Radioscope: Body Parts, RTÉ Radio 1, Tuesdays, 8pm
Body Parts is a new seven- part series which promises an insight into a range of body parts, how they work and tips on how to keep them healthy. Presented by Tina Leonard, the first programme explored the largest and least-appreciated organ in the body, the skin.
So, here are some things you may not have known about the membrane that keeps our insides in. Skin makes up roughly 16 per cent of our total body weight; if stretched end to end it would measure about 2m; and it uses 5-8 per cent of our metabolism maintaining its state of health.
One of the contributors, Dr Gillian Murphy, consultant dermatologist at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, explained in precise language just what a wonderful and complicated organ our skin is. She asked us to consider what happens when skin fails - as in the case of a burns victim or in someone who has a severe reaction to drugs. Once the skin is compromised, we lose vast quantities of fluids and chemicals that are vital to our survival.
Another interesting feature of skin is its ability to produce vitamin D. When ultraviolet B from the sun hits the skin, it produces a reaction whereby vitamin D is produced. In the average fair-skinned person, it takes five to 15 minutes' exposure to sunlight to produce more than the average daily requirement of this essential vitamin.
We can blame the tanning trend on Coco Chanel who, in the 1940s, returned from a cruise with a deep tan and started the trend for the barbecued look. And Dr Murphy's explanation of what happens to the skin when overexposed to sunlight should be compulsory listening for those not adverse to a spot of sun worshipping.
Tanned skin is damaged skin. A tan is the result of ultraviolet rays hitting the cellular DNA, the genetic material that tells cells how to behave. These rays are absorbed by the outer part of the skin, the epidermis, often resulting in skin cancer 20-30 years later.
About 76 per cent of the Irish population are classified as having type 1 or type 2 skin types. Type 1 are redheads with freckles who do not tan, while type 2 burn very easily and tan very poorly. Both types are most at risk of developing skin cancer due to overexposure to the sun. Black-skinned people are classified as type 6 and are genetically privileged so they do not burn.
And for all of you out there who still think sun beds are a safer alternative: think again. Sunbeds rely on ultraviolet A light which bypasses the epidermis and damages the deeper layer - the dermis. This in time leads to sagging, ageing and wrinkling of the skin and also to skin cancer. The added disadvantage of using these devices is that as UVA bypasses the epidermis, there is no warning burn to alert the user to the damage that is being done.
Grania Willis, an Irish Times journalist and the first Irish woman to scale Mount Everest from the northern side, spoke about the effects of frost bite and the risks of leaving any areas of skin exposed while climbing.
I look forward to catching the rest of the series over the coming weeks.
Marion Kerr is an occupational therapist.