‘Make it a habit’: Expert stresses need to incorporate sun protection into daily routine

In this video, Hansa Bhargava, MD, and Victoria Barbosa, MD, MPH, MBA, FAAD, discuss the impact of UV rays on aging and the risk for skin cancer, as well as ways to protect your skin from the sun.

Barbosa, Skin of Color Society president and associate professor of medicine at University of Chicago Medicine, spoke with Bhargava, Healio’s chief clinical strategy and innovation officer, during a special LinkedIn Live event.

During their conversation, Barbosa said melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is on track to be the fifth most common skin cancer this year.

“We must protect our skin from the sun for basal cell carcinoma protection, which is the most common form of skin cancer, and also for protection against the other forms of skin cancer,” Barbosa said, adding that wearing sunscreen, hats and protective clothing, as well as reducing sun exposure, are among the different ways to do so. Because it’s important to take precautions on even cloudy days, Barbosa tells patients to find a product they like and “make it a habit” to use as part of their daily routine.

• Tell us about your career and what motivated you. 00:36
• Is there anything you can point to that motivated you along the way? What is the common thread? 1:47
• How can we best protect ourselves, especially given the environmental issues that we have today? 5:25
• Is there specifically a concern if people are in the pool or in water? Does that reflection of the sun’s rays cause more of a risk? 7:30
• What’s going on regarding the low rates of sun screen use among certain racial, ethnic and gender groups and how can we actually make sure that this is a little bit better? 9:03
• What is your response when a teenager says, “I’m not going to wear the sunscreen because it’s going to cause my acne to break out?” 11:51
• There are some solutions that we can offer to our teens, but what about ourselves? 13:54
• Is there a recommendation that you have for SPF? 16:45
• We talked about the impact of UV rays on increasing the risk of skin cancer. What about the impact of sunlight and UV rays on aging? 20:15
• On cloudy days, do I really need to put on sunscreen? 21:23
• What are your thoughts on clear zinc oxide? 22:02