Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
Visakhapatnam
Avoiding sunburn
USING SUNSCREEN daily reduces the risk of skin lesions that are associated with skin cancer, Australian researchers have found. The researchers write in The Archives of Dermatology, that regular, liberal use of sunscreen "can play a strong role in minimising" the development of the lesions, known as solar keratoses. Skin cancer is three to 12 times more likely to occur in the presence of the lesions. The study, led by Dr. Steven Darlington of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, followed more than 1,600 people, ages 25 to 74, over four years. Some participants in the study were asked to apply sunscreen daily on all exposed areas of skin, including on the head, and others asked to use it as they ordinarily would. (Some people were also asked to take daily doses of the supplement beta-carotene, but the study found it had no effect on the incidence of lesions.) Although lesions increased in all the groups, after two years there were 24 per cent fewer in the group that used sunscreen daily. People least likely to have lesions — the younger participants, and those with dark skin — derived greater benefit from applying sunscreen daily, the study found. Conscientious use of sunscreen has "great potential value" against damage caused by the sun.
Crease in the earlobe?
IS IT true that a crease in a person's earlobe is often an indication of present or future cardiac problems? Several studies have found some correlation between a diagonal earlobe crease and a higher risk of cardiovascular disease or even mortality. However, the extent of the correlation and its value as a predictor of health problems have been disputed from study to study. It has been suggested that because the earlobe has a rich blood supply, a decrease in blood flow might result in the collapse of tissue and cause a crease. But other authorities have suggested that the link is simply that both earlobe creases and cardiovascular disease are more common in older people. If your earlobe has a crease you should control or reduce known risk factors, like being overweight and smoking.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
Visakhapatnam
|
