Browsing around looking at recent news stories posted about skin cancer, I found an article from the Sydney Morning Herald that reminded runners that they need to be vigilant about sunscreen usage. My husband is an occasional runner and I know that he dislikes wearing sunscreen on his face when he runs because he claims that it drips into his eyes and causes them to burn. He would prefer to “just wear a hat”, which you and I know isn’t enough protection unless he’s wearing a beekeepers hat.
The article is obviously biased towards Australian rates of cancer and what runners can do to minimize their exposure. But of particular interest to me was the mention of an app that provides real-time UV levels for anywhere in Australia. I think that checking the UV Index should be just as common as checking the weather. Sometimes, visitors to Austin don’t realize that our sunny days are actually higher in UV Index than their sunny days further north. I know a bunch of people check their weather apps for the current temperature. Maybe people should also pay attention to that UV Index.
Getting back to the runners, I know a bunch of people who prefer to run in the morning, when the UV Index is low. And that is a habit I wish I could get my husband to adopt. He seems to want to go out in the middle part of the day – when the temperatures and the exposure to UV is the highest. It doesn’t make sense to me. And hopefully, when those extreme runners for things like the Spartan Race and other endurance races are out all day, the organizers give them a break to reapply their sunscreen every two hours as recommended when you’re sweating profusely. I somehow doubt that those types of considerations are given – and that’s pretty indicative of how blase most people are about skin cancer – that is, until they get a diagnosis.