Spring break: The risk you may not have considered
Planning to trade in the dark, gray clouds of Seattle for something more tropical? Dr. Ulrike Ochs of Virginia Mason says you’re more at risk this time of year for sunburn. “We haven’t seen sun since September. When you do go someplace sunny, you’re incredibly susceptible to the ultraviolet light,” Dr. Ochs said. Does that mean you should visit a tanning salon for a base tan? “That is like the worst plan of all. The electric beach. So, what happens in a tanning bed is that it’s largely UVA, and UVA is like the worst and most insidious of ultraviolet light wavelength. So, you’re getting damage before you go and then you think you have this base so then you tend to be out in the sun more,” Ochs said. If you must be brown, Dr.


