Your health: Sun safety tips

Office-free checkups

How healthy are you? Editors of the July/August issue of Fitness magazine offer 10 “self-check” questions that can help you identify your health risks without setting foot in a doctor’s office, according to The Washington Post.

The quiz is chock-full of cheesy one-liners — “Belly blubber is a time bomb” and “Word games help train your brain” — but it also succeeds in pinpointing major areas of concern, from heart health to sleep quality to mental acuity.

The checkup shows readers how to read clues in their bodies and offers advice on minimizing risk factors. Surprising gems include reading your earlobe creases (the diagonal creases that form as we age are linked to coronary artery disease) and your finger length (if your index finger is shorter than your ring finger, you are at above-average risk of developing osteoarthritis).

Summer sun safety

Summertime, and the living is easy — if you stay healthy, that is, says Harvard Medical School.

Summer’s seasonal woes can creep up on you when you least expect them. Here are a couple tips for keeping your skin and eyes safe in the sun:

Ÿ Protect your skin. It’s great to be outdoors in the summer. The sun is warm and bright — but too much sunshine will give you a painful burn. And even a “healthy” tan can cause trouble: over time, sun exposure will build up to increase your risk of skin cancer.

Use a sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher. Apply it liberally 15 to 30 minutes before sun exposure. The most common mistake is not forgetting to use sunscreen, but using too little. Remember to reapply it every two hours and after you swim or dry yourself with a towel.

Above all, don’t let sunscreen give you a false sense of security.

Ÿ Protect your eyes. The ultraviolet rays in sunlight can damage your eyes every bit as much as your skin. The cornea is at particular risk. Even a single intense exposure can cause photokeratitis, or sun blindness. The symptoms are pain and light sensitivity, often accompanied by redness, tearing and uncontrollable blinking. Fortunately, the cornea will usually repair itself in 12 to 48 hours. But repeated low-level ultraviolet exposure can cause cumulative damage to the lens, ultimately resulting in cataracts. Sunglasses will prevent both problems if they have high-quality lenses that screen out UV rays.

Avoid lenses that are rated as “cosmetic.” Instead, look for sunglasses rated “general purpose” that absorb at least 95 percent of ultraviolet B rays and 60 percent of ultraviolet A. For intense exposures, turn to glasses with a “special purpose” rating, which absorb 99 percent of UVB.