The benefits of the sun should not be ignored because of the fear of skin cancer, a dermatologist said yesterday at a major dermatology and venereology conference held in Dublin. Dr Frank Powell told The Irish Times there was no need to be "paranoid" about the sun, but simply to take a sensible approach to it.
"The sun is good for you and very uplifting. We can enjoy it without suffering the adverse sideeffects by being sensible. It is the same approach as being able to enjoy a few glasses of wine rather than a few bottles," he said. On holidays Irish people, because of their fair skin, should not lie in the sun all the time, he advised. "Protect yourself by using a sun block factor of 15 or higher for the first week and then drop down to six or more. Be careful to avoid the midday sun and wear a hat. It should also be remembered that the sun destroys collagen which causes rapid wrinkling in people over 40 years of age," said Dr Powell, a consultant dermatologist at the Mater Hospital.
He said he would advise people not to lie in the sun "promoting a burn" but to take part in activities such as swimming, walking and golfing. Prof Robin Marks, a leading skin cancer specialist in Australia, told the conference, which ended yesterday, that Irish skin, because of its fairness and tendency to freckle was particularly susceptible to skin cancer.
People of Irish origin in Australia were among the most frequently seen with this problem, he said. Dr Powell said the precise role of sunlight in melanoma, a serious form of skin cancer which can spread to internal organs if neglected, has recently been questioned by the media.
However, he said most experts at the conference agreed it was a very significant factor in the development of skin cancers, including melanoma.
The advice, he said, continued to be to avoid long exposure to sunlight, especially in childhood, and protection from sunburn for all ages. Speaking about rosacea, a facial skin disorder which frequently affected pale-skinned, freckled people, Dr Powell said it was a common problem but many people did not even realise they had it.
Facial redness is a feature of the condition. The swelling of the nose which sometimes accompanies it was often wrongly associated with alcohol misuse, he said. The cheeks, nose, chin and central forehead are mainly affected.