By Marshall Muehlbauer; Saint Cloud, MN – Guest Blogger

Spending time is the sun can be a blast, but getting sun burn certainly isn’t. Read why protecting your aged skin is important and how you can prevent the onset of skin cancer.

After a long winter, going outside with no jacket and the works is a treat for Minnesotans every year. Being outside in the sun unprotected, especially for the more ‘experienced’ members of our community can have harsh consequences. Sun burn, peeling, and other irritations are some of the effects every person of every age experiences with prolonged exposure to UV rays. However, for our senior members, skin cancer and other harmful effects are more plausible and achievable than the younger population.

Because skin is the largest organ, it will see all sorts of “combative duty”, so to speak. It experiences every thing: soap from the shower, cake batter from the kitchen, and light and darkness from the surrounding environment. Our skin is constantly soaking up light and is bombarded by UV, or ultraviolet rays. While the need for UV rays and Vitamin D, which is activated by sunlight, is important to our health and psychological well being, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. According to WebMD, one of the leading health and healthcare related websites in the United States, sun damage can cause sun burn, scaring, or even skin cancer.

Avoiding sun damage is easy, according to WebMD using a zinc oxide sunscreen, wearing sunglasses and long sleeved clothing can protect you from future complications from sun damage. Sun damage, although taken lightly, can have serious health concerns in the future. Most people have experienced some sort of sun damage, such a sun burn that peeled for weeks. While we may not have realized these effects in the present, they will become more apparent in the future. So while you go outside and have a picnic, or go on a stroll with your hubby, remember to use protective elements against UV rays. But most importantly, remember to enjoy the sun.