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From: ajs@hpfcla.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.med
Subject: Let's talk about sunburn (ouch)
Message-ID: <17400003@hpfcla.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 4-Jul-84 21:18:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: hpfcla.17400003
Posted: Wed Jul  4 21:18:00 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 8-Jul-84 09:03:51 EDT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Fort Collins Systems Division - Fort Collins, CO
Lines: 28
Nf-ID: #N:hpfcla:17400003:000:1106
Nf-From: hpfcla!ajs    Jul  4 20:18:00 1984

Let's talk about sunburn a minute...

As a recent  victim, I've been pondering a few questions on the subject.
Everyone  knows that UV  exposure  is bad for pale skin in the long run,
and that  tanning is an adaptive  attempt to reduce the  damage.  What I
am wondering is...

* Do people with naturally dark skins suffer any long-term  effects from
  UV exposure, or are they completely immune to problems?

* Does a dark tan fully protect the skin, or just reduce the damage?
  If the latter, how much?  (A lot, or a little?)

* Is the process of slowly  acquiring a dark tan (by limited  exposures)
  as bad as  anything  else, or is it in fact a healthy  thing to do, if
  you are going to spend time in the sun?

* Is it true that the worst  effects of sunburn  may be due to an excess
  of vitamin D, and, if so, is there anything you can do about it, other
  than avoid that vitamin for a few days?

* Once you are burned, what REALLY  works to (a) reduce the pain and (b)
  reduce the peeling?

If this is a subject of popular interest, please post your responses.

Thanks,
Alan (ouch) Silverstein