COLUMBIA, Md. — MedStar Health has launched National Safe Sun Week to encourage people to enjoy spending time outdoors, safely. National Safe Sun Week will take place annually the week before Memorial Day, the official kick-off to summer, falling on May 24 – May 30, 2021 this year.

As we embrace the start of summer, MedStar Health providers seek to raise awareness of the best practices to follow when it comes to sun exposure and heat-related illnesses, ensuring that everyone remains safe as they enjoy the spoils of the warm weather. MedStar Health providers will share skincare tips to help prevent sunburns and skin cancer, raising awareness on the dangers that sun damage brings to people of all races and ethnicities, along with advice on how to safely exercise outdoors and prevent heat illness.

“At MedStar Health, we believe that we have a duty to help educate not only our patients, but everyone planning to spend time outdoors during summer,” says Min Deng, MD, dermatologist at MedStar Health. “Our core values have always been centered around treating people well, providing the best care possible to our patients. Our goal with National Safe Sun Week is to help spread awareness around sun safety in the hopes that we see less sun damage and skin cancer patients, less heat illness, and more people living long, healthy lives free of preventable disease.”

MedStar Health conducted a survey on behaviors and perceptions around sun safety in conjunction with National Safe Sun Week. The results revealed that we still have a long way to go to educate people on best practices when it comes to enjoying the outdoors safely:

• Only one in four people know when to reapply sunscreen (every two hours and after swimming)
• More people report packing snacks for the beach than sunscreen (67.4% vs. 64.6%)

Our goal with National Safe Sun Week is to empower everyone with the knowledge to go outside this summer and enjoy themselves, while staying safe and healthy.

As part of our ongoing commitment to our current and future patients, we are sharing sun safety tips to empower everyone with the knowledge they need to enjoy spending time outdoors this summer.

For more information, please visit https://nationaltoday.com/national-safe-sun-week/.