Sun damage...

[CharlesT]

Sounds a bit bizarre really (with ref to Scotland) but 40+ years hillwalking and being exposed to the elements has, apparently, led to some serious UV damage to my head/nose/ears.....take care folks and have each lumpy bit checked - I am on a two week skin cancer referral so fingers crossed

Best of luck with the outcome.
Some UV protection is advisable at all times in the hills and outdoors generally, not just when it's sunny. Having received the b******ing of a lifetime from a lady doctor at a company medical with respect to my Caribbean holiday tan some years ago, I now cover up and use SPF50 cream on the exposed bits and wouldn't be without my Tilley hat. Being as bald as a coot and blessed with a prominent proboscis it's only sensible.

[mynthdd2]

Once again thanks everyone - meanwhile, a Tilley hat eh? Maybe its a good idea albeit a bit late! I should really have bought hats/shirts etc that are UV 'protectors' as a lot of stuff simply doesn't stop UV.

I think Craghoppers do some kit that is UV safe?

PS a very Merry Christmas to one and all - Keep Calm and Carry On (starring Kenneth Williams et al)

[simon-b]

Tilley hats are good, they last, and the wind cord really does stop the hat getting blown off. And they generally come in ideal colour: light on top to reflect sunlight, but darker under the brim to stop sunlight from snow and water being reflected from the brim into your eyes and face. Nylon ones probably better than cotton for active wear.

[BigTed]

On the busier mountains Nevis, Lomond etc there would be a risk of catching covid and it does not matter if your vaccinated or not you can still be a carrier showing no symptoms and it certainly does not matter whither you are rich or poor.

I think for practical purposes the chances of catching Covid from fellow hillwalkers is zero.

For comparison my brother was up from England in September for a long weekend. On the Saturday he went to the football at Parkhead. A full house.. He went to crowded football pubs before and after the game. Busy noisy pubs where it is necessary to lean in close and shout to be heard.On the Monday we had a family pub lunch. Around 12 of us around the same table for 2 hours. Tuesday he drove home. Wednesday symptoms showed. Thursday positive test. Family informed.

We all got tested. Nobody else in the pub had caught it. Even his wife and daughter who shared a car back to Cheltenham and a house with him did not catch it.

Since the start of this thing, every day a work, I have shared a car with different GPs doing house visits, often to Covid patients. I have never had any symptoms or tested positive despite some of the doctors I have worked with at various times catching it.

I think any risk from a few seconds within a metre or two of other hillwalkers is zero

But don't take my word.

"fleeting outdoor interactions, like passing someone on the street or on a bike path, carries negligible risk."

https://medical.mit.edu/covid-19-updates/2021/08/how-safe-outdoor-activities.

[RocksRock]

I was referring to what is happening "down here" viz London now; Omicron is raging. Even a very short contact is all that seems to be needed. Crowds are to be avoided, indoors or out; public transport avoided etc. Too many folk are still thinking it cannot touch them...it is getting them too. Unvaccinated are those ending up in ITU. Even boosted folk are catching it, mildly, but getting it and spreading it 'cos they may not realise they have it.

Infection rates in the borough where I live are in excess of 3,000 cases per 100,000 people, in the week to Dec 20th. Emergency services are stretched cos of staff illness and isolating after contacts; ditto NHS, public transport, infrastructure and so forth.

We have seen nothing like this anywhere else in UK so far.........I hope we don't but the science says you likely will. This is why Scotland, Wales and NI are being cautious.

[CharlesT]

If someone could enlighten me on what Covid has to do with sun damage I would be grateful.

[Caberfeidh]

If someone could enlighten me on what Covid has to do with sun damage I would be grateful.

It's all that 5G, Contrails, the Space Aliens and the KGB, innit? Whilst working as a vaccinator (you can buy me pints in gratitude when the pubs open properly!) I was accused of working for the government and gathering a bloke's DNA for them. Dunno what he thought they wanted Idiot DNA for. It's not like they need to clone idiots due a shortage of them in government... Anyway: Vaccination Good, Sun Damage Bad.

Vaccinator faces Covid, depicted as ravening Dragon as in ancient myth and legend...