August 3, 2025 • 14 mins
In this segment, host Phil Tower welcomes Dr. David Doud, a primary care physician with Trinity Health Medical Group in Grand Rapids.
Dr. Doud joined us to help debunk some common skin safety myths, such as the notion that a "base tan" is protective or that sunscreen is unnecessary on cloudy days.
Some of the questions we discussed included:
Do I need to apply sunscreen on Cloudy Days?
If I have naturally darker brown skin, do I need to wear some protection?
If I already have a base tan, do I need to wear sun protection?
How often should I reapply sunscreen?
Does a baseball cap protect my head from harmful sun exposure?
Dr. Doud also spoke with us about the importance of educating oneself about skin cancer indicators.
Online: Dr. Doud’s Blog Post
Dr. Doud joined us to help debunk some common skin safety myths, such as the notion that a "base tan" is protective or that sunscreen is unnecessary on cloudy days.
Some of the questions we discussed included:
Do I need to apply sunscreen on Cloudy Days?
If I have naturally darker brown skin, do I need to wear some protection?
If I already have a base tan, do I need to wear sun protection?
How often should I reapply sunscreen?
Does a baseball cap protect my head from harmful sun exposure?
Dr. Doud also spoke with us about the importance of educating oneself about skin cancer indicators.
Online: Dr. Doud’s Blog Post
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is iHeartRadio's West Michigan Weekend. West Michigan Weekend is
a weekly program designed to inform and enlighten on a
wide range of public policy issues, as well as news
and current events. Now here's your host, Phil Tower.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
In this segment, Summer's not over yet. We've still got
time in the month of August for you to get
outside and enjoy the weather, actually into September and October
for that matter. Most importantly. As you do that, have
you thought about your skin safety. Doctor David Dowd is
with us in this segment. Primary care physician with a
(00:38):
Trinity Health medical group here in Grand Rapids. Doctor Dowd
is joining us to help us unpack some common skin
safety myths, like the idea that, oh, I've got a
base hand, I've been out a little bit, so I
don't need to wear sunscreen anymore, or a common myth
for guys like me that baseball hat, that Detroit Tiger's
(00:59):
baseball that looks really good, but it is not a
good sun protection device to prevent skin cancer. Doctor Dowd
wrote a blog post about this recently. We'll put that
in our podcast note. Podcast notes for this conversation. Doctor Dowd.
Welcome to the program, Martin.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
I appreciate it your primary care physician. But I would
assume with the patients you see, this probably comes up,
especially if you note something when you're doing an annual
exam or maybe just a check up, you note something
that doesn't look right on a patient's forehead or nose
or forearm. Does that how this conversation on skin cancer
(01:41):
starts as a primary care doctor.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Most often it does everyone to know, aw, somebody will
ask me to straightforward kenna is about sunscreen out of
the blue, But for the most part, it's really during
the physical exams. You know, we're going over talking about screenings,
different cancers or other things to look out for, and
that's a good time to kind of check up on
your skin as well at that time. But for some
patients too, you know, they just notice a little mol
(02:03):
or little spot on their ear or forehead or arm
wherever it might be that kind of looks a little
bit different than the other ones, and they'll bring that up.
We'll talk about that and go from there.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
It seems like, at least I've spoken with a lot
of people varying ages in their thirties, fifties seventies who
have had some type of questionable spot or maybe even
a pre cancerous spot removed from their face or their
nose or back of their neck, top of their head
even is a commonplace we don't think about. Is the
(02:34):
head typically the least protected area or does it really
depend on the person.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
It can depend on the people a little bit, but
for the most part, yeah, the head is often a
place that where you kind of forget about. You know,
generally we're wearing clothing and so that covers a lot
of our body for the most part. Maybe our neck,
maybe parts of our arms are kind of sticking out,
but for the most part, you know, kind of hard
to cover your whole head, you know, walking around that
tip the things a little bit harder in that situation.
(03:00):
So broad brimmed hats can be helpful to kind of
help cover your head, as you're saying, with the you know,
go Tigers, but with the baseball cap, you know, sometimes
that can miss. Our ears are the back of our
neck as well, and so there's still areas that can
kind of sneak in.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
And they do make floppy tigers hats, by the way,
just for my Detroit Tiger fans in our radio audience.
Let's talk about the base hand myth that a base tan.
You know, I'm mount in the sun a lot. Maybe
you spend a lot of time in the arts, so
you've got this good as it used to be called
protective base tan. But it's not that at all, is it,
(03:36):
doctor down?
