coolerkingcooler

I know in the UK that some clothing (golf etc) increasingly has a spf, just wondering if these are effective and popular in Australia?

Cooler

lesleys

A lot of work and school clothes come with an SPF 50 tag. I've no idea how popular they are but they are widely available (Kmart, Target et al)

mark 'n' joe

Sorry to hear about your friend BB Sad newsx

We are all quite moley, me and Mark have both had some removed although there was nothing wrong with them, Mark is bald too and has started covering himself in cream but he never bothered in the UK even though i kept nagging him.

How do you go about getting your moles screened here?

squeezzii

Out of interest what does the 'mapping' cost if you dont have private health insurance?

Cheetah7

If my memory serves me it was around $120 - perhaps a little more I cant remember.

Medicare does not cover this by the way but it is worth it.

Sunshine7

Does anybody use a natural sunscreen? Having done a lot of research here in the UK it seems that most brands of cream contain ingredients which are potential carcinogens - some more so when exposed to sunlight! They also contain ingredients which are endocrine disruptors - a lot of nasty stuff. I'm not talking cheap brands here, it's also the most well known ones.

I only ever use natural suscreen without these nasties - I have read reports which seem to suggest that sunscreen has a large part to play in the increased rates of skin cancers, and it does make sense when you look at the ingredients.

However, the creams we use are a bit more expensive which is no problem here in the UK because we get through so little. I'm just wondering if anybody uses the natural stuff in Australia and how does it compare in price.

Sally Simpson

That's worrying!
I use Auscreen here but will also have a look at the cancer council one tomorrow when I go shopping to see what is in that.
Is it the ingredients though or the fact that we may be lulled into a false sense of security when we apply screen & think we are still ok to fry?

Sunshine7

Nope, it's definitely the ingredients that can cause the problems. I will try to find some info to post here about it.

Also, as far as I am aware anything over a factor 25/30 is just as false sense of security - certainly the case with sunscreen in Britain anyway. For example, a factor 50 may only give you 3% more protection that a factor 25 but people seem to think it gives loads more protection. It's just more likely to block pores atc.

livinginreality

Really sorry to hear about your friend,thats very sad.My sister lives in SA,and has had skin cancer twice now!!!! Whats even more ridiculous is they used to live in a suburb of Adelaide,but then moved to a coastal town,same sun yes,but she spends more time outside in it!!Crazy!

Sunshine7

I had a quick look at the Cancer Council sunscreen, and two of the ingredients are -

Phenoxyethanol - can disrupt the endocrine system, depress the immune system and is thought to be carcinogenic.

Hydroxybenzoate – isn’t this a paraben known to mimic oestrogen therefore a hormone disruptor? It needs a lot more research done but emerging evidence shows it’s a potential carcinogen.

I'm certainly no expert, but even though manufacturers may claim that these ingredients are in very small quantities unlikely to do harm, when you add in all the toiletries and creams you would use over the course of a day, month, year, then the build up effect must be huge.

I can’t seem to find a full list of the ingredients, but these two would be enough to put me right off, especially from applying it on my babies.

I know that current research has shown the presence of Parabens in breast cancer tissue (though a lot more research is needed).

I personally wouldn't risk this stuff, but I'm wondering if there are alternatives readily available in Australia. It seems we are going to need it by the bucketload

Sally Simpson

Well, my sunscreen has both those ingredients!

I will have a look at the health store tomorrow & get back to you with what is available! Hopefully someone else may come along who knows more meantime!

rockpeblar

There are two different natural versions readily available in Perth which we use for our 2 young ones. If I remember right it's about $30 for 250ml. One of my wife's friends is a chemist so we'll ask her how much it would be to buy in bulk, should work out cheaper.
Gave up using the mainstream deodorants years ago due to all the nasties in them and use a deocrystal instead which is much healthier.
Also we're big green tea drinkers and I regularly have a cup of miso soup in the mornings. Not sure how effective this is but beats pouring Coke zero down our throats - don't fancy aspartame much.
Also one bit of advice I try to heed regularly is to do ten press ups first thing every morning. Apparently this is enough to mobilise the lymph fluid in your body to start removing toxins and the like. Apparently you have a similar amount of lymph fluid as blood but you don't have any means of circulating it around your body like a heart but doing the press ups gets it moving.

Sunshine7

I would really appreciate any info you can get on the natural sunscreens - looks like it's going to be expensive for the four of us.

Totally agree about the deodorants with aluminium and all the other nasties - we use the crystal one as well and find it every bit as effective. I wonder how it will perform in Australia's heat? And as for aspartame - I just don't understand why it's legal to sell products containing this, given all the research that has been done which shows the effects on the human body There just isn't enough information getting through to the public is there?

Now, the press-ups thing makes good sense - but unfortunately my arms would probably buckle if I attempted it I think body brushing has a similar effect though and I mean to do it in the morning, but never seem to have the time.

Anyway, I seem to have gone totally off thread, and I just wanted to say that I am so very sorry for those who have lost loved ones to skin cancer. Having lost a parent to cancer myself, I know how cruel this disease is.

WillBlack

The ghostly white and outdoor workers are the only people who need to use sunscreen frequently.

The rest can get bye quite well with appropriate clothing; hats, long sleaves and trousers and covered feet; and appropriate behaviour; staying out of the noon day sun etc.

jad n rich

One of our kids mates is from Papua New Guinea, he has black/brown skin, proud to be brown as he puts it anyway he burns out in the sun in Aus. I didnt think dark people burned but they do, seen it, took about 2 hours round a pool and he was quite obviously burnt.

His mum laughs that I thought black people didnt burn.