Health: Stay safe in the sun

10 comments
By Cycling Plus | Monday, Jun 6, 2011 5.00pm

The signature ‘cyclist’s tan’ may help you recognise fellow roadies, but long days cycling in the sun can have a more serious impact. A recent study from Cancer Research UK found the amount of men dying from skin cancer has doubled in the last three decades, suggesting that we fail to treat our skin with the respect it deserves when it comes to sun damage.

British Skin Foundation dermatologist and keen cyclist Dr Ian Coulson says cyclists are particularly at risk from sun damage. “Cyclists face cumulative sun damage from chronic exposure,” he says, “causing a higher prevalence of cancerous melanoma and premature ageing.”

Research backs this up. A study of six cyclists in 2000 found that during an eight-stage cycling event the level of exposure to harmful solar rays – ultraviolet (UV) radiation – was more than 30 times over the international recommended limits.

Apply yourself

Bevis Mann of the British Association of Dermatologists (BAD) advises that we apply sunscreen before a ride and re-apply every other hour, as up to 80 per cent of sunscreen will come off through sweating.

Martyn Frank, soigneur for pro cycling team Rapha Condor Sharp (RCS), says the RCS team get through sunscreen faster than any other product. “It only takes one missed application to risk later skin health issues,” says Frank. “Routine is the key to not making a mistake; all pro riders have a routine and all of them include sunscreen.”

Use a sunscreen with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) higher than you think you need, as sunscreen is tested with 2mg on every square centimetre of skin, which is far more than most people apply. “We advise using at least SPF 30, or SPF 50 if you have fair skin,” says Mann.

On application, don’t forget areas such as the neck, ears, tops of knees, and bald patches, which are vulnerable through helmet ventilation. You can even burn through clothing, so apply to your whole body and wear clothing with UV protection.

But for a darker skintone, is protection necessary? “Skin types are categorised into six types, from phototype one – fair skin that burns very easily and doesn’t tan – to phototype six, which is darker skin that won’t burn easily,” says Mann. “The processing of melanin, the skin’s pigment molecule that absorbs a proportion of UV radiation, is the key difference between the types. In darker skin, processing needs less UV damage to initiate tanning, leaving you less susceptible to sunburn and skin cancer. How much less isn’t easy to quantify and therefore we would still recommend applying SPF 30 or higher. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Be vigilant

Early detection of melanoma has a 95 per cent survival rate so checking moles is essential. The Sun Awareness Campaign advises looking for asymmetry of the mole, blurring of the edges, colour change and an increase in size, as most melanomas are over 6mm in diameter. If in doubt contact your GP straight away.

Coulson also recommends seeking advice if any rough, scaly patches appear on light, exposed sites like the cheeks, nose, tops of ears or hands that last for more than three months, as they may be precancers. Fair skinned cyclists are particularly prone, he says. For more information see: www.cancerresearchuk.org, www.bad.org.uk and www.britishskinfoundation.org.uk

Sunny Jim

Record-breaking round-the-world cyclist James Bowthorpe managed to beat the burn – here are his tips

  • Wear a helmet with a peak to protect your ears, nose and lips.
  •  Apply a once-a-day suncream on your face – more than once a day.
  •  Wear sunglasses with UV protection, even if they aren’t proper cycling ones – your eyes can burn too.
  •  Cover thighs and the backs of your hands liberally with suncream as they’re constantly exposed to UV rays.
  •  Wear long sleeves if you’re cycling for extended periods and look for clothes with a high UV rating.

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User Comments

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Showing 1 - 10 of 10 comments

  • P20 all the way

    As a folically challenged cyclist, I swear by P20. Apply at the start of the day, leave for 30 mins before going out and then, job done. Oh - put your contact lenses in first to avoid the "running eyes" syndrome !

  • I feel this is an important article.