Speaker 3 (03:38):
No, unfortunately not So. The tan is a biological response
to the UV damage, but it's not a protective barrier.
So there's no such thing as a safe or protective
can in that sense of things. Anytime we're having those
V radiations, it can cause different damage. It can cause
breakdown of the collagen which leads to more wrinkles and
(03:59):
elasticity or loss of elsstivity, and then the same for
you know, it increases the risk of cancer with all
that radiation then that we get from the UV race,
particularly the UVB race or so for cancer.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Doctor Dowd, You and I probably have known people who
have done a spray tan before going on a trip
to Mexico or something like that, again thinking they had
some kind of protection or early base layer for sun protection.
And that doesn't help either, does it.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
That's not going to help at all. So unfortunately, there
are some safe alternatives to you know, getting a can
or that type of thing with some of this tanning products,
but it's not going to necessarily protect it still from
that radiation from the sun.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Also, using sunscreen on cloudy days. We do have a
fair amount of cloudy days here in West Michigan, yet
eighty percent of rays still reaches the skin. So that's
why it's really important, in spite of the way the
sky looks, Doctor Dowd, to put on that sun green
protective layer. That could be a very good prepentative for
(05:05):
getting a sunburn. You started out mentioning that some patients
talk about recommended sunscreen, Doctor Dowd, I guess it varies
depending on your skin type. Let's unpack that a bit,
if you would please, in terms of recommended base level
for protection.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
So thankfully, these days, you know, we're getting a lot
more sunscreen options than what we used to have in
the task, so that allows us to kind of start
the day off a lot of moisturizers now for our
face or that type of thing can have a little
bit of some sunscreen in it. That being said, some
of them can range from fifteen to fifty and so forth.
So what we're looking for is an SPF of thirty
(05:45):
or higher and then you want to basically apply that
every two hours to any area that might be kind
of sun exposed. Even areas that are not sun exposed,
we can still get some radiations or UV raise that
comes through our clothing, and some clothing has UPF ratings
and so ultra violet protection factor, and so those are
(06:06):
certain clothings that can help kind of help us prevent
the US from coming into our skin probably a little
bit safer. And the nice thing is you don't have
to apply you know, cloaking or half every two hours.
You can obviously keep it on and then you're protected there.
But sunscreen wise, we have a few different options. Nowadays,
we have mineral sunscreen, which is kind of the newer
(06:26):
kid on the block, and maybe in the old movies,
you know, you saw the lifeguard with the white nose,
and so that's basically a form of this mineral sunscreen.
So the nice thing about the mineral sunscreen is it
can be great for people that have more sensitive skin,
and the other aspect is that's maybe more environmentally friendly.
(06:48):
It can help some of the other sunscreens might be
harmful to the reefs, and so kind of depending where
you're at, that may be a good option for you,
but some people don't always like the way it looks
or feels. Sometimes it can be a little bit thicker,
or you can kind of have a white color into it,
and that's just related to some of the ingredients in it.
But the nice thing about that one is that it's
(07:09):
literally just a physical barrier, so it helps kind of
balance the sun the UV rays kind of off our skin,
so it can be helpful there versus the kind of
classic sunscreen that we have or the chemical sunscreens that
Wesinems call them. Those can be helpful, and the fact
that they're generally more waterproof and so those can be
(07:30):
good if you're sweating or going out in the water
more consistently. Those also kind of blend into our skin,
so the kind of look maybe more natural from that
side of things. But one of the downside is, yeah,
you have to be careful if you're going into some
areas with reefs and that type of thing, as well,
as some people break out with those chemical sunscreens a
little bit more easily, so mineral sunscreen or regular sunscreen
(07:54):
can be great options. Thankfully, there's tons of different ones now,
and you know, looking for a broad spectrum, be sunscreen
and SPF thirty or higher, applying about every two hours
or still.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Doctor Doubta, I want to ask you as well as
we're talking about sunscreens and protecting yourself from sunburn and
eventually skin cancer, potentially you can get a sunburn even
if you're using a sunscreen with SPF fifty, especially if
you're not applying it enough, right.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Yeah, that's probably our biggest mistake. You know, oftentimes we
you know, if we're going out to the beach or
a ballpark, you know, we put it on when we
first or maybe even before we even get in the car,
but you are getting out of the car, so you
apply it initially and then we not always think about it.
