Festival Advice: Dont Go Tapps Aff!

Sunburn is skin damage caused by UV rays in the sunlight. Your skin overheats, becomes red and blisters. Not a good look for anyone. With the amount of time spent outside at music festivals it’s important to take the necessary precautions in making sure you don’t do any unnecessary damage to your skin.

Festival Essentials

Sunscreen

An easily forgotten item when it comes to Scottish weather however with the summer starting nicely with temperatures of above 20 degrees and the UV index in the 4-6 range it looks like the weather may only get hotter. Therefore it is essential you stock up on sunscreen in order to protect yourself from sun burn and not let it ruin your festival experience.

After Sun

Hopefully you won’t be needing this if you've packed sunscreen but just in case its always wise to pack a bottle. You’re probably not sleeping in the comfiest of conditions so why make it worse? Being sun burnt at the end of the day is extremely painful and uncomfortable so ease the pain by slapping on the After Sun.

Painkillers

source: Cosmoplitan 

Same as above. If you’re already bringing along the paracetamol or ibuprofen for the sore head on the morning after it’ll double up as something to treat your sunburn with and relieve the pain. But follow MASScot's tips and you should have no need for it.

Umbrella/Parasol

You’ve got your tent and your pop up seat, why not bring along the umbrella. Use it if it rains or when it’s sunny. If the sun is beating down on you, an umbrella is the perfect foil to help cool you down by relaxing in the shade.  A whole weekend in the sun is too much for anyone so utilize the umbrella to keep you cool and avoid sunburn. MASScot encourages you to take shade between 11am - 3pm so put that parasol into action.

Sunglasses

Essential accessory when you’re out and about in the sun. Make sure the glasses are UV protected to ensure that they’re safe to wear. 

Protective Clothing

The Best type of protection from the sun is simply covering up and wearing clothing which hide the most likely areas to get burnt and are therefore protected from the sun. Sunsibility has a whole range of UV protected clothing.

UV index App

Although it might not be warm, the UV rays are often still there. Install a weather app on your phone and you can easily inspect the UV index and plan for your day out and about quickly. 

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/ultraviolet-uv-index/id445874481?mt=8

Fundraising night is a tremendous success!

A fundraising night was held in memory of Bryan Hunter, late husband of Gillian at the Greater Easterhouse Supporting hands. The night which took place on Saturday the 1^st of June was a tremendous success and was greatly enjoyed by everyone involved. With a turnout of around 200 people all coming together to raise funds for Melanoma Action and Support Scotland.

The night was organised by Bryan’s friends known as the ‘El Luchadors’ who put on a variety of different activities throughout the night to get everyone involved and keep them entertained

Activities included a Live Band, DJ, raffle, arm wrestling competition, auction and a closest to the bottle contest.

In attendance was former Rangers midfielder Alex Rae, who stopped by to sign autographs, take pictures as well as host the auction. All of the auction and raffle prizes were kindly donated by a wide variety of individuals and businesses.

Catering at the night was generously supplied by the Co-op and Domino’s Pizza who contributed to the Buffet.

Well done to the El Luchadors and everyone involved for their sterling effort for a good cause. All here at MASScot greatly appreciate your help which allows us to continue our work. 

  

  

Join us in the fight to reduce Sunscreen VAT.

You wouldn't think it but currently in the UK Sunscreen is classed as a cosmetic product. 

Sunscreen is a crucial component in the fight against skin cancer and is one of the best ways of preventing the disease. As a cosmetic product sunscreen is subjected to the usual 20% level of VAT. Along with Alyn Smith MEP we have launched a petition to reduce the VAT rate to 5%.



MASScot chair Leigh Smith had this to say:

“We are very glad that Alyn Smith is raising the issue of VAT on sun protection. We are currently teaching the need for sun protection in schools, but the costs means that often people do not use an adequate amount of cream and re-apply it as often as is necessary to give proper protection.

“The number of people with skin cancer has increased by more than 50% in the last decade; it means that malignant melanoma is the fifth most common form of cancer in Scotland and the most common in 15 to 34 year olds.
“While it is an encouraging sign that mortality rates for cancer are falling, the trends within these statistics demonstrate the need for the Government and for us as individuals to do everything we can to avoid it.”


You can sign the petition by clicking on the links below.

Petition
Alyn Smith MEP News

Melanoma: The Bottom Line

THE FACTS

• Around 12,800 people in the UK are diagnosed with malignant melanoma each year, and there are around 2,200 deaths from the disease.

• Malignant melanoma is the fifth most common cancer in the UK.

• More people die from skin cancer in the UK than in Australia.

• Melanoma is now the most common cancer in young people aged 15-34 in the UK.

• In the past decade, cases of the disease have increased by over 50 per cent.

• Malignant melanoma has the biggest projected increase in incidence of any cancer by 2030.  

• Over 80 per cent of all skin cancers are caused by overexposure to the sun and/or sunbeds.

• The majority of early melanomas, where there is no spread to lymph nodes or other parts of the body, can be cured by simple removal. 

• Melanoma is much more difficult to treat in the later stages.

• Using tanning beds before the age of 30 increases your risk of a melanoma diagnosis by 75 per cent.

• 
  

source: Macmillan.org.uk

MASScot at Holyrood

Here is a selection of photographs taken when MASScot visited Holyrood, the Scottish parliament in Edinburgh.

MASScot brought along a whiteboard for each MSP to sign and write their own personalised sun protection slogan. MSPs who signed the board included Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond and many others.

    

Picato Gel Approved by SMC

The Scottish Medicines consortium this month accepted the use of Picator Gel by the NHS in Scotland to be used when treating sufferers of actinic keratosis.

Our chair Leigh Smith had this to say: "It is really positive news for patients in Scotland that Picato® has been approved by the SMC as it offers a simple, short, two or three day treatment for actinic keratosis. Scotland has a high proportion of people with fair skin, which burns quickly in the sun, these people are at a particularly high risk of developing actinic keratosis, and possibly even skin cancer. It is therefore very important for Scots to be aware of changes to their skin and obtain an expert opinion on anything that does not heal and disappear within a few weeks. Preventing sunburn is an important step to help prevent skin cancer, while getting 10 to 20 minutes' sun exposure around lunch time each day is thought to give adequate vitamin D levels."


Dr Girish Gupta, Consultant Dermatologist, Monklands District General Hospital, Glasgow, commented: "As a dermatologist it is interesting that Scots will have access to a new treatment applied just once a day, for two or three days, for actinic keratosis, a common skin condition caused by sun damage. Other currently available patient applied therapies can require weeks or months of treatment." Dr Gupta added: "To minimise the risk of developing into skin cancer early detection and treatment of actinic keratosis is important and Picato® now offers us a new option, with a strong evidence base and high levels of adherence (>98%) in clinical studies, to discuss with our patients."

Gel Manicure UV lamps pose Skin Cancer Risk

Over the last few days it has been reported that the gel manicures which utilize UV lights pose a risk of skin cancer. 

The findings came from a study by The Skin Cancer Foundation in the US. "Although studies have shown that the skin cancer risk associated with UVR-emitting nail lamps for gel manicures is very low, it is not insignificant," says Elizabeth K. Hale, M.D., vice president of the Skin Cancer Foundation. 

With the use of UV lights the possibility of contracting skin cancer is always there and no matter how insignificant the risk it is still a risk which you should seek to avoid. 


You can find more information on this topic at the links below:

• http://www.allure.com/beauty-trends/blogs/daily-beauty-reporter/2013/03/are-salon-uv-nail-lamps-safe.html
• http://www.refinery29.com/2013/03/44039/gel-manicure-lights-cause-cancer