How to Avoid sunburn

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Transcript

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Welcome to Prescribed Listening from the University of Toledo Medical Center. On this podcast, we interview our experts to get the answers you need and can trust. I'm your host, Tessa Lackey. The nice weather is here and it's time to head to the lake or Cedar Point and spend time outside. But before you head out the door, we're talking about how to avoid sunburn this summer and how to overall keep your skin healthy with physician assistant from UTMC Dermatology, Nina Rettig. Nina, thank you for joining us.

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

Thanks for having me.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

So let's jump in and ask the expert. So Nina, in my research before this episode, there was some interesting potential myths or misconceptions that I had seen related to sunburn in your skin, and I wanted to kind of chat and get your thoughts on what might be true or false on this. So I'll ask you one of the myths and then you can answer and see if it was true or false or not. So can you get a sunburn when it's cloudy?

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

So the answer is definitely yes. Clouds can provide some protection from the sun, some filtering of the sunlight, but they also tend to make the temperature less and sunlight still gets through. And so we don't have as much of an appreciation of the sun rays coming through and we often get fooled by that. So we tend to stay out longer and we forget to put on our sunscreen or use our sun protective gear and that can increase the risk that we develop as sunburn.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Okay. And is that more common in the summer versus any other time of the year or is that really just if you're spending a lot of time outside, whether it's if it's cloudy, you're at risk for it?

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

Yeah, well it definitely depends on the thickness of the cloud cover for sure. And also the intensity of the sun. So the sun is less intense in the wintertime, so it's a little bit less likely. But there are several people who have been out on the ski slope in the winter and gotten a sunburn on their face or exposed areas because they're not expecting it. In the wintertime, things like snow can also be very reflective and can amplify what sunlight does get through. So it's all year round, the sun is around and we just have to be aware of it and be protect our skin from it.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Gotcha. Okay. So here's the next one. Does butter soothe a sunburn?

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

In general, when you have a sunburn, you don't want to put anything on it that's occlusive or can keep heat in. So butter as an oil would definitely keep that heat in. And so it's not something you'd want to put on. It would not work to soothe a sunburn.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

So you're not trying to cook yourself.

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

Exactly. It's like closing the oven door on your skin. So keep the butter off the skin after your sunburn.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Interesting. And then people with darker skin do not need sunscreen.

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

So that's not true. People with darker skin have more natural sun protection that their skin provides. Their skin is not quite as sensitive to the sun, but it is still sensitive to the sun. They can still get sunburns, especially people with darker skin tones tend to get skin cancers under the nails or on the palms and souls if those get burned. But you can still get skin cancers. I've had plenty of people of darker skin tones that have developed skin cancers, so it's important still to protect your skin from the sun. And the sun can still cause aging related changes to darker skin tones as well. So that's another reason to use sunscreen even if your skin is of a darker skin tone.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

And then one of the last ones that I have for you is, will using sunscreen limit the amount of vitamin D that I get?

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

So the answer to that is yes and no. Sunscreens do decrease the amount of UV rays that get to our skin, and those rays help our body create vitamin D. However, our body maxes out very quickly on the level of vitamin D that we need and we produce. And so you don't need very much UV light to create adequate vitamin D. And once you've reached that level of vitamin D that your body needs, then it just excretes any more vitamin D that's made. So yes, it will limit, but it will not necessarily stop you from getting the total amount that you need because anything over that amount is just going to be released from the body.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

And I know that. So me saying this, every person's body is different. Everyone has their own things that their own doctor prescribes for them. I know for me, my doctor tells me that in the darker months that she has me on a vitamin D3 supplement and then in the, no, excuse me, in the winter months it's 2 for me and my body type and then for the summer and the warmer months, it's 1. So if you're saying that with vitamin D that you cap out at a certain point, is something looking into something like that beneficial for people?

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

Oh, absolutely. I mean there are more sources of getting vitamin D than just sunlight, especially our diet is a big one, or you can use a supplement if you want to. But foods like salmon and tuna, egg yolks, then of course fortified milks and orange juice have vitamin D in them too. So we get a lot of vitamin D just from our diet. And the thought is that we only need about 10 to 15 minutes of sunlight about two to three times a week to supplement with UV light. So that's why it's not that important to get actual sunlight without sunscreen. It's we feel in dermatology that it's better to protect your skin from the negative effects of sunlight than to worry too much about am I getting enough vitamin D? And we recommend that if anybody's concerned about their vitamin D levels, because vitamin D is very important for our system that they should just have it checked at a regular visit with their family care doctor to see if they actually are vitamin D deficient or not. And then you can adjust based on that.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Interesting. And then are there any myths or misunderstandings that you've seen in your time, in your line of work that you're talking to people about? Like, no, that's actually not true.

