Sun Burns & Scars
After a bad sunburn, skin sometimes does this a day or two later — peeling off in sheets.
What is peeling (or shedding dead skin)?
When you get a sunburn, your skin turns red and feels warm. This is your body sending extra blood to the area to try to fix the damage. What do we call it when part of your body gets red, swollen, and warm like that?
What is inflammation? (swelling, body trying to heal itself)
You are heading to a pool party and your friend says their white T-shirt will protect them from the sun. Are they right or wrong?
Wrong! A plain white T-shirt might protect from heat but not from UV rays.
True or false: You can get sunburned even on a winter day, because the snow reflects UV rays back up at your face.
True
White cats and dogs with pink skin around their ears are especially prone to sunburn in that spot. Vets recommend protecting them with what?
What is pet-safe sunscreen (or keeping them indoors during peak sun hours)?
Most sunburns are classified as this kind of burn — the same basic level as touching a hot pan briefly.
What is a first-degree burn?
A tan might look cool to some people, but it is actually your skin doing this.
What is protecting itself (or making more melanin / trying to block UV rays)?
Clothing has its own sun protection rating, just like sunscreen has SPF. What are the three letters for clothing protection?
What is UPF — Ultraviolet Protection Factor?
UV rays can come through this in your home and car.
What is a window (or glass)?
Whales spend time near the ocean surface and scientists have discovered they can develop this sun-related skin condition, just like humans.
What is sunburn (or sun damage / blisters)?
This clear, cooling gel from a desert plant found all over Arizona is a home remedy for sunburn.
What is aloe vera?
A really bad sunburn can cause fluid-filled bubbles to form on your skin. You should never pop them. What are these bubbles called?
What are blisters?
A baseball cap protects your forehead and face from the sun — but it leaves these two body parts exposed.
What are the ears and the back of the neck?
These indoor tanning devices use artificial UV light and are restricted for people under 18 in some states because of their high skin cancer risk.
What are tanning beds?
This small hairless mammal that lives entirely underground never sees sunlight and has essentially no UV protection in its skin at all.
What is a naked mole rat?
Doctors say that just one of these as a kid can raise your risk of skin cancer as an adult.
What is a blistering sunburn?
Sunburn damages something inside your skin cells — a kind of instruction manual that tells cells how to grow normally. When this gets damaged too many times, cells can start growing the wrong way. What is this tiny instruction manual called?
What is DNA?
True or false: To protect your eyes from sun damage, sunglasses need to block 99-100% of UV rays.
True.
At higher elevations — like hiking in the mountains — UV radiation is stronger because there is less of this between you and the sun.
What is atmosphere (or air / ozone)?
Human sunscreen may be toxic to dogs if they lick it off because it often contains this ingredient that is safe for humans but dangerous for pets.
What is zinc oxide?
True or false: Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States and in Arizona.
True
Getting too much sun over many years makes skin look much older than it really is. Doctors have a word for this sun-caused aging. Can you name any two things it does to the way skin looks?
What are wrinkles, dark spots, leathery skin, or uneven skin tone? Accept any two.
Surfers wear tight shirts in the water called rash guards. Besides protecting against rashes from surfboards, what is the other main reason surfers wear them?
What is sun protection (to protect skin from UV rays while in the water)?
Even underwater in a pool or ocean, UV rays can still reach your skin. This is why swimmers can get sunburned even while doing what?
What is being in the water (or swimming)?
Certain dog breeds with short, light-colored fur — like Dalmatians and bull terriers — are especially at risk for this sun-related condition on their belly and nose.
What is sunburn (or skin cancer)?