Despite the medical evidence available on skin cancer, our society remains focused on tanning beds and sunbathing without using the proper protection. Those of us moving further along in the aging process are more susceptable to being diagnosed with skin cancer.

Forms of Skin Cancer

Skin cancer comes in two forms, melanomas and non-melanomas. Melanomas usually account for only four percent of diagnosed skin cancers, but they are considered to be the most deadly. Melanomas occur in the epidermis, the skin's outer layer, usually appearing as a dark mole with uneven edges. If detected early through skin cancer prevention, melanomas can be eliminated without causing harm. If ignored, these cancers can break away and spread to other parts of the body. Non-melanomas, on the other hand, are comprised of two different cell types, basal cells and squamous cells. Both of these cells are caused from sun exposure, but basal cells form in the lower epidermis while squamous cells form in the upper epidermis.

Tanning Bed Problems

For many individuals, avoiding the use of tanning beds is a necessary step to take when it comes to skin cancer prevention. The Food and Drug Administration explains that tanning beds are not safer than going out in the sun just because they emit only UVA rays. UVA rays have been linked to skin cancer and immune deficiencies. If you don't use tanning beds on a regular basis, but enjoy lying in the sun by a pool or on a beach, you should use protective methods. This is especially the case if you are more susceptible to the risks of skin cancer. People with red or blonde hair and fair skin are automatically at a greater risk for skin cancer. Having freckles or skin that burns easily can also put you in harms way for skin cancer. Understanding your family history and knowing how high your risks are before stepping out into the sun is a crucial first step in preventing any kind of skin cancer.

Ravages of the Sun - Sunscreens

Sunscreen is recommended as a form of protection against the sun. The American Cancer Society urges the use of waterproof sunscreen that has an SPF15 or more of both UVA and UVB protection. You should also apply at least an ounce of sunscreen for your body twenty minutes before going out into the sun. Too often, individuals forget to re-apply their sunscreen after being exposed to harmful UVA and UVB rays. Also be sure to avoid the sun during 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. because this is when the sun's rays are most intense. Staying unprotected in the sun during this time is when you put yourself in the danger zone for damaging healthy skin cells.

Proper skin cancer prevention should be practiced by everyone in your family, even babies. Doctors recommend babies that are six months or younger stay out of the sun. Teaching your children to be sun smart is important for their health too. Find shady areas when you take them outside to play and be sure they have the proper protection on. Clothing is another way to protect yourself and your family from harmful rays. Wear hats that have wide brims to cover all areas of your neck, ears, eyes and scalp.

Skin cancer prevention does not mean you have to avoid the sun altogether. It just means you should be smart when you do go outside. Remembering to use a protective sunscreen all year is a great way to start your cancer prevention routine. Know your skin and any marks or freckles so you can recognize abnormalities that may develop. The sooner you start guarding yourself from harmful rays, the better you raise your chance of avoiding skin cancer.

Tips for Anti-Aging Treatment

I know this is as obvious as the nose on your face , but we are a culture obsessed with aging or rather, fixated on reversing the aging process, slowing it down, studying, finding a fountain of youth in the latest and greatest antiaging treatments available. It is a multibillion dollar industry. It is almost as of yore in total denial of the aging process and this is no doubt seated in some deep psychological roots to preside in us. We love the look of the youthful innocence and we cherish the times when life was less involved, less complicated, less demanding. We seek anti-aging treatment, justified in our need to erase the life-battle scars we might otherwise be proud to show off, were white teeth, shiny hair, and perky this or tight that not so sanctified.

It is almost sadly place such value and in and deny these well-deserved and hardfought battle scars that we have accumulated through life. In another respect, it is fair to acknowledge that, as my septuagenarian friend says, as we age we "fall apart". Our eyes need constant updating, our hips and other joints need replacing, our organs weaken and wear. We break down, pure and simple. Even and especially, the largest and most visible of all the human organs, the skin, turns on us, hardens, wrinkles and cracks exposing to others that which we have lived for decades.

It dries and cracks and mars, revealing the effects of what is known as "free radical damage." Evidently, as we age, our skin exfoliates less often; sebum production slows; and therefore less oil flushes the skin…thereby drying it. There's been quite a bit of study about free radicals over the last few decades and scientists that are studying it are beginning to get a pretty good handle on exactly what they are and what they do. It is a flattening of skin layers occurs, subsequently causing thinner skin. Collagen stabilizing enzymes decrease. Blood vessels thin out, preventing the usual blood flow. Anti-aging treatment becomes a mighty fine looking option.

Now science and economics takes over and sets the stage for Botox, elastin enhancers, and scores of shelves of anti-aging treatments that might appear to be the panacea. Plump those lips, raise that brow, flatten that paunch. The splaying of nose bones—a natural phenomena in the aging process—got you feeling less than ideal? Cosmetic reconstruction. ED (erectile dysfunction) reminding you high school football stud years are now nothing more than pages in a yearbook? Go for the infamous or most touted ED drug. We now you can see instances of gradeschool children having plastic surgery to correct whatever flaws that they are perceived to have.

