Hot Fun in the SummertimeTopical BioMedics Offers Healthy Living Tips for Summer 2014
Rhinebeck, NY (PRWEB) July 11, 2014 -- As the Nat King Cole song says, it’s the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer! Which means it’s the season for family vacations, lounging by the pool, visiting amusement parks, and walking barefoot on the beach. Being outside in the sun feels great, especially after the polar vortex winter of 2013 – 2014. But there are precautions that should be taken when spending time outside in the heat. Topical BioMedics offers tips for staying safe and healthy while catching some rays and waves.
Beach Bag Essentials
Whether you’re spending the day by the shore, lake, or pool, there are several must-have items for toting in your beach bag:
-Lip balm: Lip protection is important to keep lips from getting chapped by the breeze or burned by the sun.
-Water shoes or flip-flops: Choose shoes that can get wet and rinse off easily. If you are heading to a public pool that has rough cement, fresh water swimming with a rocky bottom or ocean it would be safer to opt for water shoes with rubber soles with a mesh covering to protect feet and toes. Shoes also help protect delicate feet from hot sand and asphalt, which can cause severe burns. Just remember, flip flops do not offer any support whatsoever and should not be worn when you’ll be walking around for any length of time.
-Water bottle: Even though your family is spending the day at the beach, it is very important that you rehydrate throughout the day and having water handy will encourage your kids to replenish their fluids. Avoid alcoholic beverages, caffeine, soda, and other carbonated drinks, which are dehydrating.
-Head protection: Whether you choose a floppy straw hat or a baseball cap, be sure to include hats for every member of your family in your beach bag. Remember that ears get sunburned too so choosing a wide-brimmed hat is extremely useful for keeping the sun off ears, face and head.
-Eye protection: Sunglasses help shield the eyes from the harmful effects of the sun and also keep you from squinting, which can contribute to premature wrinkling. Be sure to choose sunglasses that have good UV protection.
Summer First Aid Kit for Active Families
Be prepared by keeping a first aid kit on hand for any incident that could put a damper on summer fun. One ideal one: Topricin’s “Boo Boos Happen” kit featuring a convenient zippered pouch with a tube of Topricin for Children—the doctor-recommended safe, natural alternative to chemical-based pills, ointment, and liquids, as well as a great all ‘round first aid cream for treating bug bites, sunburns, and other aches and pains—plus “Ouchies” design-your-own self-adhesive bandages with their own coloring markers, and handy travel-size packets of original Topricin and Topricin Foot Therapy Cream.
Other essentials to tuck into your vacation first aid kit:
-Ear plugs to keep water out of the ear to avoid discomfort and prevent bacterial from causing an infection
-Goggles to protect eyes and natural/homeopathic eye drops to relieve any irritation
-A vial of vinegar to treat jellyfish stings if you’re at the ocean
-Tweezers.
-Alcohol wipes to disinfect or cleanse
-Extra bandages and gauze
-Antibiotic ointment to treat open wounds
-An antihistamine, just in case of an unexpected allergic reaction
The Great Sun Debate
To sunbathe or not to sunbathe—THAT is the hot topic of the season!
For years now we’ve been advised to stay out of the sun, and slather on sunscreen with ever-higher levels of SPF before we even think about setting a foot outside our air conditioned doors.
But the tide is changing, so to speak, and the sun is no longer seen as Public Enemy Number One. In fact, the decades-long moratorium on sunbathing has not done a thing to curb skin cancer rates, which are skyrocketing.
Numerous new reports and studies have experts recommending that we all need, and benefit, from the sun’s rays. It seems that regular, moderate, unprotected—yes that’s right, unprotected—sun exposure, when thoughtfully managed, is essential. It’s also the way our bodies generate vitamin D, an important ingredient for optimizing health and preventing disease. It’s high time we embraced the sun, as in the USA vitamin D deficiency is now at epidemic levels.
It’s come to light that the best way to optimize vitamin D levels is with limited sunscreen-free exposure to the sun. Safe, smart, strategic bouts of sunshine help the skin produce the Vitamin D our bodies need to build bones, curb inflammation, and boost the immune system. Moreover, research indicates that vitamin D and may help prevent as some types of cancer, including pancreatic, lung, breast, ovarian, skin, prostate, and colon. Ironically, a 2011 study published in Cancer Prevention Research suggests that optimal levels of vitamin D offer protection against sunburn and skin cancer.
Other benefits of the BIG D: it can help protect the body from diseases like multiple sclerosis, rickets (in the young), tuberculosis, inflammatory bowel disease, type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus. And, according to the Vitamin D Council, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have reported that “lack of sun exposure may lead to cognitive decline over time.”
Along with vitamin D benefits, UVB exposure has a number of positive health effects, including easing mild depression, enhancing energy levels, regulating melatonin, suppressing MS symptoms, and treating skin diseases. It also has been shown that 20 minutes of sun exposure can lower blood pressure.
Sun Savvy
When it comes to skin issues and concerns, apparently sunshine is good—it’s the sunburns that create problems and are hazardous to our health. Here are some tips for getting healthy doses of sunshine and vitamin D with minimal risk:
--Short, regular exposures have been found to be much more effective and safer than the occasional long one.
