Primary and secondary prevention
Primary prevention focuses on reducing and limiting exposure to UV radiation.
Secondary prevention focuses on the early detection of melanoma.
Primary prevention
Protection from all sources of increased UV radiation represents primary prevention. The principal source of UV radiation is the sun, after that, sun beds and different UV lamps. The elementary threat that UV radiation poses, is damage to the skin, the melanocytic cells included, which can cause melanoma to develop, and other skin lesions as well, whether they are benign or malignant.
For basic protection measures, refer to the table below.
| Wear sun-protective clothing | Choose clothing that covers as much skin as possible and look for clothes with a UPF50+ rating |
| Apply 30SPF+ broad spectrum, water resistant sunscreen | Apply sunscreen 20 minutes before going outside and reapply every 2 hours |
| Wear a broad-brimmed or legionnaire style hat | Choose a hat which protects the face, head, neck and ears |
| Seek shade | Shade does not provide 100% protection from the sun’s UV so always combine shade with sun-protective clothing, 30SPF+ sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses |
| Wear sunglasses | Choose close-fitting, wrap-around style sunglasses with good UV protection and that meet Australian standards |
| Reduce time spent outdoors during peak UV times between 10am and 2pm (11am-3pm during daylight saving) | Check the daily UV index for sun protection time recommendations. |
| Do not use sun beds as a skin preparing method for summer vacation | The tan you get from using a sun bed is not adequate sun protection of the skin |
Besides sun protection, of great importance in prevention is education of the population. It should include the following: how to do a skin self-examination, learning the melanoma risk factors, learning the ABCDE rules of clinical examination and how to recognise suspicious moles.
Secondary prevention and screening
Early melanoma detection is considered as secondary prevention. Skin and mole monitoring presents an ideal secondary prevention in all applicable cases.
Melanoma screening would involve a thorough examination of the skin, from head to toe, for any person with a high melanoma risk factor. Above all, women in their reproductive period and during pregnancy should be examined in this manner.
ALL ABOUT MELANOMA
Melanoma is a kind of skin carcinoma that originates from melanocytic cells which also give our skin colour.
When a melanocytic cell gets damaged, it loses its ability to control its growth, and melanoma formation begins.
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ALL ABOUT MOLES
Moles are benign, pigmented (coloured) lesions of the skin, commonly brown to black in colour. Most moles are between a couple of mm to 1 cm in size.
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ABCDE CLASSIFICATION
The ABCDE criteria represent a commonly used guide for monitor your skin for early signs of melanoma. You should use it while doing your skin self-examination. It is advised to inspect all moles bigger than 6mm every month.
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