Doctor’s Approach and UV Sunsense: How can you tell when you’ve had too much sun?

June 17, 2010 - PRLog -- UV Sunsense
More than a million cases of skin cancer are diagnosed in the U.S. every year, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. Risk of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, has been linked in many studies to sunburn.

Plastic wristbands, contain a sun-sensitive dye, the band turns bright purple when first exposed to sunlight, then changes colors depending on how long you’ve been in the sun. When the band is a light lavender, it is time to apply more sunscreen. When it turns pale yellow, it’s time to get out of the sun entirely, according to the company’s packaging.  The bands, available online and in a few stores and doctor’s offices, including Doctor’s Approach.

Unlike other sunburn-preventing gadgets, the UVSunSense bands are designed to tell you how well your sunscreen is working. The company recommends applying sunscreen of at least SPF 15 to both the band and your body. The sunscreen slows the color change on the bands and is designed to mirror how well the sunscreen is working on your body. “It takes the guessing game out of when you need to reapply your sunscreen,” says Gary Goldenberg, assistant professor of dermatology and pathology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

A Chemical Reaction
The bands work in a two-stage chemical reaction, says Ori Faran, chief executive of Skyrad Ltd., a Nesher, Israel, company that sells the band material to UVSunSense. When the band hits the sun, the dye changes to bright purple. After that, a second chemical reaction kicks in that changes the band gradually to its final color, says Dr. Faran, who is a physicist. Since that reaction is dependent on the energy from the sun, the speed of the color changes varies depending on how much ultraviolet light the band receives, he adds.

The bands are “an excellent way to show kids that there really is something happening to your skin,” says David J. Leffell, a professor of dermatology at the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven.

But don’t let the results override common sense, he adds, since the bands’ accuracy may vary based on each individual’s skin. It’s still important to re-apply sunscreen after an hour or two and stay out of direct sunlight during peak hours, dermatologists say.

The wristbands are calibrated for type 2 skin, defined by dermatologists as people who burn easily and tan minimally. About 50% of U.S. Caucasians have type 2 skin, estimates Zoe D. Draelos, a consulting professor of dermatology at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, N.C. The rest of the Caucasian population is roughly split between type 1, the fairest type of skin, and type 3, which tans to light brown and only burns sometimes. “The bands provide a guideline for the average Caucasian individual,” Dr. Draelos says.

The bands can still be used as an educational tool in darker-skinned people, says UVSunSense co-founder William Luisi. Very fair-skinned people may be warned too late, he adds, but so far the company has received no complaints of burns.

Sun on Your Nose
Skyrad says it designed the bands to change to the final color when the most sun-exposed parts of the body—such as shoulder and nose—have received about 80% of the dose of sun needed to burn a person with type 2 skin.

The bands, while waterproof and designed to retain sunscreen in water about as well as human skin, haven’t been tested during swimming. Even if the sunscreen is water resistant, it can rub off when you dry yourself with a towel so you should re-apply the sunscreen, says Dr. Goldenberg of Mount Sinai School of Medicine. And if you go swimming and dry yourself with a towel, rub the band about as much as you rub your body so the sunscreen rubs off it to the same degree, he suggests.

For more information visit: www.uvsunsense.com or to purchase call the Doctor’s Approach product line: (517) 364-8107

Dr. Marcy Street, Lansing, Michigan, board certified, Mayo clinic trained dermatologist has been in private practice for nearly 20 years. She is a recognized skin care and skin cancer expert with many articles published in popular magazines, professional journals and newspapers. She is also the first Black female Mohs Surgeon in the nation. Dr. Street has also has been interviewed on radio and television, and has spoken to physicians’ groups in both the United States and abroad as a skin cancer expert. She is also the founder of a skin care line also under the name Doctor’s Approach.

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Doctor’s Approach is a full-service medical and surgical dermatology clinic with a cosmetic medical spa. Our dermatology practice has been well established and respected for over 15 years, with patients visiting from all over the Midwest region.