Sun Protection (Arms) - Reduction of Melanoma Risk

[Dr_Mutley]

Hi all...
Im an early/mid 30s guy, who (unfortunately) had a recent stark reminder about how precious and fragile life can be... I had been watching a skin spot for sometime (years), which i ended up (thankfully) having removed some months ago.... To cut along story short it ended up being an invasive melanoma.

I am well, and will hopefully remain well, with regular scans and survailance. The irony of this story is I am a health professional, and deal quite alot with cancer, and to a lesser degree, skin cancers.... My lesion was quite atypical to the common melanoma appearance, so i am thankful i decided to have this lesion off when i did. So part reason for this thread is a timely reminder, with summer approaching, that no one is immune to melanomas no matter how young or bullet proof we think we are.

The second reason for posting is i wanted to ask about what riders are using for sun protection on their arms while riding (clothing wise). Until now i have religiously protected myself from the sun with SPF 30 to 50, and been careful about my length of sun exposure, and when that exposure occurs (ie 11 to 3 jump under a tree ). Im wondering if anyone uses arm warmer like protection, that breathes well and doesnt make one too hot when riding? Obviously long leeved jerseys would just be too hot. I have a thin pair of arm warmers which i use during winter, and essentially just take the chill off brisk winter air. They are made of a very micro thin lycra, which with sweat in hot conditions, woudnt make them too hot (i dont think). I am not sure however, of their ability to filter out UVA and UVB rays. Does anyone know of any purpose specific products on the market?

Cheers Harry

[casual_cyclist]

>> Obviously long sleeved jerseys would just be too hot.

I have not found that. But then my jerseys are just cheap fluid jerseys from Anaconda. I would not ride without long sleeves after suffering from second degree sunburn on my first 100km ride in March of this year.

[MichaelB]

I have a long sleeved summer weight jersey, as well as some "arm coolers".

The arm coolers are white, and generally light weight lycra rather than the roubaix style fabric. I got mine from LeKnicks in Melbourne (Nalini brand).

Used then in this years TdU and they work pretty well.

Teo brand version

I find I can't use sunscreen as I sweat too much

[DarrylH]

+1 Casual-cyclist
I always wear a long sleeved Netti or Scody and find them OK in summer. Push hard and get a bit sweaty and the damp cloth acts just like a water-bag. Wish someone would produce a helmet with a bit better sun protection!

DarrylH

[Dr_Mutley]

>> Obviously long sleeved jerseys would just be too hot.

I have not found that. But then my jerseys are just cheap fluid jerseys from Anaconda. I would not ride without long sleeves after suffering from second degree sunburn on my first 100km ride in March of this year.

sorry for the incorrect generalisation.... I guess i shoulda said that i find the long sleeved jerseys that i have tried too hot in 35deg+ days here in Adelaide.. having said that, a way around all of this is to invest in a good set of lights (Ayups) so over summer alot of my riding will be at dusk/night....

I might need to look at some diffret weight long sleeved jerseys as this sounds more of an option than i thought...

Thanks Michael for the link... arm coolers is what i am looking for (hopefully)....

[elantra]

Hi Harry i am sorry that you have had a fright like this.

In addition to arm cover I think it is also important to wear cycling gloves in sunny conditions.

Back of hands cops a greater sun exposure per square cm because they are less likely to be "shaded" by our torso while on the bike.
Most distance cyclists would tend to use gloves anyways i guess.

In general people with lots of naevus (moles) should have a full body skin check with competent GP clinic or dermatologist every 6 months.

Arguably EVERYONE should do this anyway, although in the future molecular genetics might come to the rescue and identify persons at higher risk.

[casual_cyclist]

In general people with lots of naevus (moles) should have a full body skin check with competent GP clinic or dermatologist every 6 months.

Arguably EVERYONE should do this anyway, although in the future molecular genetics might come to the rescue and identify persons at higher risk.

