Over use of Factor 50 ?

[Brissles]

Article in today's paper states that Ricketts is on the rise, due to a lack of Vitamin D - sunshine being the largest contributor, and which the kids are not getting due to overzealous use of slathering them in high factor suncream from dawn to dusk ! That and the fact that they don't play outside much and are plonked in front of the tele or a computer.

I wonder what the response would be from Ultrasun Abbie on this, the ultimate scare mongerer of skin cancer !!!!

In fact have we ever seen a less healthy generation of youngsters coming through ; obese through lack of exercise and c..p diet, pasty looking due to lack of fresh air and sunshine, eye problems through computer/tv watching, hearing issues due to constant throb of non-music in cars/clubs, feet issues due to continual wearing of trainers instead of 'proper' shoes, the list is endless.

 

[Boris Bear]

This is quite interesting
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-22433359

Obviously people have to use common sense but I do wonder if the "don't step out of the door unless you're wearing factor 50" view is a bit extreme.

 

[Nora]

Article in today's paper states that Ricketts is on the rise, due to a lack of Vitamin D - sunshine being the largest contributor, and which the kids are not getting due to overzealous use of slathering them in high factor suncream from dawn to dusk ! That and the fact that they don't play outside much and are plonked in front of the tele or a computer.

I wonder what the response would be from Ultrasun Abbie on this, the ultimate scare mongerer of skin cancer !!!!

In fact have we ever seen a less healthy generation of youngsters coming through ; obese through lack of exercise and c..p diet, pasty looking due to lack of fresh air and sunshine, eye problems through computer/tv watching, hearing issues due to constant throb of non-music in cars/clubs, feet issues due to continual wearing of trainers instead of 'proper' shoes, the list is endless.

All I can say is that I'm glad Im not young anymore, I don't envy the younger generation at all! They may have more technology than we had, but some things seemed to have gone backwards instead of forwards.

 

[QuiteVacuousChat]

The main reason for the rickets increase is immigration patterns and the chosen style of dress for conservative immigrant communities (especially for girls and women). The stats are high in South Asia, despite the sun, and it isn't surprising that they would be worse given those dress codes in a temperate climate.

 

[Brissles]

I concur with that qvchat, but today's article referred to a young lad, white British, which IS worrying.

 

[China Girl]

When I was a child we all played out from morning till night in the summer. We didn't have holidays abroad back in the sixties, it was Butlins for us. No one I knew used sun cream, I'm not saying we shouldn't use it of course, but let's stop being paranoid about a bit of sun on our arms, our winters are long enough as it is.

 

[caretodiffer]

Thank you for the thread, brissles :bear: and thank you for the newspaper link, Boris Bear:bear:
There is some truth in it, in my experience, usually I get some sunshine in this country or on holidays, (though I never sunbathe as such).
Last year I missed out on both, and was feeling more tired than usual with more joint aches, I put that down at first to my fluctuating thyroid function, but then my pituitary gland was sorting things out, so I had declined the option of taking thyroxine tabs.

My tiredness seemed to have had increased, so I went to see my doctor, he sent me for Vitamin D tests and mine was quite low, so I was put on Vit D capsules which has brought it up nearer to normal. I asked him if he minded checking my BP and he was surprised that it was high. To cut a long story short, a 24 hr BP check showed my highest BP was 196/115 :sweat:which WAS way high and now I have to take tabs for that and some of their side effects along:doh:
So the lack of sunshine has played havoc with my health :mysmilie_478:
Please Mr. Sun, come out please!!

 

[sharonk]

Funnily enough I started taking vit D a few weeks ago as part of a desperate plan to try and minimise prickly heat when I go on holiday in the summer.
I wear trousers for work and don't sit out in the garden much because we live in the country and I have an unhealthy obsession with flies ( don't ask).

my mum has reoccurring bouts of cellulitis in her legs about every 3 months. she went for blood tests and they initially said she was low on Vit D. They told her to make sure she got out in the garden to get some sun, something that she hasn't dont for the past couple of years for ear of being bitten on her legs and getting another bout of cellulitis.

We have now both started to wear skirts at weekends so our legs get sight of the sun.

 

[etoile]

Article in today's paper states that Ricketts is on the rise, due to a lack of Vitamin D - sunshine being the largest contributor, and which the kids are not getting due to overzealous use of slathering them in high factor suncream from dawn to dusk ! That and the fact that they don't play outside much and are plonked in front of the tele or a computer.

I wonder what the response would be from Ultrasun Abbie on this, the ultimate scare mongerer of skin cancer !!!!