--Control your exposure and build up your tolerance slowly. To maximize your body’s natural Vitamin D production, start with 5 minutes of mid-morning sun without sun block, and work your way up to 20 - 30 minutes. (The sun is strongest midday so avoid being outside sans protection from high noon until a few hours beyond.)
--Don’t overdo do it. After 30 minutes in the sun without skin protection, apply a safe, natural sunscreen.
-- You also need to protect skin if you’re in and out of the water, on a boat/doing any activity when the breezes can make you less aware that you’re getting sun burned.
-- Don’t get fooled by cloudy days — they can burn you just as easily as sunny ones.
Please note: If you are extremely fair skinned, have had skin cancer, or have any other concerns regarding sun safety, check with your doc first regarding appropriate levels of exposure to the sun and proper protection.
Rethink Sunscreen
It’s time to rethink your sunscreen as many readily available commercial brands contain toxins. Because your skin is your largest “organ,” these chemicals are readily absorbed directly into your body.
Some of the most common toxic chemicals typically found in sunscreen include:
- Oxybenzone (linked to hormone disruption and cell damage that may lead to skin cancer)
- Retinyl palmitate (a carcinogen)
- Octyl-methoxycinnamate (causes oxidation damage to skin, which ages the face)
- Butyl-Methdiebenzoylmethane (releases free radicals into the body)
- Benzophenone 2 (BP2) (decreases the function of the thyroid)
Elizabeth Plourde, PhD, is a scientist whose book Sunscreens – Biohazard: Treat as Hazardous Waste, documents the serious and even life-threatening dangers sunscreens pose not only to people but to our planet. Dr. Plourde emphasizes that many sunscreens contain chemicals that are known carcinogens and endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and offers proof that malignant melanoma and all other skin cancers increased significantly with sunscreen use over a 30-year period. As far as the environmental impact, Dr. Plourde notes that, “in areas where there has been much exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals, coral and other sea populations have died off and the prevalence of dual-sexed fish has risen.”
According to the Environmental Working Group, the best sunscreen is a hat and a shirt because there are no chemicals for the skin to absorb, no questions about whether the product works, and no bogus claims like “sunblock.” But fortunately, there are safe options to choose from to protect yourself and your family. Before you buy a sunscreen, first check out the Environmental Working Group for information on product ingredients and a list of safe sunscreens: http://www.ewg.org/2014sunscreen/
Now let’s all think sunny thoughts!
About Topical BioMedics
20 years in business and a Certified B Corporation, Topical BioMedics is a research and development leader in topical patented natural biomedicines for pain relief. The company’s flagship product, Topricin® Pain Relief and Healing Cream, was introduced in 1994 and is now a leading natural therapeutic brand. A combination biomedicine formula, Topricin has been awarded a patent for the treatment of pain associated with fibromyalgia and neuropathy, and was listed among the Top 100 Green Products of 2012 by Healthy Holistic Living.
The Topricin family of natural healing products also includes Topricin Foot Therapy Cream, specially formulated to treat painful foot and ankle issues and conditions, and Topricin for Children, which received the Parent Tested Parent Approved Seal of Approval (with 5% of sales donated to pediatric cancer foundations). Made in the U.S.A., all Topricin products are federally-regulated over-the-counter medicines with no known side effects, no parabens, petroleum, or other harsh chemicals, no grease, and no odor.
Topical BioMedics now offers TopTrack, a new app for on-the-go pain tracking and monitoring. TopTrack is available free of charge for iPad via the App Store, and will roll out on additional devices in the coming months. http://bit.ly/1rIQD89
Topricin is available in independent pharmacies, natural food and co-op stores nationwide, including Whole Foods, Sprouts, Pharmaca, The Vitamin Shoppe, Fred Meyer, Wegmans, CVS (Foot Care Section), Walgreens (Diabetic Section), and other fine retailers, as well as directly from the company.
For more information visit http://www.topricin.com.
The Topical Biomedics “Get Relief, Give Relief” Mission
For over 20 years, the Topricin project has assisted hundreds of thousands of people suffering with pain and those addicted to painkillers to achieve fully restored and robust healthy living. Unfortunately, millions of people continue to suffer in pain, with many experiencing the hazardous side effects of OTC chemical pain pills or negative effects of narcotic Rx painkillers—an epidemic that turns the lives of American families upside down and is undermining the very fabric of our country.
Because of the company’s experience in addressing these challenges, it has launched its “Get Relief, Give Relief” initiative: for every purchase of Topricin, Topricin Foot Therapy, or Topricin for Children ordered directly from the company, it will donate a tube of Topricin to a credible pain clinic on the customer’s behalf…Free.
The company invites the public to join its army of pain relief warriors determined to help those in need by ending suffering and painkiller addiction and restoring hope and the joy of living life to the fullest. To “Get Relief, Give Relief,” order from http://www.topricin.com or call 1-800-LES-PAIN (537-7246).
Sources:
Topical BioMedics
Vitamin D Council
The Unbounded Spirit
MindBodyGreen
Mercola.com
Care2.com
The Huffington Post
Yahoo! Health
Patricia Martin, Topical BioMedics, Inc., http://www.physical-knead.com, +1 845-876-8445, [email protected]
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