So if you're getting in and out of the water,
almost every time you're getting out of the water, you
should reapply. If you're at the beach or a pool studying,
(08:44):
or if you're sweating a lie and might be leasing
some of the sunscreen that way get to kind of
you know, dry off. If you can reapply it, go
back and do your thing, but making sure that you're
at least applying every two hours is very beneficial.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
In doubt put it on. Most importantly, you can also
use your phones that are reminder, hey, I've got to
put on another layer of sunscreen. It seems like as
parents were good at this, but maybe not so good
ourselves in doing that. As we talk about protecting our
skin from the sun, another big benefit beyond protecting ourselves
(09:20):
from skin cancer is skin aging. You see people who
maybe only in their fifties with a very wrinkled appearing
face or arms, and that often can be from people
who didn't wear sunscreen to you know, protect your skin,
cover your skin, because skin can definitely prematurely age your
(09:41):
skin as well.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
Doctor Dawd Right, Yes, So the USA raise can be
the ones that probably do more of this. And so
there's still a bit of a longer wavelength in the
UVB rays that generally cause more of the skin cancer damage,
but it's still causing skin damage. This is just the
one that causes ourtlogen and in different other element our
skin to kind of break down and causes our loss
(10:02):
of elasticity, so we get more of that aged appearance
or wrinkled appearance. So this is a natural way to
kind of help fight aging or the appearance of aging,
I should say, more so in our skin and so
you know, it can kind of maintain hopefully those healthy
you know, more tot skin over time versus the wrinkles
(10:22):
and the aging of the skin. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Indeed, Doctor David Dowd is with us on West Michigan
weekend primary care physician with Trinity Health's medical group here
in Grand Rapids.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
He wrote a.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Recent blog post about the importance of skin care and
you know, protecting your skin from sunburn and skin cancer.
A lot of myths out there. Most importantly, you just
want to be informed before you head out up for
a long day in the lake or maybe a long
day in the yard wherever you are. If the sun
(10:54):
is bright, you can get a sunburn, even if it's
late in the day. And as we wrap up the
last couple of minutes here, doctor Dowd's skin cancer awareness
is critically important to catch potential skin cancer early. There
is an ABCDE rule for identifying suspicious spots on your skin,
(11:17):
especially for melanoma, common type of skin cancer, real quickly,
if you would, what should we be looking for in
terms of all different types of potential skin cancer concerns.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Yeah, so the ABCD rule or E rule is a
great kind of guide to kind of help us go
through it. So anytime you see something asymmetric, you see
the border that looks a little bit oft or irregular,
the color that seems a little bit off, especially you
know compared to maybe other molds or frockles that you
might have. There's a different diameter, if it's bigger than
(11:51):
kind of always say it's a pencil eraser, so if
it's starting to grow more and more, or if it's
changing over time. So those are important things just kind
of keeping and you can always ask your primary care
doctor about this. Some other things to kind of think
about sometimes they're even it can form over a prior
scar or other areas that we don't always think about.
(12:11):
And so you know, looking at your toes, to your
nose and everywhere in between, kind of making sure that
there's no I always tell my patients about the ugly
docting time. So if there's one that kind of seems
a little bit more different than the others, please bring
that up to your doctor. Some of the things to
kind of think about is sometimes you just have a
scab that's just not healing. That can even be a
type of skin cancer. So there's lots of different types,
(12:33):
but they can look all different. They don't always look
just like a you know, a bad mole ar that
type of thing. So if you just kind of have
a little spot that's red, irritated, painful, bleeding, not healing,
those are things to look out for.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
Them very helpful and very important, and we have the
link to that ABCD guide in our podcast notes. We'll
have that for this conversation with you, doctor Dowd atwood
Radio dot com in our podcast section, So be to
check that out and when in doubt, if you're seeing
your primary care physician, ask you to doctor about it.
(13:05):
As we started talking about in this conversation, some of
the most common things start with a trip to your
primary care physician. Any other final thoughts, Doctor Dowd on
preventing skin cancer.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
Yeah, just a few things to think about kind of
as we finish off the rest of the summer season
and go into fall. You can look at you the
index and you know, kind of use that to help
guide you a little bit. I want to make sure
you know you're definitely applying sunscreen, you're wearing upf clothing
or trying to seek shade when you can, but even
trying to maybe not be out if you can. Between
(13:39):
hours of ten am to four pm. That's when the
sun is going to be the strongest during the day.
