Sunscreen

posted in: General 0

It’s just essential. We’ve all been burned before, and I don’t know about you, but I’m never keen to repeat the experience. In the Emergency Department, I’ve seen patients with second-degree burns from the Australian sun alone.

The only problem is, it’s usually a real pain to get a cream out, apply it, rub it in, oops you missed a spot, oh now it’s in your hair, you’ve got a bit left on your nose, yep still there, ok you got it… you get the idea. then you have to screw the lid back on, put it back in your bag, without getting too much sunscreen on the outside of the tube from your sunscreeny hands, then clean it off your hands…

Sunscreen is essential, but it’s a pain.

Apparently it doesn’t have to be. On the last expedition (BBC filming Without Limits in the Kimberley, Western Australia), a bunch of the UK crew had this amazing stuff called P20. Initially all the Australians laughed at them, assuming that it meant SPF20, and that they would all be crispy-fried in short order.

Not the case in the slightest.

Whilst Riemann’s P20 comes in various strengths, the top strength is excellent.

It’s SPF50, has protection against UVA and UVB, and is supposed to last 10 hours. I feel like this might be not quite true in very sweaty or wet environments, but I’ll assume that it lasts a fair while anyway. Beats the 2-4 hour reapplication of most of the suncreams I’ve seen in Australia.

The best part is it’s a pump-spray, which goes on clear and stays clear. It’s great stuff.

DeployED will be stocking and using it for future expeditions, I think this stuff is great. By the way there is no sponsorship or financial benefit arrangement here, it’s just an awesome product.

See you Out There!

 

Follow Dr Stuart McLay:

Emergency Physician

Dr Stuart McLay is passionate about the delivery of exceptional care, everywhere. He is the founder of DeployED, a Fellow of the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine (FACEM - an Emergency Physician), a Core trainee of the College for Intensive Care Medicine, and a Mass Gathering Medicine / Expedition Medicine enthusiast. He's also a husband to 1, and father to 2, and a great annoyance to many.