I see those MoleScan places around and wonder if they are any good. I have hundreds of moles all over my body and often wonder if I should have them looked at. Does anyone know if the MoleScan places are competent?

[hartleymartin]

11 til 3 jump under a tree - I like that!

I summer I just go for night rides. A clear night around the full moon is good if you are not afraid of vampires, gypsies, werewolves, bunyips, yowies, kangawallafoxes, drop-bears, etc.

50+ SPF sunscreen applied regularly helps. According to a lot of instructions they need about 15-30 minutes to become effective and of course, heavy sweating tends to flush them out of your skin. Anyway, in the middle of summer I would not be riding around for extended periods in the middle of the day.

[Chaderotti]

I was thinking of a long sleeve jersey, but then slightly tanned arms and pitch black legs aren't all that stylish, are they?
Any ideas for legs coolers?

[clarinetcola]

I wear Nitto arm coolers, and they do the job quite well, in contrast to sticky sunscreen mixed with sweat every morning and arvo. Try and get the white ones cause the black ones are really hot!

[Baalzamon]

I was thinking of a long sleeve jersey, but then slightly tanned arms and pitch black legs aren't all that stylish, are they?
Any ideas for legs coolers?

Skins Ice reckon they are good for warmer weather but rrp is $179 so there has to be something better.

[herzog]

Here's a left-field option.

I'm trialling something for this purpose at the moment

A warm weather long sleeved Downhill jersey.

http://tbsm.com.au/index.php?main_page= ... ts_id=2062

It's polypropolene, so it has better sweat wicking than lycra - it's the stuff that joggers shirts are made from. It's got mesh panels under the arms, so the breeze flows straight through, but still protects your forearms from the sun.

And because it's white and silver, it doesn't heat up.

[Bantam Roosta]

As usual, Ground Effect to the resuce.

Rock Lobster

Berglar

For the people too cool for cycling gear
ZZ Top

And for the ladies
Starfish

[geoffs]

plus 1 for the ground effect long sleeved tops. they are no hotter than a short sleeved jersey. Ours came in very handy last week on the QLD bike ride

[martinjs]

As usual, Ground Effect to the resuce.

Rock Lobster

Berglar

For the people too cool for cycling gear
ZZ Top

And for the ladies
Starfish

+1 for Groundeffects Summer long sleeve Jerseys worn them last summer on days of up to 44c, no problems at all until you stop then they get a bit warm.

Martin

[jacks1071]

>> Obviously long sleeved jerseys would just be too hot.

I have not found that. But then my jerseys are just cheap fluid jerseys from Anaconda. I would not ride without long sleeves after suffering from second degree sunburn on my first 100km ride in March of this year.

sorry for the incorrect generalisation.... I guess i shoulda said that i find the long sleeved jerseys that i have tried too hot in 35deg+ days here in Adelaide.. having said that, a way around all of this is to invest in a good set of lights (Ayups) so over summer alot of my riding will be at dusk/night....

I might need to look at some diffret weight long sleeved jerseys as this sounds more of an option than i thought...

Thanks Michael for the link... arm coolers is what i am looking for (hopefully)....

Grow some arm hair!!

I have a buddy up here in North QLD who rides with Lycra Arm warmers all year round for sun protection - he's a bloody good rider and they don't seem to worry him.

The long sleeve jersey you have sounds like a "winter" one - you can get summer long sleeve jersey which is made for sun protection and the material is thin like a normal jersey. I don't use these personally as I have a lot of natual protection on my arms - I can remember from when I was a kid working on the family farm my uncles would always say "its cooler with a long sleeve shirt"

[nimm]

Interesting you bring this up cause I'm about to get myself some compression base longs and top specifically because some of them offer up to SPF50+ protection. I don't want to have to apply sun cream all the time and this will offer better protection anyway as it won't sweat off and you don't have to re-apply on longer rides.

2XU offer SPF50+, Slazenger (BigW, and cheap) offer SPF40+, dunno about Skins or other brands yet.

