WebMD Medical News Laura J. Martin, MD Nov. 8, 2011 -- Catch
them when they're young. That's the message at the heart of new
guidelines by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)
that call for pediatricians and primary care doctors to discuss
sun safety and skin cancer prevention with fair-skinned
children, adolescents, and young adults. The guidelines update
the group's 2003 recommendations, which stated that there was
not enough evidence to warrant such counseling for any age
group. After reviewing all studies published since that time,
the task force states that there seems to be some benefit to
counseling fair-skinned people in the 10- to 24-year-old group
on how to limit exposure to the sun's harmful rays. The message
is also best served when it focuses on how the sun's ultraviolet
rays can affect appearance, as opposed to skin cancer risk. Sun
exposure causes premature aging and wrinkles. The group says
that there is still not enough data to determine whether it
makes sense to counsel people ag