Sunburned down there

[Tim Y]

I went to a nudist beach for the first time in years last weekend and got sunburned down there. I put on sun screen, but missed a few spots. I have a spot in the middle of my back and on my belly that got red. The head of my you know what also got burned. I thought I had enough sun screen on, but I guess not. I kind of put it on quickly so it did not look like I was doing something else...

It was a sore few days but now I'm feeling better. I know I will be more careful next time.

[Cheri]

You need to put sunscreen on every so often and also a half hr. before you get into the sun. If you still have last year's tube, you didn't use enough.

http://www.att.net/s/editorial.dll?eetype=Article&eeid=6633564&render=y&ck=&mode=normal&Table=&site=attportal&_lid=332&_lnm=yahoo+todayslink+sunblockrules

Sun protection rules: Apply sunblock, apply more, repeat
By Debra D. Bass
If we were to rank the five most important rules for skin care. They would be:
1. Buy sun protection.
2. Do not forget to use sun protection.
3. Apply more sun protection than you think you need.
4. Don't forget to reappply sun protection.
5. Do not underestimate the power of sun protection. You're not just using it to protect your skin from cellular damage, better known as the signs of aging, you're doing it to protect your skin from skin cancer. The fact that it keeps you looking pretty is a bonus.
Although sunscreens are readily abundant, widely promoted and relatively cheap, skin cancer is on the rise. So when it comes to which sunscreen is right for you, remember to look for something that provides "broad spectrum" protection, meaning it blocks both UVB and UVA. The SPF number gets the most hype, but it's not the most important.
SPF only relates to sunburn.

SPF works like this: If you start to turn red in the sun after 12 minutes of unprotected exposure, you would be protected 15 times longer with an adequate supply of SPF 15 (that would be about three hours). That sounds like a lot of protection, right?
However, the key word is "adequate."

YOU NEED MORE THAN YOU THINK
Experts agree that it takes one ounce or a shot glass of sunscreen over your entire body to protect you. A cotton T-shirt is said to have an SPF of only about 5. Clothing is not foolproof sun protection. And there should be a generous quarter-coin sized amount of sun protection for your face. Most of us don't use that much because that's a lot of goop on your face, but when products are tested they are not dabbed on in small quantities, according to Dr. Greg Barnum, a facial plastic surgeon with Washington University.
So when we blot on a little SPF 15, the benefits may be significantly lower or nonexistent if you wait too long to reapply or forget to coat your forehead or wash it away with perspiration, Barnum said. And then, just to give us something else to consider while sunscreen shopping, Barnum said that the UVA rays that are not factored into SPF numbers can often be more harmful.

UVA rays penetrate deeper into the skin and are 20 times more abundant than UVB.
UVA rays are linked more closely to melanoma cancer and are present all day, every day of the year no matter what the weather. UVA rays can pass through glass in offices and cars. UVA rays are vicious.

But the active ingredients in a great many sunscreens don't actually target UVA rays.
ZINC OXIDE, AVOBENZONE AND TITANIUM DIOXIDE. These are the three ingredients known to offer the broadest range of protection for UVA and UVB, listed in order of strength. And there are different variations, such as clear zinc oxide, that capitalize on the protective qualities without the chalky side effects.

"There are two types of aging: intrinsic (aging that just happens over time) and photo aging (ultraviolent-induced exposure)," says Dr. Lynn Cornelius, a dermatologist specializing in skin cancers at Washington University. She said that if you never saw a ray of sunlight your skin would age, but with photo aging, many things are accelerated, particularly ultraviolet damage to the top layer that can lead to skin cancer or the damages to layers below the skin that can break down collagen.

"The answer is sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen: 1, 2 and 3," Cornelius said.
She said that if your daily routine is getting up in the morning, dashing to your car, heading to an indoor office and other typical activity, moisturizers with SPF 15 are fine. If you're outside doing activity, use an SPF 30 and reapply every couple of hours, especially if at a pool with more exposed skin.

