DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post

**janeemljr** · 05-26-2010, 01:13 AM

I wont get onto too much of a soap box here- but please be weary of the first article that is posted on this thread.

A couple things I want to mention:
The use of the hormone-disrupting chemical oxybenzone, which penetrates the skin and enters the bloodstream. There is VERY little absorption of any chemical in sunscreen into your blood stream. It is also important to note that it is a naturally occuring chemical in the body and is readily detectable in the urine of most healthy people. The amount you would absorb is less than naturally occures in the body and will have very little (read: no) effect on hormone synthesis.

Regarding the vitamin A- we give massive oral doses to treat acne in kids and teenagers (Acutane) and we have NEVER seen an increase in malignency. These patients have an increased risk of sun burns but there is not an overall increase in cancer rates. If pumping our body full of the stuff doesnt cause cancer when exposed to the sun, including trace amounts in the suntan lotion you use will not be an issue either.

Regarding the organic sunscreens, I will tell you the same thing I will about herbal medications- Feel free to use them if you would like, but ultimately there is very little difference between organic/natural products and commercial/drug products. Organic sunscreen will still have the same benzene derivatives (oxybenzone's) and will even have more hormone-like chemicals (phyto-estrogens) than commercial sunscreen.
Final note:
There is no reason to buy sunscreen above SPF 35- anything beyond that wears off well before you see any extra benefit from it. That said- the SPF factors, in general, are reliable ways to meassure effectiveness of sunscreen. What most people forget is that you still need to reapply ever 4 hours (or more often if sweating/swimming/etc). Even water proof sunscreen should be reapplied every 4 hours.

I am doing my best to get an original copy of the cited article, and if I can find one I'll update with my professional opinon regarding the study (dose, control group, external validity, etc). I have a feeling that the authors of this article have done a lot of "twisting" of the study to get it to prove what they want it to prove.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Pharmacist,
RxGus

05-26-2010, 01:13 AM	#12
janeemljr Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 552 Senior Member	I wont get onto too much of a soap box here- but please be weary of the first article that is posted on this thread. A couple things I want to mention: The use of the hormone-disrupting chemical oxybenzone, which penetrates the skin and enters the bloodstream. There is VERY little absorption of any chemical in sunscreen into your blood stream. It is also important to note that it is a naturally occuring chemical in the body and is readily detectable in the urine of most healthy people. The amount you would absorb is less than naturally occures in the body and will have very little (read: no) effect on hormone synthesis. Regarding the vitamin A- we give massive oral doses to treat acne in kids and teenagers (Acutane) and we have NEVER seen an increase in malignency. These patients have an increased risk of sun burns but there is not an overall increase in cancer rates. If pumping our body full of the stuff doesnt cause cancer when exposed to the sun, including trace amounts in the suntan lotion you use will not be an issue either. Regarding the organic sunscreens, I will tell you the same thing I will about herbal medications- Feel free to use them if you would like, but ultimately there is very little difference between organic/natural products and commercial/drug products. Organic sunscreen will still have the same benzene derivatives (oxybenzone's) and will even have more hormone-like chemicals (phyto-estrogens) than commercial sunscreen. Final note: There is no reason to buy sunscreen above SPF 35- anything beyond that wears off well before you see any extra benefit from it. That said- the SPF factors, in general, are reliable ways to meassure effectiveness of sunscreen. What most people forget is that you still need to reapply ever 4 hours (or more often if sweating/swimming/etc). Even water proof sunscreen should be reapplied every 4 hours. I am doing my best to get an original copy of the cited article, and if I can find one I'll update with my professional opinon regarding the study (dose, control group, external validity, etc). I have a feeling that the authors of this article have done a lot of "twisting" of the study to get it to prove what they want it to prove. Your Friendly Neighborhood Pharmacist, RxGus
	Quote