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

I guess the main thing that I hear is that I often hear patients say, well, I'm going to the tanning booth for a few visits to get a base tan before I go on vacation, and I really would like to dispel that myth. That's not a great idea. It doesn't protect your skin. UVA is the main light in tanning booths and UVB is the burning lights from the sun. And having a base tan doesn't necessarily protect you from the burning rays of the sun when you go somewhere warm. In fact, it might be detrimental because you may think you're more protected when really your skin is still very raw and not used to sunlight. And so it's important to be very, very careful with sunscreen and a base tan does not help getting that. I'm sorry, a tanning bed use does not help getting those, the "base tan."

Host: Tessa Lackey:

So let's say you're going to Florida and it's February and you haven't been in the sun in a while, obviously if you live in Toledo, Ohio, and just the nature of where we are. So instead of getting a base hand and exposing yourself to the rays from a tanning booth, is it better to just take a higher SPF sunscreen with you while you're in Florida and then just work your way down?

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

Absolutely. So it's really important to understand that your skin, when it has not seen the sun for a long time, will burn very quickly in the sun. And sunscreens help extend the length of time that your skin can be out in the sun before burning. And when your skin is very fresh, has not seen sun for a long time, you burn very quickly. So you need to use higher sunscreens initially, and as your skin adjusts to sunlight, it will be able to withstand a little bit more. You develop a little more of a skin color that is a little protective for your skin as your skin adjusts to the sun, it can withstand the rays a little bit better, but you never really want to completely a avoid sunscreens because you still don't want to do that damage to your skin.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Right. So essentially the more you're putting on sunscreen and then the higher sunscreen you're putting on, especially in the beginning is kind of where-

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

In the beginning when your skin is very sun naive, it's very important to protect it, and use very gradual sun exposure to let your skin adjust to the sunlight. And as your skin becomes more adjusted to the sunlight than over days or months, then you can withstand a little more without as high sunscreen use.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Does something like the self tanner creams, does that do anything? In this example where you are going to Florida and let's say it's February, if you use any kind of self tanner beforehand, does that help at all?

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

So self tanner is a great option for people who want to have a little bit of a glow and avoid the pale winter skin when they're going on vacation. Basically what it does is it creates a staining to the top layer of your skin. It is not actually a tan and it does not actually protect your skin from the sun, so you have to treat it like your skin does not have any color to it and still use regular sunscreens, good sunscreens with high SPF to protect your skin from the sun even if you have a spray tan. But that's a great way, if people just don't want to have that really pasty white look, they can definitely use the self tanners.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Yeah. So we're recording this in late April, early May almost. And I think that everyone's reaching a point as we're looking at Memorial Day to where everyone's looking at their skin and seeing, oh, I'm coming out of my winter shell here.

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

Yes.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Okay. So something like self tanner or using a spray tan is a lot easier if you're feeling pasty.

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

It's a much safer way to give yourself a little color while you're letting you know your skin adjust to the sunnier days.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Yeah. Okay, awesome. So getting more into sunscreen itself. So as Ohio again, sun gets warmer, we're heading to the lake, heading to Cedar Point, all of the outside things. What should people consider to protect their skin from getting sunburn itself?

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

The first thing we always recommend is that you use a sunscreen every single day, winter or summer on the exposed skin areas such as your face, your neck, chest for women, and often the hands, which are another area which get a lot of sun damage and show a lot of aging over time. As we get into the summer days and we're going and seeing a lot more sun, a lot more prolonged sun exposure such as going to Cedar Point, it's important that you really beef that up. And normal daily sunscreen for the face, chest and hands could be SPF 15 to 30, but if you're going to be out in the sun for long periods of time, you want to plan on upping that to 30 to 50 and often reapply every few hours to make sure that you don't get a sunburn from that exposure.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

And is there certain times of the day to where if you're out from this time to this time, you should make sure you boost that level of SPF?

