Few things are more pleasant than feeling the heat of sun rays giving you on your face on a cold day.The winter sun is probably one of the most pleasant and comforting sensations, but it also has its 'face B'.We are increasingly aware of the need to protect our skin from sun exposure during the summer months, but we usually forget as the temperature drops.
«Common sense tells us that in autumn and winter there are fewer hours of sun and the ultraviolet radiation index is lower, therefore it seems reasonable to think that we have to protect ourselves less.And so, we should not go crazy.Now, if we go to the mountain all day or our skin is propitious to the spots we must take a series of measures to avoid damaging it even more, ”explains Dr. Eduardo Nagore, head of the Dermatology Service of the Valencian Institute of Oncology (Ivo).These are some of the keys to minimize the risks of the sun at this time of year.
Skin cancer
"Nothing happens to expose a few minutes without protection"
From the point of view of skin cancer, the expert insists that "nothing happens" for being exposed for a few minutes to the winter sun without any sun protection."Radiation is much lower than in the summer months, so that the 20 or 30 minutes that the sun can give us in the face or in the hands of the way to work will not cause us a melanoma," reassures theDoctor Nagore, member of the Spanish Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (AEDV).Another thing is that we are going to spend the mountain all day on a clear day or let's spend the sun in a park in a park, as many older people usually do, more conducive to suffering this type of disease."In these cases, you don't have to throw sun protection," the Valencian specialist is convenient.
Aging and spots
"In these cases, sun cream is fundamental"
As for the aging of the skin, Dr. Eduardo Nagores is blunt: «Every ray that comes to us ages.And this is because it is a cumulative process that is damaging our skin little by little throughout our life ».So if what we intend is to keep the skin Lozana as much years as possible, it is essential to throw sun protection all year.
The same goes for spots, one of the skin pathologies that most age the face."They are tremendously ungrateful," admits the Valencian dermatologist.The problem is that although they are eliminated with treatments, "as soon as the sun gives us again in the depigmented area, they come out again," they warn in the AEDV.
Another case in which you have to be "exquisite" with sun protection is that of people who have already suffered from skin cancer or suffer actinic keratosis, spots or rough injuries that usually appear over the years in areas in areasvery exposed to the sun like the face or hands.
Acne
"Autumn is one of the times in which more outbreaks are produced"
Summer feels very well to certain dermatological pathologies such as atopic dermatitis or acne.However, the same cannot be said of autumn.According to Dr. Nagore, «in addition to producing melanin, one of the ways that the skin has to defend against the aggressions of the Sun in summer is to increase its thickness to prevent the solar rays from reaching the deepest layers.What happens is that this thickening has a rebound effect, which is usually translated into acne outbreaks in the months of September and Ocubre ».
Care
Hydration at all hours Don't forget your hands!
«Hydration is the cornerstone of a healthy and beautiful skin, so that it must be a constant throughout the year, also in autumn and winter.Nor should we forget to hydrate and protect our hands, ”advises the dermatologists of the Pedro Jaén group.
«Las gafas de sol deben ser amplias y envolventes»
After the skin, the eyes are the organ that most suffers the consequences of solar radiation, so it is also important to protect them from the sun in the months of autumn and winter."The ideal is to wear glasses with good ultraviolet protection and that are wide and enveloping so that the rays do not affect us," says Gloria Hermida, president of the International Development and Behavior Optometry Society (SIDEOC).
The choice of the degree of lens protection depends on what we want to wear the sunglasses.In this sense, European regulations distinguish five categories, ranging from 0 to 4.Those of 0 and 1 have a minor protection and are only recommended for days without sun or for large covered spaces, while protection 2 and 3 are the most suitable for sunny days.In fact, they are the most common."In the case of clear eyes, it is recommended to use 3 all year," says Hermida.Those of Grade 4, which is the maximum, are used to ski or in high mountain sports.But in addition to the level of protection, we must also take into account that the glasses have a filter against ultraviolet rays, fundamental "to avoid eye damage".In addition, in winter, ocular dryness is aggravated due to temperature drop and exposure to polluting agents.