In fact have we ever seen a less healthy generation of youngsters coming through ; obese through lack of exercise and c..p diet, pasty looking due to lack of fresh air and sunshine, eye problems through computer/tv watching, hearing issues due to constant throb of non-music in cars/clubs, feet issues due to continual wearing of trainers instead of 'proper' shoes, the list is endless.

Trainers are so well designed and shock absorbing they are probably better for a lot of people and maybe more affordable than what some consider proper footwear. There are countless apocryphal tales of injury or harm to kids from modern lifestyles but I'm sure we can all draw on tales of our childhood era to put it into perspective. I have a friend who is partially deaf as she was taken with her gran to her work in an industrial mill... the effects of poverty, poor provision social care and childcare, lack of 'elf and safety'etc.
I'm sure a lot of adults in this country are developing problems from demineralisation of their bones but as they are not in the development stage of life this may not be so immediately apparent. It's not all down to over zealous parents wielding factor 50 but we do seem to be going through an era of personal blame. Look at the vilification of fat people. Over eating can be triggered by certain cheap ingredients used in manufactured foods we are not evolved to cope with. 20 minutes sun exposure a day to an area of the body like arms or legs is enough for vitamin d manufacture. Not a great deal and most kids would be hard pressed not to get that accidentally! The U.K. (Scotland in particular) has a greater prevalence of conditions related to reduced sunlight such as rickets, heart failure and neurological conditions such as M.S. across the population not specific to young age. Other countries with poor or low level sunlight such as Scandinavian countries are not affected in the same way. One of the biggest factors seems to be a poor diet low in nutrients and oily fish.

 

[Julius]

When I was a child (80s and 90s) I used to play out all the time on my council estate, jumping off the roofs of the dustbin sheds, wandering down to the local park. The one thing I noticed was that summers in UK are not really that hot. Back home summers are much hotter and winters much colder. Here the weather is quite mediocre! I remember once getting sunburnt AND getting stung by a wasp We went to the pharmacy and they recommended this strange chalky pink / white liquid in a bottle and it helped.

When I was a child we all played out from morning till night in the summer. We didn't have holidays abroad back in the sixties, it was Butlins for us. No one I knew used sun cream, I'm not saying we shouldn't use it of course, but let's stop being paranoid about a bit of sun on our arms, our winters are long enough as it is.

 

[BusyLizzie]

The chalky pink/white stuff was Calamine Lotion Julius.

 

[Julius]

Yes! Calamine! I just looked it up. I was beginning to think I was imagining it! There was another pink (stronger pink) medicine that came in a strange triangular bottle for upset stomach. I really hated it but it worked!

 

[RedT]

I live in Oz now and while I always have spf on my face (coz it's already in my moisturiser and foundation) I don't wear it on my body unless I'm actually going to be out all day. The little bit of sun I get on the way to and from work is what I call my 'vitamin D sunshine', you have to get a little exposure and as long as you're careful when the sun is at it's highest I reckon it's ok. If I'm sitting out at lunch I'll put a light scarf over my chest so i don't get burned. Rickets are starting to be a problem here too, obviously we have to be careful of the Aussie sun but being blanketed in high factor sun block isn't necessarily the healthiest either.

 

[holmca]

I think it all depends on your skin type, which you won't discover if you spend all your time covered in a high SPF cream. I am lucky as I don't burn, but if I sunbathe at the beginning of Summer then I use a cream (normally SPF 6)and I only start off for a hour. When I have a bit of colour I will use an oil SPF 2 to enhance my colour.

Summers here are hot and sunny and normally around 32 - 35 degrees and I drive a convertible car and never use an SPF every day, but I do moisturise my skin before I go to bed.

The local children here are as brown as berries and spend all day in and out of the swimming pool in Summer and you never see red skin here - apart from the Tourists.

In the UK I use to suffer from SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder, which is basically a depression brought on my lack of sun. Its odd that no one mentions this any more.

So in conclusion, I suppose what I am saying is ignore the panic-mongers get to know your skin type and do whats best for you.

