Clothing protects the skin from ultraviolet (UV) radiation by creating a barrier between the skin and the sun. The Cancer Council Victoria recommends clothing that protects the wearer from as much UV radiation as possible, such as collared shirts, and at least three-quarter-length trousers and tops. Always use sun protective clothing in combination with other sun protection measures; shade, hats, sunscreen and sunglasses.

Hats

Common sites of skin damage and skin cancer are the neck, ears, temples, lips, face and nose. Wearing a broad-brimmed, legionnaire or bucket hat can help protect these areas from ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Hats should shade the whole face, neck, ears and head.

Get in the Shade

Shade alone can reduce overall exposure to the sun's harmful UV radiation by about 75%. It will not totally block out all UV radiation, as indirect UV radiation can scatter in the atmosphere and reflect from surfaces such as water, sand and concrete. Maximum UV protection can be achieved using shade in conjunction with sun-protective clothing, hats and sunscreen.

Sunglasses

Eyes, like skin, can be damaged by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Repeated exposure of unprotected eyes to UV radiation can cause short-term and long-term damage.

Short-term complaints

Excessive blinking
Swelling or difficulty looking at strong light
Acute photokeratopathy (sunburn of the cornea or snowblindness).

Long-term damage

Cataracts (cloudiness of the lens)
Pterygium (an overgrowth of the conjunctiva on to the cornea)
Solar keratopathy (cloudiness of the cornea)
Cancer of the conjunctiva (the membrane covering the white part of the eye)
Skin cancer of the eyelids and around the eyes.

To protect eyes from UV radiation,
The Cancer Council Victoria recommends sunglasses that:

are close-fitting
wrap around and cover as much of the eye area as possible
meet the Australian Standard 1067:2003 (Sunglasses: Category 2, 3 or 4)
are marked eye protection factor (EPF) 10.

Click here to find out how to protect your children, babies & toddlers

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