does 'light coloured' include my gloves & sleeves?? varriously described as 'sand', 'fawn' etc, i've never met anyone with skin in any of the colours i get, & would be pretty worried if i did
& i should have mentioned that i know ladies are only supposed to gently grow, but women post breast cancer tend to sweat like pigs! presumably that'll affect how long it lasts?
i'm not very good at sun stuff - i prefer to just stay in the shade, but am getting coaxed onto a beach soon
I have lymphoedema as a result of treatment for malignant melanoma probably caused by being sunburnt as a child. Factor 50 sunscreen does not stop you getting your required dose of vitamin d it stops you burning and vastly increasing your risk of getting skin cancer. for more expert advice factor50.org.uk
I tend to agree with bigleg about the fact that if you cover the part of the body affected by lymphoedema with sleeves and gloves then you won't need anything else to protect you against the sun. We need vitamin D, but then one can get it from other parts of the body which are left uncovered, and by the way, I remember reading that one doesn't need to stay in the sun for more than around 15min. Also, about skin cancer, one should remember that it's all accumulative (like unfortunately all the radiation we got, thanks to breast cancer), and if you didn't spend months upon months, in your youth, sitting in the sun and getting suntanned with a bit of burnt skin, then you shouldn't worry too much about that. Also, I wouldn't think that trying to moisturise your skin after it has been covered by sunblock, it's a good idea; if your skin is 'blocked' against the sun, it might also work as a barrier against the moisturiser. If I were you, I would wear, if you want extra protection, over the special sleeve an open top with long sleeves, and sit in the sun for 15 min or so from time to time. Extra chemicals on our body can be as bad as sitting in the sun for too long without any protection. Enjoy the nice weather. Sorry to go back to clothing, but layers of material on the body, I tend to believe, protect us the same as putting layers of sunblock which contain who knows what bad ingredients that in time might be considered bad for our health! Also, about perspiring in hot weather, I once wore, while holidaying in a hot country, a dress which covered quite a lot of my body, and to my surprise, I felt cooler than wearing a very open top.
i think we're all agreed that the sun needs some respect! but sandra & i are more wary of it, perhaps - sandra for obvious reasons, & i burn the nanosecond i step out of the shade (& never exaggerate!) so i'm sticking with slapping on some sun stuff
but, as a sun hater, i take a vit d supplement
& i completely take your point, bigleg & redac, that sun stuff's full of yucky stuff - the only 'natural' ones that have worked for me are the organic children's chalky sunblocks, very messy & expensive
& with the amount of it i use, which is tiny, it's not top of my personal list of nasties to avoid (altho, having tried various creams & potions after v helpful advice from people here, i'm back to snapping off a bit of aloe leaf to moisturise, bigleg)
as i said, everyone's different & we've all got different factors to juggle, on this one
thanks for the advice everyone - i'll try p20 to sit on the beach with next w/e .... although the weather may wash the whole problem away
I have to say I don't doubt a word of what you say bigleg that this works for you.
However I am about one shade from albino and so my burn time in sunshine is 15 mins. If you are going out for the day thats as good as useless. I appreciate you can time it if you are talking abou sunbathing, which is something I do not ever do, because my skin doesn't go a pretty brown it just burns and becomes damaged. But with this kind of skin we're talking walking around shops, walking for the bus, waiting for a friend for 5 mins, going about your day to day life you will burn. In the spring and autumn I use mosturior with factor 15 in it. If it is at all sunny and I know I will be in it for more then 10 minutes I go straight to the factor 50.
I have burnt badly through my full black compression tights, it's not the case that you can not burn through them they are not UV blocking. I have burnt once on the back of my legs - not even 'bad' burn from a normal person's perspective, just ouchy red. It was the worst experience I have ever had with lymph. My legs were warm beause of the burn, this made them swell. the fact they were swelling made the burn hurt, which made it more irritated and hot. as they got hotter they swelled more..... You get the picture a horrible cycle of what I can only say is the worst agony I've ever felt. I was pouring moisturisor on and aloe vera because the skin was so angry and red, I was in so much pain and fear I really thought that the skin would split.
Thankfully it was only AFTER I had got better my mum mentioned to me that my skin could have indeed split. She remembers vividly her grandma stepping down some steps and the skin on her calves splitting. I rarely say be afraid of lympheodema, but if this awful tale doesn't scare you it SHOULD. We are all different shades we all have different burn times and lymph in different places so know your own skin but all I can say to you is do NOT BURN LYMPHEODEMA. There is no place in our lives for 'having a nice tan'. Get your tan from a bottle if you must but do not risk a lymphy limb in the sun it is just far too dangerous. Know your skin and protect protect protect. Maybe there is a random chance of me getting a vitamin deficiency, but I don't have that just now I DO have lympheodema and I know getting burnt could lead to a fate much worse then having a mild deficiency so I feel it's more important to deal with whats in front of me.
Whatever approach you take take care of your skin all xx
Norberte In answer to your original question I do a lot of festivals so I do test these things to the limits as there is often little shade. I've used I think nivea invisible protection - it was a bit crap and I burnt which I wasn't happy about. I tend to use boots or superdrug just high factor stuff and tbh if it's applied well it lasts me all day. Not tried the spray stuff you are talking about but I have heard that it is hugely painful if your skin is broken at all so just watch out for that. I do the same as you get it on when you come out the shower, let it soak in then dress- avoids all the mess
P20 works for me and has done for over 20 years. I have fair, freckly skin which will burn in 15 mins. unprotected sun, not a good look or feeling. I apply it after morning shower and then wait approx 1 hour before going out in the sun,usually wear a hat & take a long sleeve shirt with me. If sitting outside I try to stay in the shade, if no shade I put on my shirt. I find it lasts me all day and no burning. I bless the day I found P20 and now all my family use it successfully. I use P20 aftersun or pure aloe vera gel after another shower to wash off my sun stuff and anti mozzie stuff.
Why do you plan to put it on at night? I don't think putting moisturiser on top would work. I think it needs about an hour to get to maximum protection level, so I put in on early morning 7am and it works till 5/6 p.m. for me.But you need to try it out for all skin is different. Mine is v.sensitive to perfumes, makeup etc but I have no trouble with P20. Thank God.
i assumed i'd need to put it on at night to protect the garments, same as we do with moisturiser
but if you've been wearing it for years & your garments haven't melted then it must be ok to put that on in the mornings & continue to moisturise at night
which is what i'll try at the w/e, ta v much - if it's not pi**ing down!
I hope the sun shines on all of us but gently on you and I really hope P20 works well for you. I find it makes white clothes a wee bit yellow, at the neck of a tshirt usually, but it washes out easily and I don't think it will affect your garments.
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Is this normal? So many questions 
Cellulitis 
Flying
questions raised 
Couple of photos from Julie LVA treatment in Oxford done by Alex Ramsden and Dominic Furnis. xx