Sunblocks that offer SPF 100 sound like a good idea, but you're probably wasting your money. An SPF 100 won't offer twice the benefit of an SPF 50. The explanation is enough to give you a headache, but the short side is this: SPF 100 blocks 99 percent of UVB rays and SPF 50 blocks 98 percent. Plain old SPF 30 keeps 96.7 percent of UVB rays away from your skin. And in the random sun protection scam department: Some companies are now promoting UVC, which isn't a danger unless you are hanging out at an extremely high altitude (think Mount Everest). And oral sun protection being promoted as "sunblock in a pill" is not a viable sun protection option, Cornelius says.
Bottom line: The only certainty comes from using sun protection for UVA and UVB generously and often.

If you still have that bottle you bought last year, you aren't using enough.


Cheri Alexander
PO Box 90836

[BinCo]

Put more on next time. You don't need to look like you're playing with him to get him covered enough, but many might think you are indeed playing with the little soldier. As long as you stop and it is obvious that you are applying sunscreen to all of you and not just there you should be fine.

Meanwhile, get some lavender oil or aloe juice to apply to the sunburn.

[northnude]

I find the first time every season you have to use as much sun screen as possible. I have a spray that is clear and apply it frequently to start. The more time you spend subsequently in the sun the less chances of getting a burn. I also use different SPF spray for different parts of my body.

I also do not like to wear a hat. The same clear sunscreen can be sprayed on your hair and ears and it really makes a difference. Getting pretty thin up there.

[puffledud]

I concur with the advice that Cheri gave with one additional point: check the expiration date on your sunscreen. If it's past date throw it out. Your skin health is one thing you shouldn't take a risk with.

Enjoy!

Dave

[Kouak]

Tanning causes increased melanin to be produced. I do not think that melanin prevents the UV rays from doing damage.

I'm no expert, but I think the UV rays affect DNA by zapping the bonds between the matching nucleotides. The body tries to repair the damage. Sometimes it makes mistakes. When the cell subsequently divides, this mistake is duplicated. At this point the body does not know it is a mistake. Eventually, it can turn into cancer...somehow...still a mystery to me.

Please do not think that because you are getting tanned you do not need suntan lotion anymore. Keep slathering the lotion on.

[Naturist Mark]

Tanning causes increased melanin to be produced. I do not think that melanin prevents the UV rays from doing damage.

Melanin DOES give the skin added protection from UV rays - that is it's purpose.

That is why very fair skinned people are at much greater risk of skin cancer - not to mention sunburn.

BUT ... melanin is not perfect protection.

In particular a lot of UV damage can accumulate on the way to that very dark UV protecting tan. And even after you have a dark tan - or even if you are naturally dark skinned - you are still susceptible to UV damage if overexposed - even if it takes 100 times the exposure that it would take Conan O'Brien - you too can get skin cancer.

[kelly99]

...got sunburned down there; ...the head of my you know what. It's called a penis, Tim, and yeah I've been there. Laid up for a few days.

[naturalmanwa]

I've been sunburned on various parts of my body, including my ***, but never on my penis.

[Cheri]

I concur with the advice that Cheri gave with one additional point: check the expiration date on your sunscreen. If it's past date throw it out. Your skin health is one thing you shouldn't take a risk with.

Enjoy!

Dave

Dave, It's unfortunate that not all sunscreens list the expiration date on their product. I won't buy those any more.

:) Cheri

[FreeinNJ]

after a clothes feee vacation that had allo f the full days raining and cloudy I finally got some sun before I left , however did nto apply sunscreen and also burned that along with eveything else. is nto a fun feeling and learned my leason.

[Arnabas]

I guess I have been lucky. I have never managed to sunburn my penis, despite never putting sunblock on it, for the reasons mentioned earlier. I try not to touch my penis at all in a nudist venue, for fear of being branded a pervert or something.

