Michael Rosenthal

(9/2021) Here we are in summer with a hot sun outside to enjoy, but also with the potential to do serious skin damage if you become overexposed to the sun. The scientific phenomenon that produces the sun’s pleasure of warmth also produces the skin damage. Ultraviolet radiation (UV) is of higher energy than visible radiation and infrared radiation. Thus it can not only comfort you with its warmth and tan your skin, but its high energy can produce serious skin damage. Those individuals with light skin are particularly susceptible to this skin damage from the sun.

The same chemicals that protect your skin from the sun’s overexposure causing sunburn can also cause severe skin damage, even skin cancer. Particular dangerous are two chemical compounds often found in sunscreen, oxybenzone and avobenzone. The worry is that these chemicals may do more harm than good, producing skin irritation, hormonal disruption, and skin cancer.

The Food and Drug Administration is therefore concerned. Their studies have found that these chemical components may be absorbed into the skin at levels higher than previously believed. There has been concern as well that these chemicals may damage the fetus when used by pregnant women. To balance this concern, some five million cases of skin cancer are diagnosed annually, 90 % coming from ultraviolet radiation; it is thus a problem to ask people to stop using sunscreens.

The Food and Drug Administration has asked the sunscreen industry to provide safety information on 12 common sunscreen ingredients. The most worrisome sunscreen ingredient is oxybenzone. It is very effective in protecting against ultraviolet radiation. However it has been found that oxybenzone absorbs through the skin, and detectable levels have been found in human blood and in breast milk. There is a worry that it could interfere with normal hormone function.

The pertinent question is whether the chemicals in sunscreen are dangerous when absorbed through the skin, as opposed to other more direct forms of ingestion. It appears that there are safer chemicals that are not absorbed, but only work on the skin surface and are thus safer, but not as effective. There are some sunscreen lotions that do not contain oxybenzone, and it may be better to seek them out. Consumer Reports has been continually studying this issue, and I recommend following their research. I have great faith in the honestly and reliability of Consumer Reports. Their science is very solid.

The cicada season is over, and I was actually disappointed that I had as little direct experience with them as I did. They were noisily in the woods next to our house, and I saw many dead cicada bodies on the sidewalk while dog-walking, but that’s about it. I guess they were just not that fond of northern Frederick County!

The vitamin controversy over multivitamins continues. The Consumer Reports June 2021 newsletter, On Health, has an article entitled, The Truth About Taking Multivitamins. Many adults age 60 and older take multivitamin/mineral supplements. There is disagreement in the literature about the benefit of taking these vitamins. The most common multivitamins include Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, and Iron.

Over the counter (OTC) supplements are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration to the extent that prescription medications are regulated. My physician, a board certified physician in whom I have great confidence, has me taking a D3 supplement containing calcium as well. That is his only recommendation. The label says D3 "supports bone, teeth, muscle, and immune health". There are differences of opinion about what supplements are useful or not useful, safe or risky, and some that may be just a way to spend money. I recommend seeking out an experienced, board-certified physician and follow her or his advice.

Consumer Reports has also taken on the delicate subject of brain supplements. The supplements claim memory enhancement and sharpened mental focus. They are advertised online. CR found that many of the labels list inaccurate quantities of ingredients and that unapproved drugs contained in them were not listed on the product labels. Some of these drugs may be not legally approved in the United States, and Consumer Reports expresses doubts that as to whether these drugs are safe and effective. Once again, I suggest that you make your drug choices at the recommendation of your board-certified physician.

_______________________________

How can I write this article without saying something about the vaccination issue? I am totally bewildered by the reluctance of many people to be vaccinated against COVID. Nothing I have read indicates to me that there is a risk of taking the vaccine that outweighs the risk of not taking the vaccine. Of course it’s understandable to be fearful of something as devastating as COVID, but I believe one should deal with such a situation with logic. I was a child during the polio epidemic, and the older brother of one of my best friend contracted polio. He recovered, and went on to a normal life, in fact as a physician, but his life would have been so much better if his illness had been avoided. Perhaps I am a naVve scientist to think that nothing like the Anti-Vax movement could have happened, but I am both horrified and amazed. My major goal in writing this column and entitling it Real Science was to bring to readers a rational, scientifically sound view of the world around us. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that receiving the COVID vaccination sequence is the right thing to do. The choice is yours, but my advice is get vaccinated.

I have now written 77 Real Science articles for this newspaper. I so enjoy doing it, and as a retired college professor of chemistry and college administrator, I find it a great way to keep thinking about science and tracking down progress in scientific areas…and I try to be relevant to the reader’s daily life. My teaching career was at small colleges of the liberal arts and sciences, where we were encouraged to integrate our science teaching with other knowledge from the world around us. I believe this is a wonderful and appropriate way to be educated. If you have any comments in agreement or disagreement with my Real Science articles, please feel free to deliver those comments to me. I promise that I will respond to you if that is what you request. I respect differences of opinion with me, but The Laws of Thermodynamics and their derivatives remain as the solid base of my scientific thinking.

Read other articles by Michael Rosenthal