| vagabondsurf.com It's about life - not "lifestyle" |
| THE HAT ACT |
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| Surfing, the beach...the "endless summer"...the tropics...we spend a lot of time outdoors. Surfing has been up until now a "young person's sport". Now we are seeing the passing of the first "modern generation" surfers from natural causes, and it gives us pause. Age takes a toll we all will pay one day. There are other dangers, however. Drugs, drink, and accidents thin the ranks of younger people. Another threat, one which we believe will become more and more talked about in the coming years, comes from sun exposure. Much more is known about this than 30 years ago. But to illustrate, take a good close look at the hat in the picture below. |
| What you see in the above photo is a canvas "boonie" style hat from one of the major surfwear manufacturers. It started out as a deep navy blue like you see in the tied up brim. The top of the hat has bleached out during time spent on the beach and in the yard. Pictures can tell a thousand stories. If I wasn't wearing the hat, all that solar radiation would have been bombarding my head, ears, neck, and nose. What you see is about a year's worth of peak sun exposure translated into cloth. Factor that into a surfing career, outdoor job, and multiply that by how many years you would like to do your thing... |
| Sun damage from youth translates into skin cancers in middle age. The sight of a doctor with a long q-tip dipped into frozen nitrogen turns into visits where the doctor wears what looks like a clear-lens welding helmet, and the q-tip becomes a silver oil can thing so he can spray larger areas. Any treated areas become open wounds, and out of the water you stay. More serious situations require surgery. The most serious, malignant Melanoma, is absolutely life-threatening. The more sun you are in, and the closer to the tropics, the more serious this becomes. REMEMBER THE SUNSCREEN, AND WEAR A HAT! IT'S THE LEAST YOU SHOULD DO. |
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