Melanoma is a form of skin cancer in the cells that are responsible for making pigment for our bodies. According to the CDC, UV exposure causes more than 90% of melanomas in the US. With more than 9,000 Americans dying of melanoma each year, it is the most dangerous form of skin cancer. While anyone can develop melanoma, there are certain factors that may raise your risk of melanoma. These factors include:

  • A lighter natural skin color
  • Family history of skin cancer
  • Exposure to the sun through work or play
  • History of sunburns
  • Indoor tanning
  • Skin that burns, freckles, reddens easily, or becomes painful in the sun
  • Light colored eyes
  • Blonde or red hair
  • Certain types and a large number of moles

While certain factors may raise your risk of developing melanoma, there are steps you can take to help prevent melanoma. Protection from harmful UV rays is the most important step in preventing melanoma or other forms of skin cancer. Check out these preventive tips recommended by the CDC:

  • Stay in the shade whenever possible: If you are heading out to the park, pick a spot in the shade to settle and relax. The sun is often the most harmful during midday time.
  • Wear protective clothing: Wear protective clothing when swimming or spending time in the sun at the beach or pool. Light colored clothing is best for protection against UV rays, however, this should not replace the use of sunscreen.
  • Wear sunglasses: Look for sunglasses that protect your eyes from both UVA and UVB rays. Wearing a hat may also protect your eyes and face from the sun’s rays.
  • Use sunscreen: You should always use sunscreen when spending time in the sun. A sunscreen that protects against both UVA and UVB rays and has an SPF of 15 or higher is best. Reapply at least every two hours while in the sun.
  • Avoid indoor tanning: indoor tanning exposes people to a higher level of UV rays than from the sun and may lead to melanoma as well as premature skin aging.

Related Articles

We would love to learn what would be helpful on this page for you.

Articles by tag

2020 2021-top-workplace 4th-of-July 5-star-physician ACLS AED air-purification allentown Allergies Announcement Antibiotics anxiety Aspen Hill coming soon Asthma award awards back-to-school baltimore baltimore-child baltimore's-child baltimore-sun beach bedside-manner bel-air Best of Best urgent care Best urgent care VA beach best-for-families Bestof best-of best-of-2019 Best-of-2020 best-of-award best-of-awards bestofcountytimes Best-of-Jewish-times-winner best-urgent-care Best-urgent-Care-Bowie-Blade-News best-workplace bethlehem Biking Black-Friday blog Blood-Donation BLS Blueberries Camping capital-gazette careers CDC Cholesterol Circadian-Rhythm Cold cold-prevention colon-cancer concussion coronavirus covid-19 COVID-19-Test CPR cramp-prevention Dehydration dental-health Depression Dermatitis Diabetes Drowning Drug Screening Dry-Skin eastern-pa easton Eating-Disorder employees employment Ergonomics E-Scooter exercise eye-health face-mask Fall fall-sports Farmer's-Market First-Aid Fitness Flu Flu-season flu-shots food-storage food-swaps football For Men For Parents For Women for-moms for-parents fredericksburg Gastrointestinal General Generation-X-Health Gift-Ideas Goals Halloween hand-foot-and-mouth Hand-Washing Hanukkah harrisburg headache Head-Lice Health Healthcare health-history health-symptoms Healthy Living healthy-eating healthy-living healthy-swaps Heart heart-disease Heart-Health Heat heat-exhaustion heat-safety hiking Holiday holidays horizonBCBS horizon-blue-shield Humidifier hydration Illness Inclusivity Inclusivity & Accessibility inclusivity-&-accessability injury-prevention Insect-Stings insurance jetlag jobs Kidney Kwanzaa Laughter lehigh-valley life-support-class Lightning maryland Mask meal-prep mechanicsburg medical-records melanoma memory-retention Men's-Health mental-health Migrane millennial Millennials montco montco-pa montgomery-county montgomery-county-pa Mood Improvement Movember MRSA new jersey new-center new-jersey new-year New-Year's northern-va northern-virginia nova Nutrition Occupational Health ocean-safety osteoporosis outdoors Paddle-Sports PALS parenting parenting-tips parent-tips patient-first pennsylvania pets philadelphia philly physicals poison-ivy poison-prevention Power-Outage Pregnancy probiotics Productivity Protein recipe recipes registration resolutions richmond River running Safety Safety Tips safety-tips Seasonal-Affective-Disorder shin-splings Sickness-Prevention simply-the-best skin sleep Smoke-Detector Smoking Snow soccer sore-throat south-jersey Sports Sports-Physicals spotsylvania Spring spring-cleaning St.-Patrick's-Day stafford Stitches strep Strep-Throat stress stress-managment Stroke Summer summer-sports Sunburn Sunglasses Sun-Safety sunscreen Swimmer's-Ear swimming TBI Teal-Pumpkin Teething Thyroid tick tips-for-parents top-physicians top-workplace traveling-tips travel-tips Travel-Vaccines urgent-care Urinary-health vacation vaccinations vaccines Valentine's-Day Valentines-Day Video Vitamin-D volunteering Walking washington-dc washington-post washington-post-2019 Water-Sports Weight-Lifting Wellness Winter Workouts Yard-Work Yearly-Physical