So if you are out at that time, in particular,
making sure you are applying sunscreen, wearing those broadbrand hats,
wearing some the ups shirts that are now more long
sleeve or more fashionable. So it's in seeking some shade
as well. So some different ways to kind of go
about that and be being smarter than the sun so
(14:01):
we can help protect our skin.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Good advice from doctor David dow primary care physician with
the Trinity Health Medical Group here in Grand Rapids. Really
appreciate your time with us, doctor dowb thank you.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Thank you, my pleasure.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
You've been listening to iHeartRadio's West Michigan Weekend. West Michigan
Weekend is a production of Wood Radio and iHeartRadio.
This is iHeartRadio's West Michigan Weekend. West Michigan Weekend is
a weekly program designed to inform and enlighten on a
wide range of public policy issues, as well as news
and current events. Now here's your host, Phil Tower.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
In this segment, Summer's not over yet. We've still got
time in the month of August for you to get
outside and enjoy the weather, actually into September and October
for that matter. Most importantly. As you do that, have
you thought about your skin safety. Doctor David Dowd is
with us in this segment. Primary care physician with a
(00:38):
Trinity Health medical group here in Grand Rapids. Doctor Dowd
is joining us to help us unpack some common skin
safety myths, like the idea that, oh, I've got a
base hand, I've been out a little bit, so I
don't need to wear sunscreen anymore, or a common myth
for guys like me that baseball hat, that Detroit Tiger's
(00:59):
baseball that looks really good, but it is not a
good sun protection device to prevent skin cancer. Doctor Dowd
wrote a blog post about this recently. We'll put that
in our podcast note. Podcast notes for this conversation. Doctor Dowd.
Welcome to the program, Martin.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
I appreciate it your primary care physician. But I would
assume with the patients you see, this probably comes up,
especially if you note something when you're doing an annual
exam or maybe just a check up, you note something
that doesn't look right on a patient's forehead or nose
or forearm. Does that how this conversation on skin cancer
(01:41):
starts as a primary care doctor.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Most often it does everyone to know, aw, somebody will
ask me to straightforward kenna is about sunscreen out of
the blue, But for the most part, it's really during
the physical exams. You know, we're going over talking about screenings,
different cancers or other things to look out for, and
that's a good time to kind of check up on
your skin as well at that time. But for some
patients too, you know, they just notice a little mol
(02:03):
or little spot on their ear or forehead or arm
wherever it might be that kind of looks a little
bit different than the other ones, and they'll bring that up.
We'll talk about that and go from there.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
It seems like, at least I've spoken with a lot
of people varying ages in their thirties, fifties seventies who
have had some type of questionable spot or maybe even
a pre cancerous spot removed from their face or their
nose or back of their neck, top of their head
even is a commonplace we don't think about. Is the
(02:34):
head typically the least protected area or does it really
depend on the person.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
It can depend on the people a little bit, but
for the most part, yeah, the head is often a
place that where you kind of forget about. You know,
generally we're wearing clothing and so that covers a lot
of our body for the most part. Maybe our neck,
maybe parts of our arms are kind of sticking out,
but for the most part, you know, kind of hard
to cover your whole head, you know, walking around that
tip the things a little bit harder in that situation.
(03:00):
So broad brimmed hats can be helpful to kind of
help cover your head, as you're saying, with the you know,
go Tigers, but with the baseball cap, you know, sometimes
that can miss. Our ears are the back of our
neck as well, and so there's still areas that can
kind of sneak in.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
And they do make floppy tigers hats, by the way,
just for my Detroit Tiger fans in our radio audience.
Let's talk about the base hand myth that a base tan.
You know, I'm mount in the sun a lot. Maybe
you spend a lot of time in the arts, so
you've got this good as it used to be called
protective base tan. But it's not that at all, is it,
(03:36):
doctor down?
Speaker 3 (03:38):
No, unfortunately not So. The tan is a biological response
to the UV damage, but it's not a protective barrier.
So there's no such thing as a safe or protective
can in that sense of things. Anytime we're having those
V radiations, it can cause different damage. It can cause
breakdown of the collagen which leads to more wrinkles and
(03:59):
elasticity or loss of elsstivity, and then the same for
you know, it increases the risk of cancer with all
that radiation then that we get from the UV race,
particularly the UVB race or so for cancer.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Doctor Dowd, You and I probably have known people who
have done a spray tan before going on a trip
to Mexico or something like that, again thinking they had
some kind of protection or early base layer for sun protection.
