Walking in the Sun

As walkers we all prefer walking on clear blue sky days, with good views and as we progress on our walk watching our footing and occasionally looking at the views we tend to forget about the sun above us and remembering to protect ourselves from it.

Getting sunburnt is something that can creep up slowly over the day and you could walk all day and not realize you are getting burnt until you arrive home and remove your clothing to reveal that tell tale sign of the prominent line between the red burnt exposed skin and the normal un-burnt skin protected by your clothing. Once you are burnt, the damage is done there is only one cure that is slow healing of the skin, best treatment is time, most sunburns heal completely within a few weeks, some skin creams can help with the symptoms, in all sunburn cases seek medical attention, (Do not apply butter or oil to any burn, this is a false remedy and can prevent healing and damage skin)

Prevention will start with clothes, choose your walking clothes carefully, there are many different types of warm weather walking clothes to choose from which are light breezy and vented, the more of your body is covered/protected from the sun the better, wide brimmed hats, rap round UV sunglasses, long sleeved shirt, light pair of trousers, summer walking boots are good combination to wear while walking in the sun.
Suncream (factor 25+ recommended) should be applied 15-30 minutes before exposure to the sun, when walking we experience some sweating and rubbing of clothes etc. This will mean the suncream application will have to be repeated, it is dependant on the product you have selected it will state on the bottle the manufacturers recommendations for application. If you choose suncream over clothes the suncream type you have chosen being if it is absorbed by your skin it will prevent sunburn but allows free radicals to enter the skin making you more at risk of getting malignant melanoma (for more information http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunburn) only sunscreen blocks that do not penetrate the skin prevents sunburn, suntanning and skin damage.

When walking in the sun take a nice steady pace, take advantage of shaded areas to stop and have a drink of water, try not to stop in the sun, while walking your body has mechanisms such as the muscles, pumps and non return valves in place to help the blood to circulate your body while moving forming your own cooling system, when you stop walking you will feel your body more or less immediately becoming very warm inducing sweating to cool you down which is the body system changing from the intercooler type to the external cooling type.

Sport drinks are very advantageous while walking in warm weather, they have added salt, which the body losses through sweating, the salt in the sport drink will help your body to absorb fluids as well. (For more information on sports drinks see: http://www.walking-rhodes.com/blog/sports-drinks)

The use of trekking poles will make the back of your hands and forearms more vulnerable to the sun, long sleeved shirts and suncream (factor 25+ recommended) for the back of your hands is recommended, repeat every 1.5-2hrs as the strap of the trekking pole will affect the suncream.

Applying suncream to the forehead could result when sweating that the sweat mixed with suncream runs into your eyes making them burn affecting your vision, even if you wear a hat your forehead will be vulnerable to sunburn, purchasing a small bottle of suncream factor 40 will allow you to apply the suncream to your forehead in the morning avoiding the eye stinging scenario of re-applying lower factor suncream during the course of the day.

After returning to your accommodation and you have showered apply moisturizer to the most exposed part of your body, face hands etc, even on cloudy days the heat of the day will dry your skin up. This will help prepare your skin for the following day and when you apply further suncream.

Low to moderate sunntanning without burning can help prevent sunburning, it increases the melanin the skin natural defense against overexposure to the sun, this should be done naturally and not forced in a solaria, the more you are out walking in all weathers not specifically the sun your skin will become more resilient to small exposure to the sun, full walking days will require you to protect yourself from the sun, regardless of how tanned you are as the direct exposure of the skin to the sun will at the very least make you tire out quicker and make you dehydrated resulting in the inability to be able to enjoy walking the following day.

When walking on hills and mountains they will be cooler due to there altitude which disguises the fact that the sun is just as strong as if you were on a beach, the cool mountain air has caught many a person out resulting in sunburns even on cloudy days.