What are the ABCDE's of Melanoma?

/	Common Questions Mary Radford, RN | June 10, 2011 at 6:24 pm | Categories: Common Questions | URL: http://wp.me/pMnJi-oi

I’m never outside because I work all day in an office. I don’t see a need to wear sunscreen—what is the point?

Few people realize that hours of incidental sun exposure, whether from sitting in a sunny office, commuting on the freeway, or walking the dog, can be more damaging if we neglect to protect ourselves from it on a daily basis. Just 20 minutes of sun exposure a day adds up. Do the math and you’ll see that this is equivalent to two straight weeks (that’s 14 eight-hour days) of exposure over the course of a year. You wouldn’t spend two weeks baking in the sun without sunscreen, would you? This proves how important daily sun protection really is.

And since 80% of the sun’s rays penetrate clouds, you aren’t safe on gloomy days either.

 

What are the ABCDE’s of Melanoma?

Use these tips as a guideline to determine whether you may have melanoma.

A: Asymmetry—the spot isn’t symmetrical and may have an odd shape
B: Border—look for a border that isn’t sharp or defined
C: Color—the color is not uniform and may have different shades of red, brown, or black
D: Diameter—the spot is the size of a pencil eraser or larger
E: Evolution—the spot changes over time

Posted via email from Beautiful Skin with Rodan+Fields