How to Protect your Skin this Summer

But with one skin cancer diagnosed every minute in Australia, it is important to take precautions to protect your skin this summer.

You don’t need a day the beach or lounging poolside to get sunburnt; half of weekend sunburns occur during day-to-day activities.

“Sunburn can cause irreversible damage to your skin cells and lead to skin cancer,” says Skin Cancer Doctor Zarli Kyaw at the Berwick and Officer Skin Cancer Centres.

“Just five sunburns can increase your risk of deadly skin cancers by 80 per cent.”

Protecting your skin can be as easy as applying SPF50+ broad-spectrum sunscreen to exposed skin every day, avoiding the outdoors during peak UV times, and using extra sun protection when UV levels reach 3 or above.

Experts also recommend a regular head-to-toe skin examination to check for damage. Picking up small changes early can significantly improve chances of

successful treatment; in fact, 99 per cent of skin cancers are curable if detected and treated early.

For high-risk patients, your doctor may recommend total body photography for earliest skin cancer detection.

“Early detection through regular full-body skin cancer checks is the best defence.

Our mission is to detect skin cancers in the early stages to minimise complex, invasive, and expensive treatments, and ultimately save lives,” says Dr Kyaw.

Between professional skin checks, you can monitor your own skin for lesions that stand out from the others. Look for sores that won’t heal, moles that have recently developed or changed, or areas that are crusting, itching, or bleeding.