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

Yes, definitely. So the highest time of UV rays is going to be typically from 10 to 4:00 PM but one of the wonderful things we have now on a lot of our weather apps, I know my children use it, is they look for their UV index and that will kind of give you a sense of how strong the rays at any time. And it does take into account the cloud cover as well to some degree. So it helps you kind of give you a number that can make it more real as to how much sun protection you need to really use at any one time. But it's always good to use an SPF 30 to 50 as well as protective clothing, hats, long-sleeved shirts. They make a lot of really nice lightweight long-sleeved shirts that you can even wear in and out of the water that are really comfortable. It's a combination of all those things, plus trying to get out of the sun during the highest intensity times that help keep your skin healthy when you're outdoors.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

That UV detection part in weather apps sounds like for anyone that is really sensitive to the sun or one of those people where they feel like they step outside and the sun just like they're burnt, those things. Something like that sounds like it would really help someone to be able to prepare for the day.

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

Yes, and it definitely is a nice quantifier about what you have to look forward to when you're outdoors.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Yes. Okay, so if you're going to the store, you know you're going to the beach today and you're picking out a sunscreen, what should you be looking for? What are the ingredients that are really going to help you?

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

So the basic answer is you want to find a sunscreen that is protective against both UVA and UVB rays. It should say that on the bottle. Usually that's a combination of what we call physical and chemical sunscreens. So the physical sunscreens are zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. Those are the sort of classic white nose lifeguard style from the past. The newer formulations now are much less pasty and thick, so they don't leave as much of a white tinge, but they will usually have a little bit of a thickness to them. They act more like a piece of clothing or a shield on your skin and they deflect the sun away from your skin. The other type of sunscreen is the chemical sunscreen, and those are the ones with the big long chemical names like octinoxate and oxybenzone, avobenzone, and those act more like a sponge.

They actually absorb the rays and process the energy from the rays on your skin so that it doesn't hit your skin at its highest intensity. And those can get used up quicker. Each individual bit of that chemical, once it absorbs a ray, it's done. And so that's why these sunscreens run out often. The physical sunscreens like zinc and titanium dioxide can get wiped off, but they're more likely to give a little bit longer lasting coverage.

So you want to look for a sunscreen that has a mix of both of those ingredients that is covering for both UVA and UVB rays that is easy to apply and comfortable to apply and that you can afford.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

So, I feel like with skincare in general, I wouldn't know if revolution would be a good way to put it between the more natural products and then everything else pretty much. So for people that are really concerned with a more natural kind of sunscreen, what would you recommend to them? Or does it not really matter as long as you're wearing sunscreen, really?

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

No, I mean the different types of sunscreen are different and some are in some ways better than others. There was an issue a few years back where people were concerned about absorption of sunscreen chemicals into the body, and that is real. There have been some data that suggests that some of the chemical sunscreens can get absorbed into the bloodstream, and then the question is, is that bad or not bad? And we don't really know the answer to that yet fully. We have not seen any definite evidence that it's bad, but the studies have not been done extensively exhaustively to determine that for sure.

If you're concerned about absorption of sunscreen into the body, then I would recommend using the titanium dioxide or zinc oxide sunscreens. And that's what we recommend also for young children, because obviously we're much more careful with young children in terms of anything that gets into their bloodstream since they're growing so much. So we like the physical sunscreens, the titanium dioxide and zinc oxide as better options for people who are concerned about getting any absorption of sunscreen into the system, or very young patients, very young people.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Speaking of younger patients, and for the little ones specifically when you're going to the beach, any other tips for protecting them from sunburn and from the sun?

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

So childhood is the one time you really have full control over your children because as they age, they get their own opinions and it's harder and harder to get them to do things, but especially the really little ones, that is a great time to just use physical clothing to block their skin from the sun and protect them. So using these long sleeve, long-legged swimsuits that literally cover almost all of the body and then the hat is a really wonderful way to protect your little ones from the sun and get them used to using protective clothing to protect themselves and protect their skin. We know that the earlier you get sunburns in your lifetime, the more exposure you get to the sun before the age of 18 or 30, the higher the risks for skin cancers and for aging. And so we can do a lot to prevent and minimize the total sun exposure to our children if we start early and we use a lot of physical clothing and then get them in the habit to using sunscreen as well. So that they can protect themselves when they stop listening to you.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Yes. So with sunburn itself, so if you're one of those people where you haven't been wearing sunscreen because you're trying to get more sun for the summer and you're like, I'm just going to get a good burn in and I'll be done after that, or essentially over the course of your lifetime, the more sunburn you have, you're saying that connects to more higher skin cancer risk later.

