Sun tan or sun burn( Boaty medical)

Although British Deep Sea seamen are a rare breed these days in days gone by Skin cancer was a big killer of ex seafarers. I have never really been one for the bronzy myself (except the lower arms) But I know some people who are obsessed with it and never miss a chance to get the shirt off. Incidentally, Amongst Filipino seafarers dark skin is hated. Most walk around the deck completely covered and wearing a sort of burka made by wearing a t-shirt over the head with their eyes looking through the neck hole and the sleeves tied behind the head. In the Philippines dark skin is a mark of someone who works in the fields and no self respecting seaman with a pocket full of cash wants to go home looking like he had to work hard to earn his cash.
 
Its the sun rays that does it !!!
My partner is just recovering from a 4th bout of cancer.
No3 was melanoma - skin cancer. Advice from the experts is - keep OUT of the sun between 11am and 3pm, always use factor 50
For what its worth.......
 
cryan said:
In the Philippines dark skin is a mark of someone who works in the fields.
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I was always amused while travelling around SE Asia at those, especially ladies, who, stepping from a shaded area into a sunlit one, would hold up something, perhaps a book or bag, to shield their face from the sun.

It is very different here in Italy where gorgeous, tanned girls adorn the pool and are lying out on the mobo foredecks before they have even cleared the marina entrance. I'm sure they know the risks but style and beauty is paramount here and a deep tan fits the perception of glamour.

I do not consciously cover up but I do keep out of the sun - it's too darned hot - but sailing is more difficult even with a doghouse to keep the sun off, as there's a lot of reflected light. Even so, a summer in the Adriatic leaves me very brown without getting red or peeling - it just slowly occurs. Just as important are good sunglasses, which again is something I have neglected and will pay for by impending cataract surgery sometime in the near future.
 
WestWittering said:
Just a question - do people with black skin get skin cancer or even sunburnt? Just wondered really....
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Dunno about fully black, but a fairly dark-skinned Indian friend of mine came sailing for the first time with us and was surprised to get sunburnt. He acted as if it was the first time he'd ever burned, dunno if that's actually the case.

(This was in Cornwall and Devon in late September.)

Pete
 
cryan said:
...... Amongst Filipino seafarers dark skin is hated. Most walk around the deck completely covered and wearing a sort of burka made by wearing a t-shirt over the head with their eyes looking through the neck hole and the sleeves tied behind the head.....
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It's the same on my drilling rigs in Saudi. In fact I would say the T Shirt on the head is race related only the Philippines, not the Indians, Pakistanis or Saudis. They also wear arm coverings, like tube bandages but in lycra, when just wearing T shirts - some are flesh coloured and others have tattoo motifs on them. It's probably not a bad thing and is more based on manual workers dying of skin cancer than just a class thing.
 
ffiill said:
As a kid back in the 50s and early 60s I used to live out the summer in just a pair of shorts and right up to the late 1980s used to take of windsurfing in a short sleeved wet suit.
These days as I enter my 60s my skin is full of this spot and that spot so I count myself lucky that as yet I dont have skin cancer.I have been helped by the attitude of my family and their friends in NZ where cover up is the rule.
Less lucky was an old sailing friend who had done his time in the middle east managing an oil workers camp out in the desert.
He got diagnosed about 10 years ago and when I last saw him now in his 70s he looked non too well and I suspect he may no longer be with us.
Its not worth the risk!
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Have you actually had those spots checked out?
 
Mobile phones are good for checking skin lesions or moles. Hold a ruler up to the spot, take a photo and then see how things go. Next time you check, do the same and you will see if their is any change. There are good websites that give info on moles, patient.co.uk or NHSchoices. You are looking for rapid growth, change in shape/irregular shape, colours, bleeding/crusty etc. If you have the photos it will save time at the doctors aswell.
 
pmagowan said:
Mobile phones are good for checking skin lesions or moles. Hold a ruler up to the spot, take a photo and then see how things go. Next time you check, do the same and you will see if their is any change. There are good websites that give info on moles, patient.co.uk or NHSchoices. You are looking for rapid growth, change in shape/irregular shape, colours, bleeding/crusty etc. If you have the photos it will save time at the doctors aswell.
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Yes, but there are also types that can only be diagnosed with certainty by biopsy, or more usually by removal and lab examination of the excised growth! The thing I had removed a few years ago was like that - the dermatologist was pretty certain it wasn't malignant, but couldn't be sure without laboratory examination of the lump. Easier to remove it than to do a biopsy!
 
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