Potential Causes of Oral Cancer Include Sun Exposure

In recent years, the focus on the sun has mostly shifted to its many positive benefits. After all, it has been proven that sunlight can help boost your mood, increase productivity, relieve stress, improve sleep, and give our body some much needed Vitamin D. However, most people seem to have forgotten how bad too much exposure to the sun can be for our general health and possibly one of the causes of oral cancer.

Most people know to avoid the sun too much or else risk getting a painful sunburn, an irritating skin rash, or in worse cases, skin cancer. Yet, most people don’t know that another reason to avoid the sun is that it can also cause oral cancer.

Oral Cancer and Oral Herpes

The exact causes of oral cancer remains unclear for now, but researchers have lined up certain lifestyle factors that can put someone at risk for it. This includes smoking tobacco of any kind, excessive alcohol consumption, unhealthy eating habits, as well as age. In particular, it’s been found out that oral cancers often occur in people over the age of 40, and that men are much more susceptible to it compared to women.

One lesser-known risk factor for oral cancer is too much exposure to the sun. In addition, it’s also linked to oral herpes.

Cold sores, otherwise known as fever blisters or oral herpes, are groups of fluid-filled blisters that form around the lips and may sometimes appear under the nose or around the chin. They are very contagious and can easily be confused with a cold or the flu, especially in children.

Once infected with herpes, the virus will stay in the body and occasionally reoccur in times of distress or when one feels emotionally upset. Allergies and fever can also lead to the blisters breaking out again. So too can too much exposure to sunlight.

What You Can Do About It

If you have oral herpes, the best thing you can do is to have prescription antiviral drugs ready all the time to help treat the viral infection and prevent it from getting worse. You can ask your dentist or physician about it for more information.

More importantly, however, is to actively try to prevent being exposed to the sun too much and too often. This is especially true for oral cancer, which is one of the most preventable types of cancer.

You can reduce your risk for another blister breakout and oral cancer by doing the following:

• Wearing caps or an umbrella when going outside during the day
• Try to stay inside in between 10 am and 2 pm as these are the times when the sun’s rays are usually the strongest
• Drink plenty of water, especially when it’s hot outside
• Try to limit your alcohol consumption
• Avoid smoking tobacco in any form
• Remove your dentures before you sleep and make sure that you keep it clean every day before wearing
• Eat a balanced and well-rounded diet composed of a steady dose of fruits and vegetables
• Wear an SPF lip balm whenever you’re out during the day

Another thing that you can do is to visit your dentist for regular checkups and cleaning where dentists will often take the opportunity to screen you for oral cancer and educate you on any questions you have about the causes of oral cancer, as well. Call for an appointment today with Greensboro Dentist Graham Farless, DDS at 336-282-2868. Learn more about the practice by visiting the website at https://gsodentist.com.