[bigfriendlyvegan]

In general people with lots of naevus (moles) should have a full body skin check with competent GP clinic or dermatologist every 6 months.

Arguably EVERYONE should do this anyway, although in the future molecular genetics might come to the rescue and identify persons at higher risk.

I see those MoleScan places around and wonder if they are any good. I have hundreds of moles all over my body and often wonder if I should have them looked at. Does anyone know if the MoleScan places are competent?

Some of them may well be competent or at least have competent doctors, but I personally wouldn't go to one. I have had malignant skin cancers and am prone to them. My doctor doesn't send me to one of those clinics, rather she sends me to a dermatologist for a mole patrol. I suggest you contact the cancer council and see if they can recommend one.

David

[mikedufty]

Since getting a melanoma on my cheek removed (actually in an area generally covered by sideburns, so not a huge amount of sun exposure), I've been going to molescan once a year. They seem pretty competent to me, seem more likely to pick something up than a GP, and the magnifying machine is pretty cool.

I used to wear the old crochet style cycling gloves when I worked as a motorcycle courier over summer in Perth. I'd get a grid pattern of little spots of tan through the back, plus a giant really darkly tanned spot in the velcro closure gap. The lycra ones seem better from a sun perspective. Sunscreen seemed to be sufficient for arms.

[Chaderotti]

Guys, what about legs?

[Dr_Mutley]

I was thinking of a long sleeve jersey, but then slightly tanned arms and pitch black legs aren't all that stylish, are they?
Any ideas for legs coolers?

nor is my two 6" scars!
go the leg coolers.... if there are some....
the le knicks site looks the goods will def call in when im in melb next and see what sizing they have....

[Dr_Mutley]

In general people with lots of naevus (moles) should have a full body skin check with competent GP clinic or dermatologist every 6 months.

Arguably EVERYONE should do this anyway, although in the future molecular genetics might come to the rescue and identify persons at higher risk.

I see those MoleScan places around and wonder if they are any good. I have hundreds of moles all over my body and often wonder if I should have them looked at. Does anyone know if the MoleScan places are competent?

Some of them may well be competent or at least have competent doctors, but I personally wouldn't go to one. I have had malignant skin cancers and am prone to them. My doctor doesn't send me to one of those clinics, rather she sends me to a dermatologist for a mole patrol. I suggest you contact the cancer council and see if they can recommend one.

David

being in the game i would agree with this... only addition i would make to the above is consider having your body checks done by a plastic surgeon instead.... as competent, if not more competent than some dermatologists, and when it comes to excision time u get the best cosmetic result from the procedure....

[bigfriendlyvegan]

being in the game i would agree with this... only addition i would make to the above is consider having your body checks done by a plastic surgeon instead.... as competent, if not more competent than some dermatologists, and when it comes to excision time u get the best cosmetic result from the procedure....

Interesting. I hadn't considered a plastic surgeon before. When I had my chest done it was done by a plastic surgeon from China who was moonlighting as a GP while he was waiting for his Australian accreditation in cosmetic surgery. You can't see the scar on my chest, but the ones on my neck and arm (which he didn't do) are quite visible. I'm not overly concerned about the cosmetics of it, but having someone who looks at things from that aspect might be useful. I'll keep it in mind.

David

[twizzle]

I get checked by a GP with specialist training in dermatology approx every six months. Don't even think about going to the local GP, they are NOT trained for this, and won't have the equipment or knowledge to know what is normal or what needs to be cut off. If you have a collection of moles, you should see your GP to get a referral to a specialist or someone trained in how to identify abnormal moles.

In the last four years I've had four ops to remove six moles, and only one mole turned out to be abnormal. The 'best' removal job was the cluster of three that required 15 stitches to close up and they were all O.K. when tested. But - this is one area where it is better to err on the side of caution, melanoma is a horrible way to die.

[Chaderotti]

What about these??
Cheaper than lycra, sure it's against euro code but I won't be trainning on a euro steed in the summer months. Would they block sufficient amounts of UV light?