QUESTION: I need some guidance in dodging sales talk around lip balms. Can you tell me what I should get and whether cold sores cause cancer?
ANSWER: Outdoor enthusiasts are always very careful purchasing the correct sun protection factor (SPF) product to avoid skin damage and sunburn from the sun’s UVA and UVB (ultraviolet rays). It is equally important to protect one’s mouth. Use specific lip balms for sun protection to ensure that your lips do not get burned.
Just to clarify a few things: UVA are the rays that cause ageing, the sun’s long-wave solar rays. UVB are the rays responsible for basal carcinomas and other cancers.
Fever or burn blisters are the curse of many – but what are they exactly ? Fever blisters are small, red blisters that appear on the lips or around the mouth. They are caused by the herpes virus and will have fluid in them and scab up after a few days. They often appear after a cold, fever, stress, and exposure to the sun. There is no cure for them but you can treat them.
Sunburn is a type of skin damage that results from excessive exposure to the sun’s UV rays. Burns range from a mild, pink, first-degree burn to more dangerous second-degree burns that lead to blister formation. Sun blisters could be small water blisters, or they may be larger, more painful blisters. Either can cause discomfort and lead to complications .
Sun blisters can be treated fairly easily at home. Small blisters that remain unbroken will often clear up on their own. Over-the-counter lotions, medications and home remedies, are available to help you treat your sun blisters effectively.
Sunscreen versus sun block
Sunscreen absorbs the UV rays while sun block deflects them.
Unprotected skin burns after 20 minutes. Lips have a very thin layer of skin, with very little melanin, the pigment that protect against sun.
The sun can also affect the collagen in your lips. Collagen is a protein that gives your lips (and all of your skin) some body.
People with cold sores have to be especially careful about sun exposure. Cold sore breakouts are easily triggered by too much sun. This situation can be prevented by using an effective protection balm.
People often lick their lips when dry or too hot. In fact, this might make the problem worse as the saliva forms a lens which intensifies the sun’s rays on the skin.
The UVB rays decline in cooler months, but that’s not the case with UVA rays. They are just as powerful in February as they are in August.
Protecting your lips from the sun is actually fairly simple. A lip balm with a sunscreen is the best bet. The SPF number tells you how much protection you are getting.
What does SPF mean?
The sun protection factor tells us how long the skin barrier will protect the skin before it burns.
An SPF of 21 means that it will take your lips 21 times longer to burn than they would without the sunscreen. Lip care sunscreens should be applied at least 30 minutes before going out and then reapplied regularly during the day.
Home-made balms
* Combine petroleum jelly, aloe vera, lip balm and yoghurt to help soothe and protect the lips from sun.
* Combine Vitamin E (aloe vera), aloe juice and grapefruit seed extract.
* Other options: ice, tea bags, honey or baking soda. - Cape Argus
* Dr Darren Green, a trusted figure in the field of media medicine, is a University of Stellenbosch graduate who adds innovative spark to health and wellness issues.
He features on 567CapeTalk, and is a regular guest on SABC3 and the Expresso show. Dr Green works as an emergency medical practitioner at a leading Cape Town hospital and completed four years of training as a registrar in the specialisation of neurology.
If you’ve got medical problems, contact the doctor at [email protected], 021 930 0655 or Twitter @drdarrengreen. Catch him in Cape Town on 567 CapeTalk, most Fridays at 1.30pm.
The advice in this column does not replace a consultation and clinical evaluation with a doctor.