R
Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA-Life Member)
Guest
I put this under "General" because it affects all of us who spend lots of time outdoors. I'm referring to the sun of course.
For those who don't know (there can't be many), I spent a good deal of my life in Southern Africa. Now the sun down there is a killer, especially at high altitudes. And I spent much of my life living at above 5000 feet above sea level where the ultra voilet and infra red rays are far more powerful than at sea level.
I learned my lesson about the dangerous rays of the sun very quickly. I spent 5 days in hospital with enormous sun blisters on my back togther with a bout of prickley heat.
The pain of intense sunburn is 3 times greater than recieving 2 dozen of the cat by the way!
And over the years I have had several large lesions removed from various parts of my anatomy due to sun.
But even in this country in summertime we have to take care. With global warming and the fact that the sun, in England, in high summer, spends more time sending out its rays to the earth than in Africa, it's as well to take care. My advice is to keep out of it! Wear a decent wide brimmed hat (not baseball caps), keep to long sleeved shirts and use a decent sun screen. Being afloat on water causes a lot of the dangerous rays to reflect from the surface of the water straight at you.
Those of you with red or ginger hair are most at risk. If you have a tendency to freckles, don't even go out in it.
I had a guy out in SA once who lived in Newcastle on Tyne. He came out on a business trip. His skin was the most incredible milky colour.
I had the job of enertaining him one weekend. I asked him if he fancied a days fishing. He did, and off we went.
I gave him an old ex-army bush hat and told him to put it on. I gave him one of my old khaki long sleeved bush shirts and told him NOT to roll the sleeves up.
He did as he was told.
We caught a few fish that day and he certainly seemed to be enjoying himself.
As I drove him back to his hotel, I noticed he seemed to be in some sort of pain. "It's the backs of my hands" he said.
I got him back to his hotel room and had a look at his hands.
Immediatly I called the hotel reception who organised a doctor. The doctor took one look at his hands and packed him off the hospital. He was there for 5 days receiving special treatment.
Skin cancer is a terrible thing and if left untreated, it will kill you.
My best advice for this summer is to get a decent hat, sun screen and to keep out the the rays of the killer in the sky.
For those who don't know (there can't be many), I spent a good deal of my life in Southern Africa. Now the sun down there is a killer, especially at high altitudes. And I spent much of my life living at above 5000 feet above sea level where the ultra voilet and infra red rays are far more powerful than at sea level.
I learned my lesson about the dangerous rays of the sun very quickly. I spent 5 days in hospital with enormous sun blisters on my back togther with a bout of prickley heat.
The pain of intense sunburn is 3 times greater than recieving 2 dozen of the cat by the way!
And over the years I have had several large lesions removed from various parts of my anatomy due to sun.
But even in this country in summertime we have to take care. With global warming and the fact that the sun, in England, in high summer, spends more time sending out its rays to the earth than in Africa, it's as well to take care. My advice is to keep out of it! Wear a decent wide brimmed hat (not baseball caps), keep to long sleeved shirts and use a decent sun screen. Being afloat on water causes a lot of the dangerous rays to reflect from the surface of the water straight at you.
Those of you with red or ginger hair are most at risk. If you have a tendency to freckles, don't even go out in it.
I had a guy out in SA once who lived in Newcastle on Tyne. He came out on a business trip. His skin was the most incredible milky colour.
I had the job of enertaining him one weekend. I asked him if he fancied a days fishing. He did, and off we went.
I gave him an old ex-army bush hat and told him to put it on. I gave him one of my old khaki long sleeved bush shirts and told him NOT to roll the sleeves up.
He did as he was told.
We caught a few fish that day and he certainly seemed to be enjoying himself.
As I drove him back to his hotel, I noticed he seemed to be in some sort of pain. "It's the backs of my hands" he said.
I got him back to his hotel room and had a look at his hands.
Immediatly I called the hotel reception who organised a doctor. The doctor took one look at his hands and packed him off the hospital. He was there for 5 days receiving special treatment.
Skin cancer is a terrible thing and if left untreated, it will kill you.
My best advice for this summer is to get a decent hat, sun screen and to keep out the the rays of the killer in the sky.