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What's happening in May?
Observances:
Skin Cancer Awareness Month
National Employee Health & Fitness Day
National Stroke Awareness Month
Better Sleep Month
National Physical Fitness and Sport Month
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While being outside and having some exposure to sunlight can be enjoyable, too much exposure can be dangerous. Overexposure can cause serious health effects including skin cancer. Currently, one in five Americans develops skin cancer during their lifetime. Every hour one person dies from this disease.
You can make a difference! Learn about skin cancer and improve your sun safety because you can receive up to 80 percent of your lifetime sun exposure by age 18. Through education about effects from the sun and the steps for sun protection, we can work toward a healthy future.
Ways to prevent skin cancer & practice sun safety
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The best way to prevent skin cancer is with protection from the sun. You can receive up to 80 percent of your lifetime sun exposure by age 18.
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Limit your time in the sun and avoid other sources of UV radiation.
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Avoid sunlamps and tanning beds as they often have an increased level of UV radiation.
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Make sun safety a daily habit to insure your skin is safe from UV rays,
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Wear protective clothing in the sun.
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Wear sunscreen with a Skin Protection Factor (SPF) of 15 or higher on any exposed skin.
Wipe it on thickly at least 15 minutes before going outdoors and reapply 15 minutes after the first application to ensure complete coverage. Also reapply after physical activity, swimming or towel drying.
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Wear a hat that covers the face, neck and ears.
More people get burned on the face and neck than any other part of the body.
Smart About Sunscreen & SPF
Sunscreen (also known as sunblock) is a lotion, spray or other topical product that helps protect the skin from the sun’s UV radiation, and which reduces sunburn and other skin damage, ultimately leading to a lower risk of skin cancer. The best sunscreens protect against both UV-B rays which can cause sunburn, and UV-A rays which damage the skin with more long-term effects such as premature skin aging.
All information provided by http://www.skincancerawarenessproject.com/index.htm
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| Save the date: May 20, 2009 |
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The National Stroke Awareness Month program places emphasis on making the public aware about Acting FAST.
According to the National Stroke Association, a person experiencing a stroke can be treated if people have acted FAST - 80% of strokes can also be prevented.
FAST being an acronym for things to check in a suspected stroke victim:
- F - Face / Does the face droop on one side when the person smiles?
- A - Arm / After raising both arms, does one of the arms drift downwards?
- S - Speech /After repeating a simple phrase, does the persons speech sound slurred or strange?
- T - Time / If any or all of the above are observed call for 9-1-1 (if in US or 999 in UK) and ask for medical assistance.
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