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UV Safety Awareness Month Focus

Published on 

Wednesday, July 6, 2022

 | Miscellaneous 

July is UV Safety Awareness Month. A related RealTime Medicare Data (RTMD) infographic in this week’s newsletter focuses on Medicare Fee-for-Service claims data related to the treatment costs of Melanoma.

Did You Know?

Anyone can get skin cancer, but people with certain characteristics are at greater risk—

  • A lighter natural skin color.
  • Skin that burns, freckles, reddens easily, or becomes painful in the sun.
  • Blue or green eyes.
  • Blond or red hair.
  • Certain types and a large number of moles.
  • A family history of skin cancer.
  • A personal history of skin cancer.
  • Older age.

Why Does this Matter?

According to the CDC (link), skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. The most common types of skin cancer are basal cell and squamous cell and “survey data suggests that each year, about 4.3 million adults are treated for basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas at a cost of about $4.8 billion.”

What Can You Do About It?

Be proactive in lowering your risk for melanoma and other skin cancers by following key sun safety tips from the FDA (link):

  • Limit time in the sun, especially between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., when the sun’s rays are most intense,
  • Wear clothing to cover skin exposed to the sun, such as long-sleeved shirts, pants, sunglasses, and broad-brimmed hats.
  • Use broad spectrum sunscreens with SPF values of 15 or higher regularly and as directed.
  • Reapply sunscreen at least every two hours, and more often if you are sweating or jumping in and out of the water.

Also, be mindful that certain medications can cause sensitivity to the sun, for example:

  • Antibiotics (ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, levofloxacin, ofloxacin, tetracycline, trimethoprim),
  • Antihistamines including Diphenhydramine (common brands include Benadryl and Nytol),
  • Oral contraceptives and estrogens, and
  • Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, naproxen, celecoxib, piroxicam, ketoprofen).

You can read more about this on the FDA website (link).

Article Author: Beth Cobb, RN, BSN, ACM, CCDS
Beth Cobb, RN, BSN, ACM, CCDS, is the Manager of Clinical Analytics at Medical Management Plus, Inc. Beth has over twenty-five years of experience in healthcare including eleven years in Case Management at a large multi-facility health system. In her current position, Beth is a principle writer for MMP’s Wednesday@One weekly e-newsletter, an active member of our HIPAA Compliance Committee, MMP’s Education Department Program Director and co-developer of MMP’s proprietary Compliance Protection Assessment Tool.

This material was compiled to share information.  MMP, Inc. is not offering legal advice. Every reasonable effort has been taken to ensure the information is accurate and useful.