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

Oh, absolutely. So there's two main reasons that we recommend using sunscreen and sun protection. Obviously the most important one in the dermatology world is to prevent skin cancers because most of our skin cancers are directly related to UV sun exposure. The other reason is for aging purposes. So there's a lot of skin lesions, sun freckles, or people used to call them liver marks, things like that that develop on our skin that's directly related to the sun exposure we get.

So if you want to see the effect of sun exposure on skin over a lifetime, just ask someone who's close to you, maybe your parent or something like that to show you a little bit of the skin of their buttock compared to the skin of their arm. And then you can see their skin in both areas have been alive the same length of time, but one has had sun exposure in one hasn't. And if you look at the difference in the tone and texture and marks on the skin, you can really see the difference of a lifetime of sun exposure versus more limited sun exposure by looking at different areas of the body that have had different levels of exposure.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Interesting. That's really interesting. So how often and how much over the course of a day? So if you're on the lake, you're on the boat, how often should you be applying sunscreen?

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

So sunscreens in general will last on the skin for approximately two hours. It depends obviously on the conditions that you're in. So if you're in and out of the water or wiping off with towels, things like that, that will physically remove the sunscreen more often. You need to reapply more often, especially to areas that are getting high levels of sun exposure, like the shoulders, the nose, the tops of the feet. Don't forget those areas.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Well, would you say your ears?

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

Absolutely. We see so many skin cancers on and around the ears and the upper neck behind the ears. So absolutely, you want to cover your whole... Put sunscreen on your whole ear and the area of the neck behind the ear and the sides of your neck. It's very important there.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Interesting. And then for little ones, same thing?

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

Yes. I mean, obviously it's better to use, like I said, physical clothing and things like that in kids that are under about a year, but you definitely still can use sunscreen on exposed areas.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

And then every two hours is good,

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

Every couple hours. Yeah.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Okay. So let's say, you get to the end of the day, it was hot, we were in the water all day, and sunburn happened. It came. So what would you recommend to properly treat that sunburn?

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

So the first thing is to get out of the sun.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

That's a good start.

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

And to limit further exposure to those areas. So you're going to need to use protective clothing if you have a sunburn. Basically the way sunscreens work is they increase the length of time that it takes your skin to burn. So if your skin is very fair and is very sensitive to the sun, and you might burn in five minutes out in the sun and the sunscreens will increase the length of time that you have until you burn. But once your skin is burned, you are there. Sunscreens, I mean, if you're going to go out in the sun, definitely use sunscreen, but it is not really going to help that much once the burn is there because you don't have any more time left on your clock to have further sun damage there.

Your skin is already wounded and it cannot handle any further sun. So using sun protective clothing is the best way to truly block further sun exposure to sunburned areas. If you still want to go out and swim or be in the sun, if you come in from the beach and you're like, oh no, I've got a sunburn here. You want to cool the skin down, so you want to do cool compresses or a cool shower or cool bath to kind of cool down the skin, decrease the inflammation. You don't necessarily want to use ice directly on a sunburn because sunburns can also affect the nerve function in the skin. So you don't want to do a cold burn to a sunburn, but cool compresses or cool water is a good option for that.

And then once you've kind of cooled the skin down, it's important to try to hydrate the skin with a moisturizer seal that any moisture in with a lightweight moisturizer, something like aloe vera is good because it's lightweight, it still allows the skin to breathe. Or a lightweight over the counter moisturizer would be good as well.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

In summer days where I've had those sunburns where you're just in pain from wherever it is. Have you ever seen the aloe spray where that you can put in the refrigerator or something?

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

Yes, you can keep your aloe in the fridge. That's a great way to do the moisturization and the cooling all at once too.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Can you keep any aloe in the fridge?

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

Yeah.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Oh, I didn't about that.

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

Absolutely. There's no reason you couldn't put an Aloe gel in the fridge. Absolutely.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

For whatever reason I'm thinking the bottle that says like, oh yeah, it's cooling aloe.

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

No, you can put an aloe gel. It's not going to freeze in the refrigerator. I wouldn't put it in the freezer.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Yeah, it might not help.

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

Put it in the refrigerator to keep it cool. Yeah.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Oh, that sounds awesome. Yeah, for anyone that's never done it before, oh, it feels so good.

