THE SUMMER SUN.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 13 February 1926, Page 13

THE SUMMER SUN.

PERILS TO AVOID

A warm bath is all right; but not one in boiling water. Similarly a “sun-bath” is invigorating, but -in excess it may be injurious, or even fatal. A warning is issued by Dr C. F. Pabst in Popular Science Monthly (New York, August). One night last summer, Dr. Pabst tells us, lie was called to attend one of the worst cases oi sunburn he had ever seen, ’llie patient was a young man who had spent the nay at a bathing beach and, like many persons whose opportunities for outings ar e lew, bad made the ni-ost of bis time, remaining in bis bathing suit for hours under the broiling midsummer sun. Ht; was paying for Ms indiscretion. His face was tire-red and- swollen. His arms, shoulders and legs literally were scorched, just as if tie had exposeci his naked body T to the heat of a blast furnace. His eyes were narrow slits. He was nauseated and had a high fever. H e screamed with pain when the doctor attempted to treat Mm. We read further: —-

“For three days he -remained in bed, deathly ill and scarcely able to move. His was an extreme case, and yet it was typical of thousands of others that come witbin my own and other skin specialists’ experience every summer. For few persons seem to realise that a severe case of sunburn actually is u dangerous affliction that causes not only excruciating pain, but may permanently affect tlie health, cause chronic skin diseases, and even result in death.

“So little do peopie understand sunburn that, they often martyrise themselves by deliberately burning their skins, not for the beneficial elfects or sunlight, but to acquire 'a ’.‘Ooat of tau.’ “An office worker goes to the beach for a week-end. He decides to get a good coat oi tan, and impress _ his fe'low-workers on Monday morning. He gets the tan, but doesn’t appear Monday morning. He is in bed. The statistics of hours lost from work on acount of sunburn, if such records were available, I am' sure, would b e . amaznig. In fact, a tanned skin is no index to health. , A bronzed skin may cover the most serious serious of body disorders. ‘July and August are the dangerous months for sunburn, for then the sun delivers the most ultra-violet light, the invisib ! e part of the sunshine that burns the skin. Ultra-violet light, we recently discovered, helps cure many ills. It is especially beneficial in treating skin diseases, such as acne and eczema. But whi'e it is good lor us to be in the sunshine, out of doors the danger lies in getting too large a dose of ultra-violet light in a single exposure.

• •Sunburn is caused when ultra-vio-let light is stopt in the skin cells. The light causes a chemical change. A poison is manufactured that enters the blood, causing fever and headache, The chemical burn kills the skin. Some of this dead skin lias to be absorbed by the blood, and this process adds to the poisoning. A'i this means extra work for the blood. Large supplies oi. blod rush to the burned surfaces with consequent disturbance of the circulatory system. This may be followed by congestion of the lungs and inflammation of the kidneys. , '•The heat of sunshine has nothing to do with the burning. You can prove this for yourself. Expose your arm to a 90-degree temperature before a fireplace, or immerse it in hot water. The skin reddens, but- the redness disappears when the heat is .removed. Expose your arm in direct sunlight of the same temperature for two or three hours, and yon will receive a burn lasting for days. “Sometimes, not always, sunburn is ful lowed by pigmenta tiom —discoloration of the skin—the familiar ‘coat of fan.’ Sometimes this pigment, instead of being distributed evenly, collects in spots that we cai l freckles. The pigment is manufactured in the deepest layer of skin colls. Under a- microscope the pigment looks, like tiny particles of brown paint. The more of these particles manufactured the darker the skin becomes. “But perhaps you are one of those tin fortunate individuals who never tan. Yog suffer far worse from sunburn than your bronzed companion. Why?” The hvtest experiments with ultraviolet light load us to believe. Dr. Pa list says, that the presence of pigment in the skin aids in transmission of light. That is, after you have aciaired a coat of tau. the ultra-violet buht. can get through your skin, enter the blood, and be diffused through, the body w ithout being stopped . on the way 'to produce a chemical burn. He gef's on : “Recent tests indicate that there may he rehef for non-tanning skins in a preparation containing . esoulin, derived from hors© chestnuts. This is put on before exposure to the sun. “When you fish or lie in the sun for hours at a time, exposing skin that lias been protected all the winter, you are inviting trouble. The skin cannot manufact ire pigment quickly enough or in large enough quantity to protect you from burns. “Burns may he considered in three classes —first degree, when the skin is simply inflamed; second degree, when

blisters are formed; and third degree, when charring trikes place. A burn of the first degree, covering the entire body probably would result in death, A blistering burn on half the body would be as severe, and a charging burn on a. third of the body equally so. That is, a superficial burn is as serious as one that blisters, if covering twice the area. “You probably have noticed that you have suffered your worst burns while you were on water in a boat. That is because water reflects ultra-violet light, and this reaches your face and eyes, even if they are protected from direct rays of the sun. by a hat. “One of the best and simp’est treatments for shock from sunburn is to get into a tub of lukewarm water into which a pound of bicarbonate of soda lias been dissolved. A physician always should be called, since heart stimulants may he required to prevent collapse. Any sort of fab helps to soothe sunburn. Either lard -or butter cam be used in an emergency.”