[FreeinNJ]

I guess I have been lucky. I have never managed to sunburn my penis, despite never putting sunblock on it, for the reasons mentioned earlier. I try not to touch my penis at all in a nudist venue, for fear of being branded a pervert or something.


trick is hold the sunblock bottle as you apply and do it quick , if people see the botttle they will totally understand

[tiger79]

The real trick is to use good quality, once-a-day, sunscreen. Apply it with scrupulous care first thing in the morning, making sure you cover every little nook and cranny. Then enjoy the sun all day without a care. My wife & I use a waterproof SPF20 once-a-day sunscreen, and it works fine even in the harsh Caribbean sunshine.

[Kouak]

Melanin DOES give the skin added protection from UV rays - that is it's purpose.

Just did some research. It seems that melanin protects against UVB but does not seem to protect against UVA.

Found this at http://www.nature.com/jid/journal/v113/n2/full/5603209a.html:

"Increased melanin synthesis clearly did not protect against ultraviolet A-induced oxidative DNA base damage in cells.

[Removed text from here]

Dark-skinned people are much less susceptible than Caucasians to ultraviolet (UV)-induced skin damage including both non-melanoma and melanoma skin cancer. The difference can to a large degree be explained by the superior optical filtering provided by the large amount of melanin in the epidermis of black skin (Kaidbey et al. 1979); however, it is not clear whether or not the extra melanin of tanned Caucasian skin protects against the induction of skin cancer by UV radiation."

Just be careful.

[davep]

I just noticed how blotchy my underside is at rest - it's probably been that way for years without me noticing. I can't explain it and there seems no logical reason, but it's otherwise invisible anyway and doesn't show in other states so I'm not going to bother doing anything about it. Maybe bits of us just naturally tan unevenly!

Never burned it though... ouch! :eek:

[sdson]

Been there, done that. It really, really hurts. I used sun screen with 70+ spf rating and still got burned. You really have to carefully monitor (limit) your time in the sun AND use lots and lots of sun screen.

[JohnE44]

allways look at the best used by date got burned in a few places by that

[MINUDE]

Thanx for the advise Cheri. I did not know about the spf numbers and their protective qualities. I think I will re-apply now.

[CCNude]

Tim, I know your pain, as I've done it a couple times myself. On my face, the worst burn is usually on my nose because it angles out to catch the sun and also is fairly thin-skinned. Unfortunately, the tip of your (and my) penis also normally dangles at about the same angle and is also (by design) thin-skinned, so it tends to catch many rays and burn easily. This can put you out of commission for several days. My advice, during the interim, wear as little as possible, or nothing at all, and just wait it out, and try to be smarter the next time (tho I usually am not).

[IDNude]

SPF works like this: If you start to turn red in the sun after 12 minutes of unprotected exposure, you would be protected 15 times longer with an adequate supply of SPF 15 (that would be about three hours).




Sunblocks that offer SPF 100 sound like a good idea, but you're probably wasting your money. An SPF 100 won't offer twice the benefit of an SPF 50. The explanation is enough to give you a headache, but the short side is this: SPF 100 blocks 99 percent of UVB rays and SPF 50 blocks 98 percent. Plain old SPF 30 keeps 96.7 percent of UVB rays away from your skin.


These two statements seem to contradict each other.

If SPF 15 means you're protected 15 times doesn't that mean SPF 50 protects 50 times and SPF 100 protects 100 times? If so, wouldn't 100 times be twice as much as 50 times? Is it some sort of a curve where SPF 15 just happens to be the number where it's also the multiple in terms of time>

[Safebare]

Yes, it is based on a curve equation. The way I understand it is: The amount of protection increase in one unit is less as the scale increases. An increase from 15 to 16 is 1/15th of an SPF unit; while the increase from 50 to 51 is 1/50th; and so on. So, the higher on the scale you go, the less significant each unit becomes.

It is kind of like aging if you think about it. Each year when you are 15 is pretty significant, but not nearly as much as when you were one. And now, they all run together.

I usually do not venture out into the deep water. This is water, right?