The Health Film

The Health “Film”

Life through a film. This is Dr. Steven Andrew Davis, Speaking of Health. Ultraviolet of UV rays – we get them even on a cloudy day. And those same UV rays can also penetrate window glass, exposing us for a lifetime of potentially damaging rays.

New York’s Skin Cancer Foundation cites progress in reversing that impact. Widely available now are UV-protective films which block out up to 99.9 percent of the UV rays while allowing 30 to 80 percent of the visible light through. These films are available for car windows and now also available for installation in homes and offices.

Why bother with UV-blocking films inside your home or office? Because multiple brief daily exposures to UV rays “accelerate skin again and multiply skin cancer risks. Protective films, on the other hand, can (help) protect against eye cataracts and macular degeneration, and protect suffering from dangerous photosensitivity diseases “such as xeroderma pigmentosum and lupus.” There’s a practical side to this too. Tinted windows can reduce air conditioning expenses in the summer, reduce heating expenses in the winter, and “keep sunshine from fading fabrics and furnishings.” The new “safety” films also “help hold residential and commercial glass in place if shattered.”

The cutaneous benefits of window tints – they’re clear. Well, almost. For a copy of this script, access our web site, www.speakingofhealth.com. Speaking of Health, I’m Dr. Steven Andrew Davis for CBS News.

Ref: Sun & Skin News. The Skin Cancer Foundation. Vol 21, No. 1, 2004.