 

[Nicky-j]

We each have to be careful to judge our own tolerance to the sun with our need for it. I am one of those who does wear SPF50. I have little choice. I am very fair skinned and would burn quite quickly without it. However, I make sure that every day I get a few minutes 'unprotected' daylight on my skin so that I can absorb my Vitamin D. It's something which, as a very pale person, I've been wary of for a while now.
The problem with all these 'scare stories' (on both sides of the SPF row) is that, although based on scientific fact, they seem outrageous to the casual reader and so that supposed outrageousness gets 'used' as an excuse to validate the reader's own predeliction (whether this is to slather on the SPF50 or bake oneself without any protection). The fact is that we need to have careful exposure to the sunlight, not over exposure or no exposure. It's a difficult balance. For those of us that really do need to use SPF50 for safety and comfort, it's a difficult balancing act. Then again, I still think there are a lot of people out there not using enough, or indeed any, sun protection. They, too, are playing russian roulette with their longterm health.While I know of no-one, even by association, who has developed rickets, I do know of at least seven people who have developed skin cancer. In the end, every one has to make their own considered choice.

 

[etoile]

.While I know of no-one, even by association, who has developed rickets, I do know of at least seven people who have developed skin cancer. In the end, every one has to make their own considered choice.[/QUOTE]

Well said Nicky-J. We don't live in a stable environment and all things do not remain the same. It's not conclusively proven but it is possible that changes to the ozone layer ( not necessarily depletion) allow more uv rays through now than in our childhood and could be a factor in increased skin cancer rates. Increased rates are not solel.y confined to those lucky enough to travel to warmer climes.
Not to keep harping but mineral depletion of bones is on the rise across the generations. Kids need 3 glasses of milk or other dairy in their diets and calcium is essential to absorb vitamin D ( and vice versa). This is just as likely to be affected by the recognised rise in poverty in the U.K. and generally poorer diets. Access to cheap fizzy drinks is also much more common now than in my childhood and these phosphorus loaded drinks deplete calcium and in turn vitamin D uptake. They are also associated with rising osteoporosis.
Just another point SPF creams are expensive in the UK and a good SPF50 a luxury I would hazard to guess but incidents of rickets are not confined to those kids with parents that can afford to slather them in it.
The press do love to latch on to a story and draw simplistic conclusions and apportion blame.

 

[RedT]

We each have to be careful to judge our own tolerance to the sun with our need for it. I am one of those who does wear SPF50. I have little choice. I am very fair skinned and would burn quite quickly without it. However, I make sure that every day I get a few minutes 'unprotected' daylight on my skin so that I can absorb my Vitamin D. It's something which, as a very pale person, I've been wary of for a while now.
The problem with all these 'scare stories' (on both sides of the SPF row) is that, although based on scientific fact, they seem outrageous to the casual reader and so that supposed outrageousness gets 'used' as an excuse to validate the reader's own predeliction (whether this is to slather on the SPF50 or bake oneself without any protection). The fact is that we need to have careful exposure to the sunlight, not over exposure or no exposure. It's a difficult balance. For those of us that really do need to use SPF50 for safety and comfort, it's a difficult balancing act. Then again, I still think there are a lot of people out there not using enough, or indeed any, sun protection. They, too, are playing russian roulette with their longterm health.While I know of no-one, even by association, who has developed rickets, I do know of at least seven people who have developed skin cancer. In the end, every one has to make their own considered choice.

Exactly what you said! I know that I'll burn on an average summer day in Australia in as little as 10 minutes. Early morning and late afternoon are fine so I feel I'm safe enough going to work and back wihtout sunblock all over. But I avoid going out at lunchtime and at weekends I'll have SPF30 on and apply it every two hours. It took a little getting used to the sun here, I've been absolutely fried twice before I knew how strong the sun was and I'm going for a skin check soon so it'll be interesting to see what the specialist has to say...

 

[Artemis]

Being generally aware and sensible is the key, I find. I am a natural redhead with a million freckles so I do have to be careful, here in Greece. I don't sunbathe and I don't often use sun cream.I will always use it if we are going out for the day, in the summer months or if I am going to be walking around in the sun at mid-day - something that is sometimes unavoidable.I sit outside for much of the day but our balcony has blinds so I sit in the sun for around 15-20 minutes,most mornings, then pull down some of the blinds so that I am shielded from it. This boosts vitamin D and gives me a barely perceptible tan, which is fine by me.I have never once burned here despite my fair skin.
I have had 2 friends in the U.K. develop skin cancer though they have always slathered themselves in very high factor and never sunbathed or used sunbeds. Just like the folk who develop lung cancer though they have never smoked, many people are susceptible to cancers no matter what precautions they take.Of course we shouldn't be stupid and invite trouble but there is so much hysteria around the subject and the ones that really benefit are the companies flogging suncreams and trying to convince us that we mustn't leave the house without them.I am not a great fan of loading my skin with chemicals, some of which are much worse for the skin than the sun.

 

[blarf]

if you're going to be out in it long enough that you might burn slap SPF on, otherwise don't worry - simples!