UV Ray Protection: How Tinted Windows Can Protect Your Health
Are you looking for more UV ray protection for yourself and your family? Let's go through how tinted windows can help you out today.
You're bombarded with ultraviolet (UV) rays basically every day of your life. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as occasional exposure to these rays is good for you. It only really becomes bad if you're exposed excessively.
Unfortunately, most Americans misunderstand what "exposed excessively" really means. If you're getting sunburned at all, that counts as excessive. It isn't just when you're getting extremely serious burns.
On some level, you're probably familiar with the need for UV ray protection. For instance, you know that you're supposed to wear sunscreen if you'll be out during a sunny day. Sunscreen helps protect you from the harmful effects of excessive UV rays.
What you might not realize is that UV rays can also do you harm during everyday activities like driving. Read on to learn the specifics of how these rays can hurt you and some ways in which tinted windows can help keep you safe.
The Risks of UV Ray Exposure
It has been known for quite some time that excessive exposure to UV rays carries quite a number of health risks. Skin cancer is among the worst of potential side effects.
To put the severity of this risk in perspective, one American dies every hour from skin cancer. Even if you survive, the associated expenses to both your body and wallet are sure to have a long-lasting impact on you and your family.
Worse, skin cancer isn't the only potential harmful effect of UV rays.
On the more mild end, UV exposure can cause sunburn. Don't make the mistake of thinking you can't get sunburn just because it's cold or you are in a car. If the sun is out and able to shine on you, you can get burned if you're unprepared.
UV rays have also been shown to cause premature aging of the skin, a weakened immune system, and cataracts.
Natural UV light is most powerful around 10 am and 4 pm due to the position of the sun in the sky. You should also keep in mind other sources of UV light, such as tanning beds, are also just as (if not more) dangerous.
A simple rule of thumb is that if it's sunny, you should protect yourself against UV rays. This goes double if you'll be out for long. Remember that if you're getting sunburned, you're also being damaged by UV rays and need to better protect yourself.
UV Ray Protection and Your Car
Under the worst conditions, it takes less than fifteen minutes to get sunburned. If you're driving for an hour or two on a sunny day, it is very possible anyone in the car could be burned. (If the roof is open, you may as well be literally be standing outside in the open.)
It's easy to shrug off getting sunburned but it literally means your skin was damaged by solar radiation. Even minor sunburns, over time, can cause cancer. It is especially important to protect children, as they're at an increased risk of developing melanoma from sun damage.
We've briefly touched on how tinted windows can help your driving experience in previous articles but some things bear repeating. Tinted windows can help protect you and your passengers from solar rays. This protection will be even better combined with other measures, like sunscreen!
Indoor UV Protection
Tinted windows can help with heating costs in hot climates, but did you know they also help protect your skin?
We don't often imagine the sun damaging us while we're in our homes but it's still possible. If you have areas of your house with multiple windows, it may be possible you're getting more sun than you realize.
Being inside doesn't suddenly protect you from the sun. If you're getting hit by sunlight, you're getting hit by sunlight. That's all it takes to possibly get hurt by UV rays.
Unless you're living in a greenhouse or sunroom, sunscreen probably won't be necessary in these cases. However, tinted windows could help keep your skin and eyes safe. Even if exposure isn't extreme, it can still do damage over time if you aren't careful.
Tinted home windows come with other benefits too. Besides keeping the house cooler, tinting also can help your home be more private. Beyond initial cost, there are basically no downsides to tinting your home windows so long as you're sure to hire professionals.
Keep Safe Under the Sun
We have a lot to thank the sun for but we can't ignore its dangers. It gives off several types of dangerous radiation (and it's even worse if you happen to be an astronaut in space)! Luckily, it also isn't very hard to protect yourself if you're careful.
Window tinting is an easy way to get consistent protection from the sun. Once you have your windows tinted, it means you'll have some UV ray protection you don't even have to think about. With basically zero drawbacks, there is little reason to delay.
This is all not to mention window tinting is more generally beneficial too. Our blog is full of content going over the many ways tinting can help improve your life. We're constantly updating it with new articles too, so check it out periodically!
If you decide you want to make a car or building safer, contact us at Window Kote of Largo. Our experts make installation easy (and at a competitive cost). We'd love to help you out and can even provide free estimates!
