UV Safety Awareness Month
Chapa-De Indian Health Auburn Grass Valley | Medical Clinic
July is UV Safety Awareness month! During this month, the mission is to spread awareness about the importance of protecting ourselves from the harmful effects of UV rays. Cancer can occur in the eyes, lips, and skin due to overexposure to UV light, so it is important to educate ourselves of the different methods of protection against these harsh rays.
What are UV rays?
UV stands for ultraviolet radiation. Our main exposure to UV rays is from direct sunlight. It can be especially dangerous during the hot spring and summer months. There are different types of UV radiation – UVA, UVB, and UVC. All of them can harm your skin, but UVA and UVB rays are the two types that can lead to skin cancer.
How do UV rays cause cancer?
Not wearing sunscreen or protective layering can highly increase your chances of skin cancer. You must protect your skin from direct sunlight, otherwise you run the risk of getting skin cancer, including: Melanoma, Basal cell, and Squamous cell.
Cancer is the most severe effect of unprotected exposure to UV rays, but there are other health risks such as: damaged eyesight, premature wrinkling of skin, dry skin, sunburn, and liver spots or age spots.
Click HERE to learn more about the different cancers and other potential effects caused by UV radiation.
What you can do to protect yourself
- Wear sunscreen that has an SPF of at least 15 or higher
- Wear protective clothing while out in the sun, such as a large hat
- Try to stay in shaded areas when the sun is most intense (around midday)
- Avoid indoor tanning
Click HERE to learn more about how to protect yourself from UV radiation.
For information about protecting your skin, or if you think you may have a serious skin issue, do not hesitate to reach out to your provider.
For more information about Chapa-De, call our Auburn location at (530) 887-2800 or our Grass Valley location at (530) 477-8545 or visit us online at chapa-de.org.
PASSIONATE PEOPLE. COMPASSIONATE CARE.
Chapa-De provides medical care, dental care, optometry, behavioral health, pharmacy services and much more.
Serving all American Indian, Low Income and Limited Income Community Members
