Health

from the American Institute for Cancer Research and Veterans Memorial Hospital

As summer approaches, nothing appears healthier than a nice tan, right? Wrong. Though tan skin is associated with beauty and good health, just the opposite holds true.
“Tanning is actually a sign of skin injury and, combined with the sun, is responsible for virtually all aging on the skin,” explains Erica Krause-Wagner, NP, nurse practitioner at the Gundersen Lansing Clinic. “Freckles, skin spots and ultimately skin cancer are almost guaranteed down the road without proper sun protection.”
Every year more than three million Americans develop skin cancer, making it the most prevalent of all cancers, but because damage is not immediately visible, many people do not routinely use sunscreen.
In order to protect yourself and your family from the sun this summer, Wagner offers the following sun safety tips:
• Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 30 or greater.

Pictured above is Mrs. Stock’s Kindergarten class from West Elementary in Waukon, and pictured below is Mrs. VanderKolk’s Kindergarten class from Waterville Elementary, both in the ambulance port in Veterans Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Department. Each year, Machelle Bulman, RN, Education Coordinator at VMH, gives every Kindergarten class in the area a tour of the hospital. During these tours, the students become familiar with many hospital services. The tours include the Emergency Rooms, viewing films in the X-ray rooms, viewing the newborn babies in the Maternity Services Nursery, visiting the Rehabilitation Department and taking a short ride in the ambulance, all to help them feel comfortable with these services. Submitted photos.