But despite all our anti-aging treatment and fixation (not because of it), we continue to age…but more slowly! Yes, longevity statistics show that people as a whole are living years longer. Again, this is not necessarily due to minor or occasional anti-aging treatments, but more likely to evolution, preservatives, and poisons, as well as healthier living that includes eating well, exercising often, and resting enough. Romeo and Juliet, for example, were they alive (and real) today, would not be worrying about marriage at fifteen (which was not the source of the tragedy, anyway) but at twenty-five or thirty. I just saw a study today when the average male now gets married at the age of 27, whereas in 1950 that age was 22. There's no question we are living longer and that's only going to further the feed into our quest to fight aging.

So regardless of, in spite of, or maybe with the help of SOME anti-aging treatments, attempts, and so-called cures, those of us eligible for anti-aging treatment are in our mid- to later years…when we do care about staying alive and living a quality life but we care less about what others have to say about how we should live our lives and how we should be. Spirituality and new age attitudes are becoming more prevalent. We care less about material gain or other external, superficial forms of nurturing and are just beginning to invest in our holistic health. We are coming into understanding peace, prayer, serenity, solitude. We know which anti-aging treatments might help and which are tools of denial. We know anti-aging treatment plans (outside of healthy, natural efforts) do not defeat aging or death. They just contribute to drawing out, prolonging, or holding it at bay a bit longer. And I guess all and all it's not a bad thing to feel a little bit better about ourselves.

Morgan Hamilton offers his findings and insights regarding the world of health and beauty. You can get interesting and informative information here at Anti-Aging Treatment

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Obviously, one way to mitigate the risks of sun damage to the skin is to avoid the sun altogether. This, however, may not be practical. The following article offers an understanding of how sunburn operates, and what positive steps you should take to avert skin cancer and accelerated aging from too much sun.

Sunburn: Skin Cancer and Aging of the Skin

The experience of sunburn can be a very efficient (i.e. painful) reminder to heed adequate protection on future occasions. However more importantly, it should be a reminder of the long-term effects of sun exposure on our bodies and health - which can include aging of the skin and skin cancer.

In order to more fully understand these consequences, let's take a look at exactly what sunburn is, its symptoms and its effect on the body.

Sunburn results when the amount of exposure to the sun, or other ultraviolet light source (e.g. tanning lamps and welding arcs etc.), exceeds the ability of the body's protective pigment, melanin, to protect the skin. Melanin content varies greatly, but in general darker skinned people have more melanin than lighter skinned. (Although fairer skinned people are generally more prone to getting sunburn than darker skinned people, this certainly does not exclude the latter from risk.)

Sunburn destroys cells in the outer layer of the skin, damaging tiny blood vessels underneath. Burns deeper into the skin's layers also damage elastic fibers in the skin, which over time and with repeated sun overexposure, can result in the appearance of yellowish, wrinkled skin.

The damage to skin cells from UV exposure (either sunlight or tanning lamps etc.) can also include damage to their DNA. It's this repeated DNA damage, which can lead to a cell becoming cancerous. With the incidence of skin cancer rising dangerously in many parts of the world, and with its ability to develop and establish itself in the body ‘long' before external signs are detected, -- paying attention to this aspect of sun exposure and sunburn should certainly not be ignored if we are serious about preserving our health.

Now while it may be easier to ignore the effects of sunburn occurring at a cellular level, ignoring the external symptoms of sunburn in the days immediately following such exposure is entirely another matter.

While sunburn is usually not immediately obvious, skin discoloration (ranging from slightly pink to severely red or even purplish) will initially appear from 1 - 24 hours after exposure. Although pain is usually worst 6 - 48 hours afterward, the burn can continue to develop for 24 - 72 hours after the incident. Where there is skin peeling, this generally occurs 3 - 8 days after the burn occurs.

While minor sunburns typically cause nothing more than warm/hot skin, slight redness, and tenderness to the affected area, -- in more serious cases, extreme redness, swelling and blistering can occur. These blisters filled with fluid may itch and eventually break. This can then cause peeling of the skin, exposing an even tenderer layer of skin underneath.

Severe sunburn can cause very red, blistered skin but can also be accompanied by fever, chills, nausea (in some cases vomiting), and dehydration. In instances of extreme sunburn where the pain is debilitating, medical treatment may be required.

While the immediate effects of sunburn can certainly be painful and cause discomfort, the real deterrent to UV overexposure should be the potential damage to your long-term health - including the risk of premature aging of the skin along with skin cancer.

Don't let sunburn and sun overexposure kill your chances of enjoying youthful skin, and a healthy body. Remember, the easiest way to treat sunburn will always be to avoid it in the first place!

Angela Perin is author of the comprehensive new guide "Your Personal Guide to Tanning" - covering everything from your skin, uv light & sun-tanning, to sunburn, skin cancer, sunburn, sun protection and sunless tanning. Discover Safe Tan - The Ultimate Experience in Natural Sunless Tanning and download your free copy of this guide including bonus homemade recipes for sunburn relief, sunscreen and exfoliation!

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