Q+A: Dr. Frank Arnold:
Saturday, June 27, 2026 | 2 a.m.
Editor's note: Este artículo está traducido al español.
We’ve each been there.
You measurement extracurricular into the Las Vegas prima telling yourself it’s conscionable for a fewer minutes — nary sunscreen needed. An hr later, you’re lobster reddish and reaching for the aloe.
At the highest of Southern Nevada’s summer, erstwhile triple-digit temperatures agelong connected time aft day, that gamble gets adjacent riskier. Whether you’re a laborer connected a occupation site, a household splashing astatine the excavation oregon an jock grinding done practice, the prima shows nary favorites, says Dr. Frank Arnold of Dignity Health Nevada, a household medicine physician.
Even worse: The precise activities radical crook to for alleviation — similar swimming — tin summation your exposure. Water reflects UV rays, turning your day cool-down into a look for sunburn and, implicit time, thing acold much serious.
“All tegument types are astatine risk,” Arnold says. “Anyone tin get a sunburn.”
The Sun sat down with Arnold to speech astir prima hygiene and surviving the summertime heat. Spoiler alert: Stock up connected sunscreen and water.
Dr. Frank Arnold
How often bash you spot a diligent who’s got a existent terrible sunburn?
Not often. For galore people, a atrocious sunburn tin beryllium managed astatine home, and truthful a batch of times I don’t needfully spot them, adjacent with blisters and things similar that. ... When I spell done your yearly wellness sojourn with someone, I often bring up prima hygiene and prima signifier oregon prima information practices, which includes regularly applying sunscreen earlier you spell out, wearing agelong sleeve cover-ups if you’re going to beryllium retired for an extended play of time, having wide-brimmed hats, those kinds of things.
When I look astatine our workforce — operation workers, landscapers — I think, ‘That has to beryllium 1 of the hardest jobs successful the metropolis during the summer.’ Heat exhaustion indispensable beryllium a existent interest connected immoderate fixed shift. What’s your counsel to a laborer oregon idiosyncratic moving outdoors?
My proposal is to portion plentifulness of h2o portion you’re retired determination and debar caffeinated beverages. That doesn’t mean you can’t person a cupful of java oregon a soda passim the day, but h2o should beryllium your superior root of hydration. Sports drinks similar Gatorade oregon Powerade propulsion electrolytes, and those electrolytes bash assistance your assemblage retrieve during vigor exposure. If idiosyncratic starts feeling overheated oregon similar they’ve had excessively overmuch sun, get them into a chill country close away. Loosen their covering and fto the earthy evaporation process assistance bring their somesthesia down. And if they’re inactive not recovering, that’s erstwhile they whitethorn request aesculapian attraction — whether that’s a sojourn to the exigency country oregon getting seen by someone.
Long sleeves defender against prima connected your arms, right? So, erstwhile I’m successful the pool, should I person a agelong sleeve garment connected arsenic well, oregon is that not harmless due to the fact that of the h2o and swimming?
There are products designed to beryllium submerged — similar long-sleeve aquatics shirts — and those tin assistance support you from the sun’s rays portion you’re successful the pool, whether you’re swimming oregon conscionable relaxing. One happening to support successful caput is that h2o reflects sunlight and UV radiation, truthful adjacent if you’re successful a shaded country of the pool, you tin inactive beryllium exposed. You’ll inactive privation immoderate signifier of protection, whether that’s sunscreen, a long-sleeve aquatics shirt, oregon thing similar.
Why bash radical autumn into the trap of having the prima benignant of sneak up connected them, whether it’s not applying a 2nd circular of sunscreen oregon possibly reasoning due to the fact that they are successful h2o that the sun’s not hitting them?
The prima reflects disconnected water, metallic surfaces and akin materials, truthful vulnerability tin hap adjacent successful unexpected places. UV radiation besides penetrates h2o — the deeper you are, the little the exposure, but astir radical can’t enactment submerged for agelong periods of time. You tin inactive get sunburned portion successful the pool, adjacent underwater.
How often should you reapply sunscreen?
I’d look astatine the manufacturer’s recommendations and reapply based connected their guidance. That said, astatine a minimum, if you’re progressive outdoors, you should see reapplying each 1 to 2 hours. Some radical whitethorn request to reapply little often, others much often — it truly depends connected your enactment level, however overmuch you’re sweating, and what you’re doing. And erstwhile you’re successful the water, there’s immoderate washoff that occurs, truthful you whitethorn request to reapply adjacent much often erstwhile you’re astir a excavation oregon akin environment.
Are determination hours you should debar swimming, similar astatine the highest of the time erstwhile it is excessively hot?
If you deliberation it’s excessively blistery outside, instrumentality other precautions. Some radical people debar the hotter parts of the time — erstwhile the prima is straight overhead, that’s erstwhile you’re going to get the astir UV exposure, which increases your hazard for some vigor wounded and sunburn. That said, I recognize that for galore people, that whitethorn beryllium the lone clip they’re capable to beryllium outside. In that case, conscionable instrumentality the indispensable precautions — enactment hydrated, signifier prima protection, and bash what you request to bash to support yourself safe.
When was the past clip you had a sunburn?
It’s been a while. I thin to use sunscreen earlier I spell out, and I don’t truly similar being sunburned, truthful I’d accidental it’s astir apt been astir a twelvemonth oregon more.
What assemblage portion is often the archetypal to get sunburned, oregon is it antithetic for each person?
It comes down to vulnerability — some the duration and the intensity. Like immoderate different signifier of radiation, the longer you’re successful the prima and the stronger the exposure, the much apt you are to get sunburned. With that successful mind, the caput and cervix thin to beryllium immoderate of the astir often burned areas, and that’s mostly due to the fact that radical don’t ever deterioration hats oregon use sunscreen there. There’s besides the ‘I’m conscionable moving extracurricular for a minute’ mentality — and that speedy errand ends up taking overmuch longer than expected. At the extremity of the day, it truly comes down to minimizing vulnerability and reducing the magnitude of vigor the prima is depositing connected your skin.
When does idiosyncratic cognize it’s clip to question aesculapian care? When should they spell to the ER? Is determination a definite level of pain wherever over-the-counter aloe vera conscionable won’t chopped it, and they request to travel spot you?
Any magnitude of blistering connected the arms oregon look whitethorn warrant aesculapian attention. And if idiosyncratic has made the mistake of falling dormant successful the prima and has a ample country of their assemblage burned, I would promote them to get seen and marque definite thing much needs to beryllium done. Don’t hide astir vigor wounded either. As radical overheat, they tin acquisition confusion, look drowsy, halt sweating oregon person tegument that turns agleam red. These are each signs that idiosyncratic has been overexposed and should question aesculapian attention.
English (US)·