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

And that's another thing, there are a lot of products out there that have numbing medicines in them for sunburn, like Solarcaine has lidocaine in it. And while they can make things feel better, that pain is a signal to your body that something is wrong. And it's important to avoid pressure on areas where you have sunscreen. So if you're using solar cane or some kind of lidocaine type gel to minimize the discomfort from the sunscreen, you have to just be aware that you might not be able to tell if something is irritating the skin because of pressure or friction. So we don't recommend routinely to use something with lidocaine. It's better just to use the cool compresses and moisturizers and aloe, things like that.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

So I think everybody can think of one person, at a minimum of one person in their life that are just doomed to burn every time they walk out the door. I know I have a number of people in my life that as soon as they get burnt, you're like, "oh, are you okay?" Kind of a thing. So for people who are really sensitive to the sun and struggle with getting burnt, how would you recommend these people in particular can help themselves or essentially same tips, just lean into them a little harder?

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

Yeah, it's funny. I have a daughter who's blonde hair, blue eye, very fair. When she was little, we asked her what color her hair was and she said white. And it was very true. And so there's a lot of people in our lives that may be very sensitive to the sun. And as a person who has that situation, it's just very important to understand that you have what you have and you have to respect that, and you have to behave appropriately for that. And you just have to be more vigilant than somebody who has more natural sun protection because of a darker skin tone.

So I'm very proud of my daughter. She's only 15, but yet she's been applying sunscreen to her face, chest and neck and hands every morning for probably the past five years. And if you be make it a lifestyle, just part of your normal routine, it really can help protect your skin. And the other thing is for people who tend to burn very quickly, it just is going to take you a long time to get any kind of color. So my daughter always wishes to have a little bit of color or tan, and she's learned sometimes the hard way to that if she doesn't respect it, she just gets a burn and then that peels and then her skin doesn't look good and she doesn't have a tan, she looks blotchy. So the way to think about it is just a very slow build, start with higher sunscreens the beginning of the season or the beginning of the vacation and very slowly let your skin adjust to the sun and you will develop a better tan than if you go out and burn and then peel.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

So essentially a slow buildup is really going to help these people.

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

Yes. The other thing just to know is, vitamin C is actually a natural sunscreen to some degree. So having a diet that's high in vitamin C can actually help your skin with a little bit of sun protection. It doesn't replace all the other measures, but it can also help. There's also a supplement called Heliocare that can be taken when you're in high sun exposed conditions. And that also has been shown to help minimize sun damage. So again, not replacements for sunscreens, still have to do all the other good stuff, but if you're very sensitive to sun exposure, then making sure you have a diet high in vitamin C and considering taking Heliocare supplements when you're out in those sunny situations would be helpful.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Oh, that's really interesting. So with Heliocare, is there any difference by chance if you take a vitamin C supplement daily compared to just to Heliocare itself?

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

They work differently in how they create the sun protection. So they're just two different options.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Gotcha.

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

Yeah.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Okay. That's awesome. So speaking of medications, are there any medications that people might be taking that they don't realize might be increasing their possibility of sunburn?

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

Sun sensitivity? Absolutely. So many medicines can alter our sun sensitivity. And probably the most common ones that we talk about in dermatology that we prescribe are the antibiotics, the other medicines, anything that is an exfoliator for the skin. So topical medicines you have to think of as well, like the topical retinols or retinoids, any kind of chemical peels or acid type products like salicylic acid products that you're using on your skin. Basically the purpose of those products, one of the ways they work is to exfoliate or get rid of some of the dead skin on the surface, which kind of brightens the skin and gives a little better appearance to the skin. But that dead layer of skin on the surface gives you some sun protection to the layers that are alive below that. And so it's important to recognize that if you're using anything that is going to be decreasing that protective dead layer of skin on the surface, that can also make you more sensitive.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

So what I would assume that things like sugar scrubs and whatnot on your legs and-

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

Physical exfoliation. Absolutely.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

That's interesting.

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

Even shaving your legs, you're taking off a little bit of the top dead layer of skin. So if you shave your leg right before you go out to lay on the beach, you've just eliminated one protective layer of skin. So it's important to use your sunscreen.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Interesting. So just let it all hang out. You'll protect yourself against-

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

Shave the night before it. But still just make understand that the less that's covering your skin, the more it's going to react to the sun. One other interesting fact, every year I see a few people who come in with rashes on their hands. They almost look like true burns, almost like if you'd burn your hand from water on the stove. And certain plants also have chemicals in them that increase sun sensitivity, celery plants, and lime juice.

