There’s no lack of misinformation making the rounds on social media these days, and now sunscreen is the latest hot topic, especially among those on TikTok.
The Wall Street Journal recently looked at some of the claims by influencers and celebrities, including retired professional football star Tom Brady, which the newspaper says wrote in his 2017 book that drinking water helps him not get sunburned.
Even more, an online survey by the American Academy of Dermatology, found that 28% of the 18- to 26-year-old respondents said they didn’t believe suntans caused skin cancer; 37% said they wore sunscreen only when others told them to.
Dr. Adam Friedman, professor and Chair of dermatology at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences joined WTOP to debunk some of these myths and tell us what we can all do to try and prevent skin cancer.
The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity.
Shawn Anderson: So it appears to be extremely dangerous for folks to listen to influencers on TikTok and other social media platforms about all this concerning sun exposure. We talked about debunking some myths, let’s start with the sunscreen myth. Why is it so important to wear it?
Dr. Adam Friedman: I would have to believe they’re all well intended putting this information out there, trying to protect people. But to your point, there’s some basic facts here — ultraviolet radiation causes skin cancer, among many, many other things. So we need to use many modalities to protect ourselves, sunscreen being one of the most important, and that’s going to be a sunscreen with an SPF 30 or higher and broad spectrum.
Anne Kramer: Some of the influencers have been talking about the chemicals that are in the sunscreen. So how do we protect ourselves from the sun, but also be safe in what we’re choosing?
Dr. Adam Friedman: So this concern kind of comes from two buckets: one is in both cell and some animal studies where animals were fed sunscreen — note to self: don’t eat sunscreen — the sunscreen ingredients had some hormonal effects. This has never been shown in humans. The second is the FDA came out with two studies showing that very, very, very tiny amounts when you apply tons of sunscreen to your skin — which no one does — can actually get into your bloodstream. But then again, also not showing that there’s any correlation to health problems. That said, we’ve all got to wear sunscreen. So if I’m not convincing enough, there are mineral sunscreens with zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, that are generally regarded as safe and effective by the FDA that you can use and still protect yourself, without the concerns that, I don’t think, are supported by the evidence.
Shawn Anderson: Let’s tackle the thing about drinking water to prevent sunburn. What gives here and why doesn’t this work?
Dr. Adam Friedman: I honestly don’t know where this comes from. Certainly, drinking water is very important for many biological reasons. From the skin’s perspective, it gives turgor, meaning when you pinch your skin, it bounces back. There is zero evidence that drinking lots of water will protect you from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation.
Anne Kramer: Give a little bit of perspective on this. What do you think is going on? Why do all these things have to be debunked? And why are we re-educating people on topics like this? I know you’ve been involved in some seminars or some talks about this.
Dr. Adam Friedman: I’m always surprised, yet not surprised, by what goes out there. And I think that social media has given so many a platform to get both good and … misinformation out there. And one person’s own experience does not translate to the masses. Because there’s so much noise, it’s hard to know where to go to get the right information, from a dermatology or skin perspective. But you got to follow the evidence. I’ll do my best Jerry Maguire, ‘show me the science’ when it comes to these. Show me the evidence that what you’re saying is true, not just based on anecdotal experience, and then you’ll be on the right path.
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