The Sun

[bishop99]

Good Evening all,

Ive just started my airline career, and although seeing the sun everyday is a joy, what are the chances of getting skin damage through the windscreens? Do they have any type of protective coating (i fly the A320 family)? Is it worth putting some sun lotion on at the start of the day??

Any advice/help is most appreciated.

Kinda Regards

B99

[Mac the Knife]

The glass/plastic composite will screen out quite a lot of UVA/UVB but not all and its quite intense at altitude so getting into the habit of using a good sunscreen is sensible. You may have to try several before you find one that suits you. Don't forget your ears and hands.

Even today pilots spend time in the open on the ramp and you can pick up a fair bit of exposure there.

Outdoor sport, golf, tennis, climbing etc., etc. is a potent source of photodamage and precautions are wise.

There's no reason to get excessively alarmed though, just be sensible.

"Slip on a shirt
Slop on sunscreen
Slap on a hat"................as they say in Australia

:ok:

[gingernut]

I seem to remember reading somewhere, that pilots live longer than Joe Average, but are more at risk of sun induced conditions such as skin cancer and mature cataracts.

So slip, slop and slap appears to be the name of the game.

[bishop99]

Thank you for your replies.

B99

[Hobo]

"Slip on a shirt
Slop on sunscreen
Slap on a hat"................as they say in Australia

and slide on some sunnies, as they recently added.

Your eyes are something like 30 times more susceptable to the sun than your skin is, so to avoid cataracts later on in life, always wear shades when in the sun, particularly when taking anti-biotics or anti-inflamatorys (Ibuprofen etc) as these can cause increased photosensitivity, which you may not notice on your skin, but could be affecting your eyes.

[redsnail]

Just had a solar keratoses frozen off my hand.

It took my sis in law from Oz to confirm that it was a s.k. (She's a "flying doctor" with the RFDS). I had seen 2 GPs in the UK who said it "was nothing".
I saw a doc the other day who noted my accent, asked how long I had been in Oz and then said that it's a s.k. and offered to freeze it off then and there. Very pleased with that doc. :ok:

I wear a broad spectrum block out every day on my face and hands. :ok:

[kwachon]

I developed skin cancer which went undetected and migrated to my right lung, when it was detected I had to have surgery to remove the top lobe of the lung followed by eight months of chemotherapy and 60 doses of radiation treatment.

I am to all intensive purposes clear now and have regained my medical after a 3 year fight. During my time in hospital, my surgeon showed me a report of a study carried out 1995-1999 in which the results indicated that pilots had a 20% increased chance of skin cancer than earthbound folks, seems that at altitude there is less cloud etc to reduce the effects of the sun, some windscreens are coated but not all, plus we spend a lot of time on the ramp etc. Think about it!, I oil up every flight and always wear a long sleeved shirt...

KW :ok: