Sunscreen is your friend, and choosing not to wear it can result in drastic, even permanent effects. This past February myself and many others came home with sun poisoning. Instead of nice brown skin we had peeling and blisters.

People need to understand the damage the sun can cause your skin if you don’t protect yourself. Sun poisoning can lead to infection and can seriously damage your skin. My doctor told me that my sun poisoning is equivalent to 2nd degree burns from a fire.

Always use sunscreen. It is meant to protect your skin and if you don’t use it you’re putting yourself in serious danger.

Junior Julianna Eisenzapf was a victim of the sun over February break while on a trip in the Bahamas. She got sun poisoning on her back and underneath her chin.“My sun poisoning was extremely itchy and I got blisters but they popped. I plan to wear a lot of sunscreen in the future,” Julianna said.

Junior Emelye Ender was also with Julianna on this trip and got a bad sun poisoning on her nose and experienced peeling on her face. “I was in the sun for about three hours. I realized I had sun poisoning because my eyes became severely swollen and there were blisters on my nose. I believe that too much sun can cause serious long term damage to your skin.”

In less than 15 minutes you can get a sunburn, but it might not show for another two to six hours. Sunburn comes from too much ultraviolet, or UV, rays. The reddening of the skin can also lead to pain and blistering, and if it’s a severe burn it can even lead to second-degree burns. Exposure to the sun’s rays throughout your life causes premature aging.

Sun poisoning can cause blistering, scarring, and may lead to skin cancer or melanoma. According to reverehealth.com, “Sustaining five or more sunburns in youth increases lifetime melanoma risk by 80 percent. On average, a person’s risk for melanoma doubles if he or she has had more than five sunburns.”

Sunburn can have effects such as heat stroke, dehydration, and hives. My skin is still not 100% recovered after two weeks so it could take a very long time for your damaged skin to recover after a severe burn.

Lather up in sunscreen at all costs to protect yourself from the dangers of the sun.