And that doesn't help either, does it.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
That's not going to help at all. So unfortunately, there
are some safe alternatives to you know, getting a can
or that type of thing with some of this tanning products,
but it's not going to necessarily protect it still from
that radiation from the sun.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Also, using sunscreen on cloudy days. We do have a
fair amount of cloudy days here in West Michigan, yet
eighty percent of rays still reaches the skin. So that's
why it's really important, in spite of the way the
sky looks, Doctor Dowd, to put on that sun green
protective layer. That could be a very good prepentative for
(05:05):
getting a sunburn. You started out mentioning that some patients
talk about recommended sunscreen, Doctor Dowd, I guess it varies
depending on your skin type. Let's unpack that a bit,
if you would please, in terms of recommended base level
for protection.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
So thankfully, these days, you know, we're getting a lot
more sunscreen options than what we used to have in
the task, so that allows us to kind of start
the day off a lot of moisturizers now for our
face or that type of thing can have a little
bit of some sunscreen in it. That being said, some
of them can range from fifteen to fifty and so forth.
So what we're looking for is an SPF of thirty
(05:45):
or higher and then you want to basically apply that
every two hours to any area that might be kind
of sun exposed. Even areas that are not sun exposed,
we can still get some radiations or UV raise that
comes through our clothing, and some clothing has UPF ratings
and so ultra violet protection factor, and so those are
(06:06):
certain clothings that can help kind of help us prevent
the US from coming into our skin probably a little
bit safer. And the nice thing is you don't have
to apply you know, cloaking or half every two hours.
You can obviously keep it on and then you're protected there.
But sunscreen wise, we have a few different options. Nowadays,
we have mineral sunscreen, which is kind of the newer
(06:26):
kid on the block, and maybe in the old movies,
you know, you saw the lifeguard with the white nose,
and so that's basically a form of this mineral sunscreen.
So the nice thing about the mineral sunscreen is it
can be great for people that have more sensitive skin,
and the other aspect is that's maybe more environmentally friendly.
(06:48):
It can help some of the other sunscreens might be
harmful to the reefs, and so kind of depending where
you're at, that may be a good option for you,
but some people don't always like the way it looks
or feels. Sometimes it can be a little bit thicker,
or you can kind of have a white color into it,
and that's just related to some of the ingredients in it.
But the nice thing about that one is that it's
(07:09):
literally just a physical barrier, so it helps kind of
balance the sun the UV rays kind of off our skin,
so it can be helpful there versus the kind of
classic sunscreen that we have or the chemical sunscreens that
Wesinems call them. Those can be helpful, and the fact
that they're generally more waterproof and so those can be
(07:30):
good if you're sweating or going out in the water
more consistently. Those also kind of blend into our skin,
so the kind of look maybe more natural from that
side of things. But one of the downside is, yeah,
you have to be careful if you're going into some
areas with reefs and that type of thing, as well,
as some people break out with those chemical sunscreens a
little bit more easily, so mineral sunscreen or regular sunscreen
(07:54):
can be great options. Thankfully, there's tons of different ones now,
and you know, looking for a broad spectrum, be sunscreen
and SPF thirty or higher, applying about every two hours
or still.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Doctor Doubta, I want to ask you as well as
we're talking about sunscreens and protecting yourself from sunburn and
eventually skin cancer, potentially you can get a sunburn even
if you're using a sunscreen with SPF fifty, especially if
you're not applying it enough, right.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Yeah, that's probably our biggest mistake. You know, oftentimes we
you know, if we're going out to the beach or
a ballpark, you know, we put it on when we
first or maybe even before we even get in the car,
but you are getting out of the car, so you
apply it initially and then we not always think about it.
