Myth: You don’t need sunscreen indoors or when it’s cloudy.

The August Edition of Orange Coast Magazine published an article titled “10 Health Myths: O.C. Doctors and Experts Give Us Their Take“ where physicians discussed interesting topics surrounding everyday health. Dr. Michelle Aszterbaum was asked about wearing sunscreen indoors and when it is cloudy. Read the interesting article here or see part her part of it below.

“Sunscreen use on a daily basis in large population studies … where they looked at people who wore sunscreen every day versus people who wore it just when they thought they needed to … showed a significant difference in the cases of skin cancer,” says Michelle Aszterbaum, dermatologic surgeon and dermatologist at The Dermatology Center of Newport Beach, adding, “1.5 percent of those folks who used it on a daily basis developed melanoma versus 3 percent of the people who weren’t instructed to wear it on a daily basis. If you’re working indoors … you might be working near a window or you might decide to go outside for a short time and do something. Most of the UVB rays are blocked through windows, but the UVA rays are not. Now UVA rays are not what cause you to burn, but it is the wavelength of ultraviolet light that penetrates deeply in the skin, causing aging, brown spots, and wrinkles. A lot of skin cancer can be associated with UVA rays as well. We know that sun damage and skin cancer is a cumulative effect, so if every day you take a break and go outside, then you’re getting that amount of sun on a daily basis.”

To see Dr. Aszterbaum’s sunscreen recommendations click here.