RA, vit D vs sunscreen | Arthritis Information
Well, I went to dermatologist today. I missed my 6mo checkup due to all the PT appts after shoulder surgeries in 08. She had to stop 4 precancer things on my face with the freezing. I've already had full surgeries, twice, for full blown extensive but thank God, only basal cell cancer... yikes, I looked like a monster for weeks and it hurt a lot. I told her how my vit D was only 19, that I need sunshine. She was really really happy to hear RD said simply taking the extra 2,000u more of D for 5 months did the trick and brought me up into normal range so I can wear sunscreen. But, we both agreed I could've also applied it to my upper body and let my legs get the sun. Of course that means I'd have to wear shorts... not really a pretty sight anymore! So, I can't wait a year to see her again, I need 6mo check-ups. But for now, I'm good again, except for RA and my other chronic conditions that really are just so much fun.
So, I want to remind everyone who ever had a sunburn... get your skin checked! People die from skin cancer. It's just like in the colonoscopy checkups... getting rid of it at the pre-cancer stage is a prevention to actual cancer and all that goes with that.
Seriously it never occurred to me that sunscreen could block vitamin D. make sense. from all what is written, I think we need vitamin D. thank u Cathie for letting us know.good points, Cathy!! thanks for sharing them... "D" makes a big difference in how I am feeling!Thanks Cathy for sharing this. Sun burn is a serious thing to have even if its a mild burn. When we lived in Africa we were well taught in the dangers of the sun. My husband has just had a patch cut out of his face that looked suspect. He has worked outdoors for years in the sun so we are never too careful. It came back ok which was a great relief but you are right about getting your skin checked
15 to 20 minutes of sun on your arms and legs can produce all the vitamin D that you need for most people. It's not neccessary to stay out in the sun so long that you burn.......
Late last year, a group of leading scientists published an editorial in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition calling for an "urgent need" to increase the AI for vitamin D. Among them was Walter Willett, MD, the widely respected chairperson of the Harvard School of Public Health's department of nutrition. "The range we are talking about-1,000 IU per day-is still a small dose," Willett says. A fair-skinned person can manufacture 15,000 IU or more of vitamin D in as little as 30 minutes of optimal sun exposure.
I limit my exposure to about 15 minutes each day, plenty of D. Being in the tropics it's a lot more difficult to limit yourself but I try. There are days when I'm out in the sun all day and I just make sure I'm covered from the waist up in at least 30 sunscreen and about 1/2 the time I use sunscreen on my legs. I went through having a basal cell excised and a flap graft and I don't want to go through that again. It's even more important if you're on immune suppressant meds. LindyBump
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