Simple warning for racers
 

All need to begin a religious use of sun blockers. I raced for 36 years and jokingly spoke of my "burn Sunday, peal Thursday" weekly sunburn issues. Had a lot of small skin cancers frozen off and finally was prescribed 5FU anticancer cream for my arms and small areas. Well my skin on my arms looked like hamburger after two doses. Seems so much damage was the cause.
Then a dermatologist was freezing a forehead area and we found a nodule above my right eye. Thought it was a benign neuroma. Wrong. Plastic surgeon found not only the skin lesion but the tender nodule was Squamous cell CA. A one hour first surgery became 4 and a half hour, with resulting skin graft.
Well 5 surgeries with two grafts later I had a lesion in the orbit which is now gone but lost upward gaze of the eye. Now 25 Radiation treatments later after surgical all clear statement.
Please note this is not a" poor me statement" but an honest warning to all who spend our massive time in the sun at the races. Good Luck to all and be careful for your children too. Dick Butler GT/AA retired.

Re: Simple warning for racers
 

I suggest you listen to Dick!

I did not take sunburn seriously either and had lots of
lesions burned or cut off.

Still no big deal.......Until I got Melanoma which can well be
deadly when it spreads through your body like weeds.

Lost a big chunk of my arm and sustained a 12 Hour
surgery on my kidney....... Where I died on the table several
times.

Re: Simple warning for racers
 

I Ref Soccer...Know this well !
Can be out 6 - 7 hours a day, be it Snow, Rain or Shine.
Use Suntan lotion on the arms and legs and always wear a Hat.
We have a Collared Uniform so the collar offers some neck protection.
Sometimes wear one of those new cooling scarfs.

Clouds do not stop the radiation though reduces heat.

D

Re: Simple warning for racers
 

I had a flap surgery done on my nose. One of the worst things I ever had done. Looked so bad the dog wouldn't even get near me.Remember to put sunblock on the inside of your ears also, it's often forgotten.

Re: Simple warning for racers
 

I'm not a hat person, but a baseball cap and a hand towel tucked under the back to cover my neck is part of my race attire. Sun tan lotion stays in my travel bag. A higher SPF rating helps more.

Re: Simple warning for racers
 

Squamous Cell on my arm last year. Skin graft to replace the area removed.


Ain't it purdy? :)

Re: Simple warning for racers
 

Stay out of the sun, period, and stay covered as much as possible. You will get enough sun light doing normal activity out of doors.

The best way to get vitamin D is through sunlight but you'll get that in about ten minutes per day.

Be really careful with the use of sun blockers. Most provide very little protection and might even be hazardous. Your dermatologist can recommend which ones are safe.

As many of you have already noticed. Watch your nose.

Sunbathing, covered in oil is a very bad idea, especially at high altitudes.

Re: Simple warning for racers
 

We're all different, a yearly checkup at the dermatologist and follow the advice the doctors advise.

Re: Simple warning for racers
 

I'm partial to fishing gear at the track. Long sleeve vented shirts and broad brim hats with wind strings to keep them on. We are on the Pacific Coast and the wind can be persistent late in the day so skin moisturizer or something like that helps, too. Wind burn is harder to avoid than sunburn but not as dangerous (correct me).

Re: Simple warning for racers
 

While staying out of the sun is a great idea and using sun screen 50 or above covering up really helps too. People always look at me weird when its 105 outside and I have on a black long sleeve shirt and black large brim hat.
Also watch what kind of shirt your wearing as a tee shirt material my only protect you with a SPF of 5 so put on some sun screen before you get dressed for the day. Also reapply as label calls for.