Hi lovely friends! Summer is here and as much as I love the sunshine I have to admit that the sun scares me a bit! I saw that the Environmental Working Group (EWG) is spreading the message of the importance of sun safety and I wanted to share their important message with you. EWG is teaming up with Heather Armstrong, founder of dooce.com, to create a powerful video about sun safety, and they are excited to have you be a part of this important campaign with them. Having four kiddos that LOVE playing in the pool all day long makes me want to pay close attention to their safety tips and advice!
Let me share with you a little personal experience… When I was seventeen years old ( back in the Canary Islands) I had a summer job in a hotel near the beach. Some days I had to work a few hours during the morning serving breakfast and then had to come back in the late afternoon to serve dinner to the guests. One of those particular days I didn’t want to drive all the way home to come back a few hours later so I had the great idea to go to the beach during the hours between my shifts from 11:30am to 4:30pm. Being a carefree islander teen I simply rolled out my towel and laid down on it enjoying the ocean breeze and the summer heat. It wasn’t until three and a half hours later that a tourist tapped me on the shoulder to bring to my attention that I had fallen asleep. I got up, went back to the hotel, took a shower, and g0t ready for my evening shift.
When I got to the hotel I started feeling sick and super cold. I went to the showers and I was shocked when I saw how burned my skin was. I’ve never seen anyone so red in my life!
I got dressed and I went to work but I started to feel more and more ill to the point of shivering and had a super high fever. I drove home and when I was changing into my normal clothes I noticed that my entire body was covered with blisters. Just a few hours later my face exploded. My mom and I went to the emergency room and the doctors told us that I had second and third degree sunburns. It was a mess and until this day I can see in my skin, sun spots that never left me because of it.
SUMMER SAFETY TIPS
- Wear clothes: shirts, hats, shorts and pants shield your skin from the sun’s UV rays, reducing risk by 27%.
- Find shade – or make it: Picnic under a tree or take a canopy to the beach. Keep infants in the shade, reducing the risk of multiple burns by 30%.
- Sunglasses are essential: Not just a fashion accessory, sunglasses protect your eyes from UV radiation.
- Plan around the sun: Go outdoors in early morning or late afternoon when the sun is lower in the sky.
- Don’t get burned: Red, sore, blistered skin means you’ve had far too much sun.
- Check the UV index: The UV Index provides important information to help you plan your outdoor activities in ways that prevent sun overexposure.
….Sunscreen should be your last resort!
Get EWG’s Guide to Safer Sunscreens HERE
…and make sure to take the time to watch Heather Armstrong’s Video with your family!
The beach, the pool, and the outdoors under the sun can be a lot of fun
if we all take the time to take care of our skin and be safe!
Thank you to the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and Heather Armstrong for these awesome tips and to our readers
we wish an awesome and super fun Summer!
Desirée
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of EWG Sun Safety. The opinions and text are all mine.
