogger in the hope that they may help others. This is the second of two parts, you can read part one here.
Hiding from the sun wasn’t an option. Granted, I was reluctant to incur the wrath of UV light: the itching, the bumps, the disfiguration that affected my confidence. Thankfully my PLE was confined to my arms.
Yet, with dermatologists telling me nothing could be done outside an occasional cortisone injection, I was determined to explore any and all treatment options. (more…)
Following a curious tweet on her ‘sun allergy’ we invited Amanda from Texas to share her experiences as a guest blogger in the hope that they may help others. This is the first of two parts.
Nearly a decade ago, if you had looked up sun worshipper in the dictionary, you would have seen my picture.
As a young girl growing up on the Gulf Coast of the United States, I was blessed with a pool in my backyard and a temperate climate. Swimming and spending time lounging in the sun were very much a way of life and, blessed with my mother’s Greek coloring, I was able to spend as much time as I wanted baking in the UV light without as much as a freckle. (more…)
As the Northern Hemisphere approaches the end of winter, we are beginning to see more mentions of ‘sun allergies’ in popular press, online and in social media.
Most people are not actually ‘allergic’ to the sun, but rather are suffering the first symptoms of seasonal or light-induced skin disorders, known medically as photodermatoses. Photodermatoses cause a person’s skin to react to even the briefest sunlight exposure by burning, swelling or developing a rash. Most distressingly, these diseases can have sudden onset where people, who may have never experienced them before, see symptoms following their first day in the spring sun. (more…)
A week ago we saw the close of the American Academy of Dermatology’s 69th Annual Meeting in New Orleans. The conference is often the launching pad for many new and interesting scientific study results. This year was no exception, with some interesting findings being presented.
This is a follow up to an earlier post on AAD news which can be viewed here. (more…)
Overnight the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) has issued an update on its position statement on vitamin D, a hot topic in dermatology and medicine more broadly (and one we’ve discussed on the blog in some depth in the past).
In a release issued on their website, the AAD reaffirmed its stance that vitamin D – essential for human skeletal health – should be obtained through diet and/or dietary supplements, rather than risking exposure to ultraviolet light, a natural source of vitamin D for humans. (more…)
Those who follow the company’s clinical announcements would be well aware of our recently announced vitiligo program. To provide a deeper understanding of the science and the concept of phototherapy, today we’ve released a second technology update focused on exploring narrowband UVB technology. See our main site:
Technology Update II: Afamelanotide as an adjunct to phototherapy
A patient with vitiliginous lesions on their fingers and hands
Today Clinuvel has announced that it will be commencing a new program for SCENESSE® in the common pigmentary disorder vitiligo. While this is an exciting development for Clinuvel – increasing the potential for SCENESSE® as a therapy – we feel it is vital to provide as much in-depth information on our program as is feasible to ensure our stakeholders are aware of what we anticipate will and will not be achieved with SCENESSE® as a repigmentation therapy. (more…)
New research reveals that beach umbrellas may not provide the level of sun protection that, to date, many had assumed they would. According to researchers from the University of Valencia in Spain, while beach umbrellas block most of the ultraviolet (UV) radiation coming directly from the sun, a percentage of the scattered or reflected UV radiation still reaches beneath the shelter.
Prolonged exposure to UV radiation has been shown to have a variety of detrimental health effects on humans, including; sunburn, immune system suppression, ocular damage (cataracts), premature skin aging and the development of skin cancers. The solar UV radiation directly from the sun and its encircling light only makes up approximately 40% of the total radiation which may reach a person’s skin at ground level. The other 60% comes from the surrounding sky, it may be reflected from the surface of nearby objects, such as buildings, trees and sand, or it may be scattered by the molecules which make up the air. This reflected UV radiation is known as ‘diffuse radiation’ and is able to penetrate horizontally through unobstructed sections of the sky.
Skin colour is one of the most obvious and most variable traits humans possess. As visual creatures, people readily observe these differences in one another. Anthropologist, Dr. Nina Jablonski, and colleague George Chaplin have unraveled the mystery behind the diversity of this distinguishing characteristic in their article, ‘Human skin pigmentation as an adaptation to UV radiation’. The pair have presented the first complete theory of skin colour as an evolutionary adaptation.
Paeleotologists have long known that human ancestors once had bodies covered with dense hair. Several theories on the evolution of the present ‘hairless condition’ exist. In this case, the authors suggest this was in response to hot conditions and the need to lose body heat upon physical activity. As naked beings, their once-protected skin became exposed to a multitude of environmental elements, including abrasion, infection, various chemicals and weather conditions. At the same time as the disappearance of the majority of body hair, humans evolved skin that was a more resilient barrier to such hazards and also contained the protective pigment eumelanin (melanin).
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