Both of those can really cause what we call a Phytophotodermatitis or a reaction between a plant chemical and the sun and your skin that can cause a burn appearance to the skin. So I often see people saying, "I don't know what happened to my hands. I have this rash." And I'm like, "were you just on vacation?" "Yes." "Were you making margaritas by the beach?" "Yes." "Were you squeezing limes into your guacamole?" "Yes." So the juice of the limes, or if you're working in the garden and you're pulling celery or something like that, that can cause a more intense sunburn in a way on the skin. So make sure that you're rinsing your hands after you do any food prep before you go out in the sun.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Oh my gosh, that's interesting. Wow.

But just to be clear, so if I have a lime margarita itself, though, that's not going to impact my sunburn at all.

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

It will only impact you if it makes you forget to put your sunscreen.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

So, okay. So in my own world, my husband works outside every day and he wears sunscreen. Some days he does not, and I give him a lot of crap for it. So for people who just have to spend a lot of time outside just by the nature of what they do every day, how can they do anything extra to protect themselves?

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

I actually have a patient I'm very proud of who has melanoma, had a bad melanoma and is an outdoor worker. And I recommended to him a product called Rit Sun Guard. So I don't know if you've heard of the RIT brand of clothing dyes. Online they offer a sun guard product that you can add to your laundry and it will help make your regular clothing up to 25 times more sun protective. And it lasts for several launderings. So you just add it to your laundry cycle and it improves the sun protective factor of your clothing.

And my patient recommended this to his office and they started recommending it to their employees and he got some kind of award for innovative idea of the month or something. So I was very happy for him. So that additive is something nice if you just want to turn regular clothes, a little more sun protective, but obviously the longer you're going to be out in the sun and if you're in a work environment where you can't always just stop and put sunscreen on everywhere, using those, the protective clothing and hats and sunglasses as well to protect your eyes, very important.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Okay. So with something like Rit Sun Guard, I wrote that down because I'm definitely going to go buy that. So for example, my husband, he wears like the neon t-shirts and jeans and he has boots every day. It doesn't matter what kind of clothes you're putting it on?

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

I don't believe so. Obviously read the label. I'm not a hundred percent on if there's certain fabrics that it won't work on or that you shouldn't use it on. But for most normal wear clothing, it would be fine. I mean, I wouldn't use it with your silk clothing or anything that you aren't typically out in the sun with. But yeah, most regular cotton based or polyester based clothing should be fine.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

So this is one of those questions that we ask every single person that comes in here, and it always comes out with a really cool kind of conversation afterwards. What is the most common question that you get from your patients? And then what is your answer?

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

So one of the most common questions is just what should I do for basic skincare? And that this comes from men and women, both genders do like to have good looking skin. It's a sign of health and it makes you feel good to have good skin. The best thing I recommend is to use good quality skin cleansers and moisturizers on a daily basis to really clean and then hydrate your skin, especially right before bedtime. And then of course, using a moisturizer with sunscreen in the morning. As I've mentioned.

Beyond that, there are certain brands that I really like, CeraVe, La Roche-Posay, Neutrogena, those are all good brands that are over the counter available. You do not need to have some of these really expensive specialty ones that you can only buy in doctor's offices. There's a lot of really good products that are just on the shelves at your grocery store or Walmart or Target.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Awesome. Okay. Well, so Nina, how can people schedule an appointment with you if they listen to this and they're like, oh, I really would like to meet with this person and talk about anything related to my skin or sunburn or anything?

Guest: Nina Rettig, PA-C:

Sure, absolutely. So our main office is over at Rupert Health Center at the University of Toledo Medical Center. And to get an appointment over there, the phone number is (419) 383-6200. We do offer some cosmetic services over there with one of our physicians as well. But our priority, our primary care focus is medical dermatology. I also work one day a week in Waterville at Rocket Pediatrics, which is by the Kroger in Waterville. The phone number there is area code (567) 952-2100. And even though it is a pediatric office, I do see adults and kids in that office. So that's another option for people who live out in the Waterville, White House, Swanton area if they want something a little closer.

Host: Tessa Lackey:

Awesome. Well, thank you Nina, so much for joining us. This was a really good conversation, especially as we all get into the summer and protecting ourselves. So that's all for this episode of Prescribed Listening. Tune in next time and subscribe for more on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.