Into the Sun(block)

MY GRANDFATHER SAM had a large bandage on his chin. Just like any curious nine year old, I walked up to him and pointed at it and asked, “What’s that, Papa Gane?”

“Oh, the doctor had to take a mole off my chin.”

“Why?”

“It was cancer.”

I didn’t quite understand what this word, “cancer,” meant, although I’d heard it mentioned on television when John Wayne died, so I asked, “How did you get it?”

“I was out in the sun too much,” he answered.

I’ve been paranoid about sunlight ever since, and with good reason. With my fair skin, it wouldn’t take to many sunburns to set me up for the entire solar shop of horrors—skin cancer, sunburn, dehydration, heat prostration (hyperthermia), cataracts, macular degeneration.

Sport fishermen should be keenly aware of the sun’s harmful effects. It isn’t all that hard to end up as a victim of over-exposure to the sun.

The rush of a wide open bite, or the excitement of zipping around the bay running down birds diving over schools of bait can distract you from re-applying your sun block (or even applying it in the first place).

Your cap gets blown off en route to your honey hole. The final result is costly in the form of a nasty sunburn. It can leave your skin bright red and stinging, and later dry, itchy, and peeling. If a fisherman doesn’t take the correct precautions, a good day can turn lousy pretty quickly.

Sunlight causes its handiwork through ultraviolet radiation. Ultraviolet A (UVA) is considered the least dangerous form of UV radiation.

Ultraviolet B (UVB) is more dangerous, It can be responsible for a wide array of conditions involving the skin and eyes.

Ultraviolet C is considered the most dangerous form of UV radiation, but it is filtered by the Earth’s atmosphere, so it’s not generally considered a dangerous factor—unless you’re an astronaut and you left your SPF90 at Mission Control.

In general, ultraviolet radiation is considered an environmental carcinogen by members of the medical community, and “a major concern for human health” (see Toxic Effects of Ultraviolet Radiation on the Skin; Toxicology and Pharmacology, 3/2004).

UVB irradiation causes sunburns, those painful reminders of not applying and reapplying sufficiently strong sunblock. Even something as banal as a suntan can be dangerous. Both are the body’s reaction to injury to the skin.

Moreover, UVB can distort DNA molecules, which can lead to cellular mutations that may, in turn, create cancerous growths.

It is important to note that tanning is not necessarily a precaution against sunburn. I’m dismayed at how many times I’ve heard someone make this mistake, especially a young person bound for Spring Break or summer vacation. They’ll say that once they get a good sunburn, they’ll be safe from burning again. Few ideas are farther from the truth.

Sunburns are acute trauma to the skin. The may vary from a simple pinking of the skin, such as what can happen to your arm while resting it out an open truck window.

At the other end of the scale are the severe, almost crimson burns that most fair-skinned individuals suffer. It can happen after a very long day on the water with little or no sunblock. These sunburns can sometimes lead to blistering of the skin and the need for real medical attention.

I suffered a pretty nasty sunburn once at a concert in the Cotton Bowl. I was literally bedridden for two days.

The body releases melanin to protect the skin from further damage. This can also occur days after a sunburn. UVB stimulates the body to produce more melanin as a defensive reaction to prevent UV damage to the more vulnerable subcutaneous layers of skin.

“Ultraviolet light damages a skin’s DNA,” said Dr. Mark Carruth, a dermatologist affiliated with the Skin Cancer Foundation. “The (darkening of a tan) is a response to injury.”

Worse is the false sense of security a suntan can provide. Many people do in fact believe that a tan protects from sunburns, so they continue to expose themselves to solar radiation without protection.

At the very least, they eventually end up with skin that has the moisture and texture of beef jerky. At the worst, they end up visiting, in this order, a dermatologist and an oncologist.

The irony of all this is that it is actually very easy to protect yourself from sunburn. Sun protection is big business in the outdoor industry. There are so many different brands of sun block that it makes your head spin.

The important thing is to find a sunblock that protects against both UVA and UVB rays. These lotions contain compounds such as zinc oxide (the white stuff that lifeguards cover their noses with), titanium dioxide, octocrylene and Mexoryl (generically known as ecamsule) and avobenzone.

These ingredients are as important as the Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of a lotion. According to Dr. Carruth, an SPF of about 30 is sufficient for most outdoor enthusiasts.

Once you’ve got your sunblock, don’t scrimp on application. You don’t need to use half the bottle, but two tablespoons of sunblock should be enough to cover your arms and legs to a thickness effective against UVA and UVB radiation.

Be sure to apply it at least 30 minutes before you step out (maybe when you’re gassing the truck and buying your breakfast taco). Re-apply it every three hours or so to replace any that has been rubbed or washed off.

Besides the obvious sun-blocking lotions available, sun-protective clothing is available for fishermen.

No bottle or tube can leak all over a tackle box or camera bag, and the clothing can be washed and reused. The important point is that sensitive skin is protected from the harmful rays of an unforgiving sun.

Choose sun protection wisely, then the only band-aids you’ll ever have on your face is because of a careless friend’s backcast.

 

Email Cal Gonzales at ContactUs@fishgame.com

 

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