Posted on 08/01/2006 8:51:39 AM PDT by SheLion
As many as 60,000 people a year die from too much sun, mostly from malignant skin cancer, the World Health Organization reported...
As many as 60,000 people a year die from too much sun, mostly from malignant skin cancer, the World Health Organization reported on Wednesday.
It found that 48,000 deaths every year are caused by malignant melanomas, and 12,000 by other kinds of skin cancer. About 90 percent of such cancers are caused by ultraviolet light from the sun.
Radiation from the sun also causes often serious sunburn, skin aging, eye cataracts, pterygium -- a fleshy growth on the surface of the eye -- cold sores and other ills, according to the report, the first to detail the global effects of sun exposure.
"We all need some sun, but too much sun can be dangerous -- and even deadly. Fortunately, diseases from UV such as malignant melanomas, other skin cancers and cataracts are almost entirely preventable through simple protective measures," Dr. Maria Neira, Director for Public Health and the Environment at WHO, said in a statement.
Ultraviolet light is needed to activate production of vitamin D in the body, which prevents rickets, osteomalacia and osteoporosis. It may also affect some cancers and immune disorders.
The report, available on the Internet at http://www.who.int/uv, advises that people seek shade, use sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15, and stay out of tanning salons.
"The application of sunscreens should not be used to prolong sun exposure but rather to protect the skin when exposure is unavoidable," the report advises.
Snow, sand and sea foam reflect ultraviolet light, the report notes, and thinning ozone filters out less and less of it.
"Ultraviolet radiation can neither be seen nor felt," the study noted. Time of day, latitude and cloud cover all affect the amount of radiation reaching the ground.
"A person's skin type is also important. Fair skinned people suffer from sunburn much more readily than dark-skinned people," WHO said in a statement.
But it detailed ill effects from too much sun around the globe, especially cataracts in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
[We need to pull out of the earth - it is a quagmire!]
LOL!
I propose we send liberals up to change the bulb. We could save energy and lives if we just put a lower intensity bulb in the sun.
Oh my gosh!!!! I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die! What ever shall I do?
Warning: living may be hazardous to your health.
Out of 100,000,000 people dying every year, that is not bad.
Dr. WHO???
Wow, just think how many more would perish if the Sun wasn't Sun damaged.
There is a simple fix for this problem. Just pass a law that nobody can suffer damage from the Sun and all problems are over. It works so well to outlaw guns afterall. Democrats should be all over this.....pandering to the masses with a "new plan" to end solar related dearhs.
PF
Extinguish the Sun. The ultimate liberal cause.
I just returned from a HOT vacation near the beach. I've never understood all those people baking under the sun. Don't they know that because of their actions they will soon be the 50 year old lizard-skinned hags that cause revulsion on the beaches of America? Sun cancer doesn't scare me, but premature aging wrinkles scares me a little.
I hear that Pluto has nice scenery and is far enough from the sun that no one will get sick and die from its radiation.
Remember Tony Roberts in Annie Hall?
Need someone to put that photo up.
Laugh all you want, but you'll NEVER see a dermatologist with a suntan...
How many die from too much driving?
Guess we should give up cars, too.
And eating anything, drinking anything, farting and making love.
What is there to live for?
LOL! Boy, I hear that!
Nothing we do is right anymore. Everything is killing us. (As if we aren't going to die someday anyhow).
Boy! So have I. We used to go to the beach every summer when I was a kid. I remember being burnt so badly that I just lay in bed all night not moving. Mom rubbed Noxema all over me. Noxema. Go figure.
Did you check out my other thread where people in California are dying from lung disease from working in a flavoring factory? They are in REALLY bad shape. And most are non-smokers!
"I remember being burnt so badly that I just lay in bed all night not moving."
Me too. Took a girl to the beach on my motorcycle (I was trying to impress) and feel asleep on my back for about an hour.
Worst ride home in my life and I had to sit up on the edge of a chair with my head propped in my hands to sleep!
I will never forget that day! And neither will she!!
:0)
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