About How long in the Sun till I burn?

About

Lounging by the pool on holiday, trying to avoid the sun's harshest glare (I like the heat but not the direct sun!), I started browsing. I knew it was UV that gives you burns - that's on the back of the sun lotion - and now my smart watch told me the UV Index, but how did that relate to burn times? I found this paper and as the authors suggested I thought the results would make for a useful web app.

Contact

Thoughts or questions please email me: tinshinedesign at one before F mail. Thanks

UVI Index?

The Ultra Violet Index number is a method of describing in one number the strength of, sun-burn causing, UV radiation coming from the sun. It varies by location, season and local weather conditions and is widely available in weather forecast apps for your local area. Your smart phone or smart watch may be able to tell your current UVI level. More information can be found here.

Burn Types

• First-degree sunburn produces redness, swelling, pain and superfcial damage. These burns only afect the skin surface (epidermis) and cause minor tissue damage.
• Second-degree sunburn afects the top and underlying layers of skin (epidermis and dermis), causing blisters, pain, swelling and redness, which can require medical attention to deal with effectively.

Indicative

Whilst this app is based on published scientfic data the information given is for indicative purposes only. As described in the paper even individuals with the same skin type will react differently (hence the population stats). Additionally the actual UV radiation reaching an individual will depend on lots of things - cloud cover, accuracy of forecast, quality of shade etc. which are not taken into account.