Melanoma is easy to prevent, especially if you know how. We discover some tips and basic care that will help you prevent the most dangerous skin cancer.
The skin protection is essential whenever we go out into the street, and not only when sunbathing on the beach or pool. In this sense, skin cancer is characterized by being a type of cancer that is actually easy to prevent, as long as the appropriate protection and prevention advice is followed, fundamentally because if we do not protect our skin, the risk of suffering from skin cancer increases considerably and dangerously, since prolonged and continuous exposure to the sun’s rays becomes a risk of contracting this type of cancer.
Among the many different types of skin cancer, melanoma is characterized as one of the most serious, since it is the cause of the majority of deaths related to skin cancer, especially because it is highly invasive, because it presents a great capacity to generate metastases, and due to its rapid growth, hence the only effective medical treatment is surgical resection of the primary tumor before it reaches a thickness greater than 1 millimeter.
What is melanoma?
With the name of melanoma is known a series of melanin or pigmented tumors, which generally originate in the skin (in this case they are known as cutaneous melanoma), although they can also arise in other surfaces of the body, such as in the layer choroids inside the eyes, or in the mucosa of the mouth, vagina or rectum.
It originates from melanocytes, which are cells responsible for the production of a pigment known as melanin, responsible for our skin, hair and eye iris color. That is, melanoma appears when melanocyte cells become malignant.
Melanoma prevention: useful tips
We must bear in mind that the sun is the main risk factor for the development of melanoma. Therefore, it is essential to follow a series of useful tips and basic measures every time we are exposed to sunlight.
Use sunscreen
The use of sunscreen is always of vital importance, especially when we use an appropriate sunscreen according to our skin prototype. It is essential to apply sunscreen before exposure to the sun, as well as to renew it frequently, especially if we are on the beach or in the pool, and even more so after each bath.
Avoid peak hours
Throughout the day there are certain times when ultraviolet rays tend to be more aggressive, since they affect our body more directly. Exposure between 12:00 and 4:00 p.m. should be avoided, in addition to sun exposure should always be progressive, even more so if these are the first days in which we begin to sunbathe in the year.
Dry yourself well after bathing
Every time you get out of the sea water or the pool it is very important that you dry yourself well after each bath. Why? Fundamentally because what is known as the magnifying effect of water droplets occurs, which favors the appearance of sunburn, while reducing the effectiveness of sunscreens (even when they are resistant to water).
Protect your eyes and head
Even if you use sunscreen properly, and renew it frequently, we can’t forget about our eyes and our heads either. It is essential to use caps as well as sunglasses with approved lenses, capable of filtering both UVA and UVB rays.
Hydrate properly
Although, by itself, it is not an advice for the prevention of melanoma, you should hydrate properly and drink plenty of water frequently, since the sun dehydrates our body very easily. In this sense, you should especially monitor children and the elderly, whose need for water is even more important.
Take special care with children
It is extremely important not to expose children under three years of age to direct sunlight, and to avoid the most dangerous hours of the day. Even when you go to the beach with the children in the weakest hours of the day, it is essential to protect their skin with a high-protection sunscreen. In addition, every time they swim in the water it is essential to protect them with a dry and opaque shirt.
