4 ms·

Ironically wearing sunscreen is advice that isn't always agreed by scientists in 2022.

by rr888 4y ago

jessaustin 4y ago
I am a pasty Scots-Irish hillbilly from a long line of same. I lived on the equator for years, and have also lived elsewhere in the tropics. At all times, I have enjoyed a variety of outdoor activities and performed a variety of outdoor tasks. I have applied sunscreen perhaps twice as an adult? I wear a hat when I think I need to, a shirt when I think I need to, and I stand in the shade when it makes sense. I've gotten a mild sunburn maybe a half dozen times. In my late forties, I conclude that the leathery oldsters who insist on the sunscreen advice were crazy about sunbathing. Don't be like that, but rubbing random cheaply-acquired chemical potions over one's skin on a regular basis also doesn't seem wise. The portion of the spectrum that gives us skin cancer is not the one that causes sunburns. The primary defense against covid infection is vitamin D. Humans lived outside for tens of millennia. This week a bunch of this sunscreen crap has been recalled for containing benzene. Good grief.
- kelnos 4y ago
  Strange that your experience is so different. I'm light-skinned, but by no means pasty. If I'm out walking in the sun or doing work outside for a couple hours without sunscreen I'll end up burned. Sure, wearing a hat helps, but there's always something that gets exposed. I do know a couple red-haired folks with Irish ancestry and very light skin, and they burn even more easily if they don't wear sunscreen. I agree that sunbathing is pretty bad for you, even with sunscreen. Unless you are ridiculously fastidious, you are always going to miss some spots, and re-apply a bit later than you should. > rubbing random cheaply-acquired chemical potions over one's skin on a regular basis also doesn't seem wise. Do you use soap and shampoo? Shaving cream or after-shave? Hand cream or another moisturizer? Anything like that? Have you examined the ingredients of all those as well, and chosen ones that have ingredients you deem safe? If so, there's nothing stopping anyone from doing the same with sunscreen; it need not be "random" or "cheaply-acquired". > Humans lived outside for tens of millennia. Human skin adapted over millennia based on local conditions. It shouldn't be surprising that places with more and stronger sun tend to have more native darker-skinned people. We of the light skin have outpaced evolution by moving all over the globe, including places with strong sun. Then we have more recent issues like ozone layer damage, climate change, etc. Can't really compare today's situation with that of a thousand years ago. > The primary defense against covid infection is vitamin D. At best there's a correlation, and it's possible that people with a vitamin D deficiency are more susceptible (which does not mean that "more vitamin D" meaningfully helps), but "primary defense" is an unsupported overstatement.

Ironically wearing sunscreen is advice that isn't always agreed by scientists in 2022.

by rr888 4y ago

Ironically wearing sunscreen is advice that isn't always agreed by scientists in 2022.

I am a pasty Scots-Irish hillbilly from a long line of same. I lived on the equator for years, and have also lived elsewhere in the tropics. At all times, I have enjoyed a variety of outdoor activities and performed a variety of outdoor tasks. I have applied sunscreen perhaps twice as an adult? I wear a hat when I think I need to, a shirt when I think I need to, and I stand in the shade when it makes sense. I've gotten a mild sunburn maybe a half dozen times. In my late forties, I conclude that the leathery oldsters who insist on the sunscreen advice were crazy about sunbathing. Don't be like that, but rubbing random cheaply-acquired chemical potions over one's skin on a regular basis also doesn't seem wise. The portion of the spectrum that gives us skin cancer is not the one that causes sunburns. The primary defense against covid infection is vitamin D. Humans lived outside for tens of millennia. This week a bunch of this sunscreen crap has been recalled for containing benzene. Good grief.

kelnos 4y ago
Strange that your experience is so different. I'm light-skinned, but by no means pasty. If I'm out walking in the sun or doing work outside for a couple hours without sunscreen I'll end up burned. Sure, wearing a hat helps, but there's always something that gets exposed. I do know a couple red-haired folks with Irish ancestry and very light skin, and they burn even more easily if they don't wear sunscreen. I agree that sunbathing is pretty bad for you, even with sunscreen. Unless you are ridiculously fastidious, you are always going to miss some spots, and re-apply a bit later than you should. > rubbing random cheaply-acquired chemical potions over one's skin on a regular basis also doesn't seem wise. Do you use soap and shampoo? Shaving cream or after-shave? Hand cream or another moisturizer? Anything like that? Have you examined the ingredients of all those as well, and chosen ones that have ingredients you deem safe? If so, there's nothing stopping anyone from doing the same with sunscreen; it need not be "random" or "cheaply-acquired". > Humans lived outside for tens of millennia. Human skin adapted over millennia based on local conditions. It shouldn't be surprising that places with more and stronger sun tend to have more native darker-skinned people. We of the light skin have outpaced evolution by moving all over the globe, including places with strong sun. Then we have more recent issues like ozone layer damage, climate change, etc. Can't really compare today's situation with that of a thousand years ago. > The primary defense against covid infection is vitamin D. At best there's a correlation, and it's possible that people with a vitamin D deficiency are more susceptible (which does not mean that "more vitamin D" meaningfully helps), but "primary defense" is an unsupported overstatement.