Summer Health - Sun safety

Sunlight is essential for good health, but it can also cause disease.

Not enough and our vitamin D levels go down, which can lead to bone diseases such as rickets. But too much sunlight burns the skin, causes wrinkles and can lead to skin cancer and eye damage.

Mice are helping us understand how UV light exposure triggers skin cancer.

Most skin cancer is caused by damage from UV (ultraviolet) rays in sunlight and its incidence is on the rise. In the UK, skin cancer incidence has doubled since the 1980s. Over 69,000 new cases are now diagnosed each year. Winter sun holidays can be even more harmful than summer ones because the skin hasn't had a chance to build up its own natural protection in the form of a tan.

Around 2000 people die each year as a result of skin cancer - more than in sunny countries like Australia. There are two main types of skin cancer. One type - malignant melanoma - causes most skin cancer deaths. These cancers are more dangerous than the other type of skin cancer - non-melanoma skin cancers - because they tend to spread rapidly around the body. Non-melanoma skin cancers are much more common than malignant melanomas but are often slow growing, and while they need to be removed, they are unlikely to be life-threatening.

Fair-skinned people are more likely to get skin cancer.

As well as exposure to sunlight, genetic factors may contribute to the development of melanomas. Research suggests that fair-skinned people, particularly those with occasional, high exposure to sunlight (especially if it leads to sunburn), are most at risk.

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