    However, just a little warning note. With fair skin I used a very common child and baby screen feeling these products offered the highest level of protection. On this years cycle training in Mallorca I was surprised and shocked to find that I ended up with sunburned arms. I thought I had the highest protection available and had applied it very liberally and well before going out in the sun. I had always used the same brand and in the past and it had worked very well whether doing the Etape or training in Mallorca etc in extreme sun for long rides. What had gone wrong?

    Broadly the damaging spectrum is split into two ranges UVA and UVB. The SPF (Sun Protection Factor) relates only to UVB and not UVA. Although UVB does the worst damage UVA also does damage. Importantly for UVA - a Star System is used in the UK, introduced by Boots, and this is often only shown on the back of the bottle in very small print.

    It turns out that the company had changed the recipe and although had the high SPF and UVB protection it had reduced it's UVA protection from 4 stars to 3 stars. The maximum being 5 stars. This was no longer suitable for me. I have an older bottle with 4 stars on the back where newer bottles have only 3 stars on the back – who would have thought to look or guessed they would reduce the protection? There was no warning of the change on the bottle!

    For the highest protection you need to understand the system of markings for UVA and UVB and keep an eye on both of them. The star system is usually on the back and not really highlighted.

    So for me with fair skin I need the highest SPF for UVB and 4-5 stars for UVA.

    More details can be found here:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunscreen

    Tom

  • You must have very fair skin, as UVA will not cause most people to burn even when exposed to it for a whole day. It is very low energy UV light when compared to UVA. However UVB is very damaging and it is essential to have protection from it.

  • *low energy light when compared to UVB*

  • On the whole people do not take the Sun seriously enough. The UVA star system was not created for the fun of it. UVB and UVA are a spectrum (range) of wavelengths and both cause damage. The UVA part of the spectrum has lower energy but it's the total dose that matters and dangers when combined with UVB. It's also not just about immediate burns, it's also about protection from long term effects such as skin cancer.

    ..........'Scientists divide the solar UV spectrum into three wavelengths - UVA, UVB and UVC. Once, UVA and UVC were thought harmless, and only UVB was believed dangerous. UVC is still deemed no threat, since it is absorbed by the ozone layer. But UVA accounts for up to 95 percent of solar UVR reaching Earth. Though far less capable of causing sunburn than UVB, UVA is present during all daylight hours year round, while the amount of UVB in sunlight varies by season, location and time of day.

    By the 1990's, scientists knew that UVA exacerbates the cancer-causing effects of UVB, and is the main wavelength behind photoaging. Recently, an Australian-U.S. study found that UVA may be more carcinogenic than UVB. It penetrates more deeply and causes more genetic damage in the skin cells (keratinocytes) where most skin cancers arise. The National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization now designate both UVA and UVB as causes of cancer.'

    .....see: http://www.skincancer.org/

    Take what you want from this but we are still in the early day's of learning about the damage caused by the Sun. Yes I am fair skinned, as are many people, and I do burn very easily, as do many people. I also don't want to develop skin cancer.

    Even if you don't burn easily I would've thought that most would still be concerned about the cancer causing effects of the Sun and want maximum protection for peace of mind.

    Tom

  • Just to add to this, they hae stated many times that the highest factor you ever going to need is SPF 30, as the differance between 30-50 is apox %1 greater protection yet the cost differance is nearly double in most cases.

    The best advice that i keep hearing from people/experts is apply suncream everyday ie SPF 15, then when it gets hot SPF 20-30

    For areas like face /ears ect use a full sunblock "lipstick".

    simples, no need for silly high factors 30+ as they purely marketing ploys to scare people and given the protection they offer its minimal over the SPF 30,

    UVA and UVB SPF 30 is easly enough, rest of the year SPF 15.

  • P20 Review

    http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/accessories/creams-and-balms/product/review-reimann-p20-sunscreen-9809

  • just move to the Lake District job done!

  • Nice article.

    The best part I found is "Apply yourself".Its quite useful for avoiding the problems occurring due to sun.

    parcel delivery

  • well drink lot of water to avoid dehydration in sunny days.

    <a href="http://www.webhealthanswers.com/meladerm-skin-lightener-review.html">Meladerm boots</a>

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