with Dr. Honaker
PROTECTING YOUR SKIN
Dr. riCharD honaKer
Family Medicine Physician
Dr. honaker has been featured on best Docs network DFw, houston and nashville in the Medical Minute segments, as it’ s trusted family medicine physician discussing topics ranging from eating healthy, weight loss, and sleep problems to preventive care for headaches, food poisoning and sunburns.
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There is nothing good about sunburns. Not only does it hurt but it can make your skin leathery and thick. Or worse, it can increase the number, the size and the depth of wrinkles.
Use sunscreen when outdoors. you need to use sunscreen when you’ re out in the sun for long periods. SPF 30 is about the ideal number. a lot of people use an SPF 40, 50, 60 and 80, but you really don’ t get much bang for your buck after SPF 30. So just get your SPF 30 going.
Apply sunscreen often. apply it every couple of hours while you’ re out in the sun, especially if you’ re in and out of the water.
Drink plenty of fluids. you should drink more water than usual while outdoors and exposed to the sun in order to avoid dehydration.
cover up. Cover your skin with loose, light colored clothing if exposed to the sun for long periods of time or multiple days.
Protect your eyes and head. wearing sunglasses and hats help to protect your eyes and face from harmful sun rays.
Protect the kids, too. Make sure your kids have the SPF 30 sunscreen on regularly and apply it often.
Lighter skin, eye, and hair color risk. People with red hair, blue eyes and freckly skin have a much greater incidence of skin damage from the sun.
take precaution if on medications. if you’ re on certain antibiotics for urinary infections or respiratory infections that can sensitize you to the sun, you can get a sunburn far more quickly and far more deadly than you normally would.
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Keep your skin cool by using cool compresses or taking cool showers.
after cooling and cleaning the skin, be sure to moisturize your skin thoroughly with lotion or aloe vera.
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you should continue to stay hydrated. Drinking plenty of fluids helps keep your body and skin hydrated. if your sunburn is painful, take an otC pain reliever, such as ibuprofen( advil), acetaminophen( tylenol), or naproxen( aleve).
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if you are experiencing a severe sunburn or a sunburn with blisters, contact your doctor right away for appropriate treatment. Do not burst blisters.
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