So if you're getting in and out of the water,
almost every time you're getting out of the water, you
should reapply. If you're at the beach or a pool studying,
(08:44):
or if you're sweating a lie and might be leasing
some of the sunscreen that way get to kind of
you know, dry off. If you can reapply it, go
back and do your thing, but making sure that you're
at least applying every two hours is very beneficial.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
In doubt put it on. Most importantly, you can also
use your phones that are reminder, hey, I've got to
put on another layer of sunscreen. It seems like as
parents were good at this, but maybe not so good
ourselves in doing that. As we talk about protecting our
skin from the sun, another big benefit beyond protecting ourselves
(09:20):
from skin cancer is skin aging. You see people who
maybe only in their fifties with a very wrinkled appearing
face or arms, and that often can be from people
who didn't wear sunscreen to you know, protect your skin,
cover your skin, because skin can definitely prematurely age your
(09:41):
skin as well.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
Doctor Dawd Right, Yes, So the USA raise can be
the ones that probably do more of this. And so
there's still a bit of a longer wavelength in the
UVB rays that generally cause more of the skin cancer damage,
but it's still causing skin damage. This is just the
one that causes ourtlogen and in different other element our
skin to kind of break down and causes our loss
(10:02):
of elasticity, so we get more of that aged appearance
or wrinkled appearance. So this is a natural way to
kind of help fight aging or the appearance of aging,
I should say, more so in our skin and so
you know, it can kind of maintain hopefully those healthy
you know, more tot skin over time versus the wrinkles
(10:22):
and the aging of the skin. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Indeed, Doctor David Dowd is with us on West Michigan
weekend primary care physician with Trinity Health's medical group here
in Grand Rapids.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
He wrote a.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Recent blog post about the importance of skin care and
you know, protecting your skin from sunburn and skin cancer.
A lot of myths out there. Most importantly, you just
want to be informed before you head out up for
a long day in the lake or maybe a long
day in the yard wherever you are. If the sun
(10:54):
is bright, you can get a sunburn, even if it's
late in the day. And as we wrap up the
last couple of minutes here, doctor Dowd's skin cancer awareness
is critically important to catch potential skin cancer early. There
is an ABCDE rule for identifying suspicious spots on your skin,
(11:17):
especially for melanoma, common type of skin cancer, real quickly,
if you would, what should we be looking for in
terms of all different types of potential skin cancer concerns.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Yeah, so the ABCD rule or E rule is a
great kind of guide to kind of help us go
through it. So anytime you see something asymmetric, you see
the border that looks a little bit oft or irregular,
the color that seems a little bit off, especially you
know compared to maybe other molds or frockles that you
might have. There's a different diameter, if it's bigger than
(11:51):
kind of always say it's a pencil eraser, so if
it's starting to grow more and more, or if it's
changing over time. So those are important things just kind
of keeping and you can always ask your primary care
doctor about this. Some other things to kind of think
about sometimes they're even it can form over a prior
scar or other areas that we don't always think about.
(12:11):
And so you know, looking at your toes, to your
nose and everywhere in between, kind of making sure that
there's no I always tell my patients about the ugly
docting time. So if there's one that kind of seems
a little bit more different than the others, please bring
that up to your doctor. Some of the things to
kind of think about is sometimes you just have a
scab that's just not healing. That can even be a
type of skin cancer. So there's lots of different types,
(12:33):
but they can look all different. They don't always look
just like a you know, a bad mole ar that
type of thing. So if you just kind of have
a little spot that's red, irritated, painful, bleeding, not healing,
those are things to look out for.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
Them very helpful and very important, and we have the
link to that ABCD guide in our podcast notes. We'll
have that for this conversation with you, doctor Dowd atwood
Radio dot com in our podcast section, So be to
check that out and when in doubt, if you're seeing
your primary care physician, ask you to doctor about it.
(13:05):
As we started talking about in this conversation, some of
the most common things start with a trip to your
primary care physician. Any other final thoughts, Doctor Dowd on
preventing skin cancer.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
Yeah, just a few things to think about kind of
as we finish off the rest of the summer season
and go into fall. You can look at you the
index and you know, kind of use that to help
guide you a little bit. I want to make sure
you know you're definitely applying sunscreen, you're wearing upf clothing
or trying to seek shade when you can, but even
trying to maybe not be out if you can. Between
(13:39):
hours of ten am to four pm. That's when the
sun is going to be the strongest during the day.
So if you are out at that time, in particular,
making sure you are applying sunscreen, wearing those broadbrand hats,
wearing some the ups shirts that are now more long
sleeve or more fashionable. So it's in seeking some shade
as well. So some different ways to kind of go
about that and be being smarter than the sun so
(14:01):
we can help protect our skin.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Good advice from doctor David dow primary care physician with
the Trinity Health Medical Group here in Grand Rapids. Really
appreciate your time with us, doctor dowb thank you.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Thank you, my pleasure.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
You've been listening to iHeartRadio's West Michigan Weekend. West Michigan
Weekend is a production of Wood Radio and iHeartRadio.
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