Time for the Sun-and Skin and Eye Care

The connection between too much sun exposure and skin/eye health is clear, and it’s not good. One-third of Americans suffer from skin cancers, diseases, and disorders.¹ About 90% of nonmelanoma and about 86% of melanoma skin cancers are associated with exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun.^2,3 Sun exposure is also a factor in several eye conditions, such as cataracts, macular degeneration, and keratitis.⁴

As Americans are exposed to more sun over the next several months, they are more likely to develop related skin or eye health issues—and have questions about them. Fortunately, pharmacists are an accessible consumer resource on skin and eye health issues, regularly making product recommendations and guiding patients toward better health. To support pharmacists in these endeavors, Pharmacy Times provides this Skin & Eye Health issue with the latest information to help keep patients healthy. The OTC Focus feature gives advice on protecting the skin and eyes from the sun, the Rx Focus feature discusses tinea and Candida skin infections, and The Educated Patient^® on glaucoma provides information that could help preserve patients’ eyesight.

Interested in knowing which OTC skin and eye health products pharmacists recommend most often? Check out the 19th annual OTC Guide, which Pharmacy Times is producing in collaboration with U.S. News & World Report. Based on a survey of thousands of pharmacists, the in-print and online guide presents current data on the OTC brands pharmacists recommend most frequently as they counsel patients. The 2015 guide, which will publish in June, will include more than 160 therapeutic categories and other OTC product—related features and information.

Some of you may not be aware of the comprehensive online-only news coverage available at www.PharmacyTimes.com. One recent, popular feature is “The Clinical Core of the JNC 8 Guidelines” (http://bit.ly/1yWVZRu), which aggregates for the first time the 27 clinical trials on which the JNC 8 guidelines are based. Visit our website today and sign up for our daily e-news so you don’t miss these timely features.

For another hot topic, see “New Technologies Changing the Future of Health and Medicine” (http://bit.ly/1NBko0o), which highlights the keynote address by Daniel Kraft, MD, at this year’s American Pharmacists Association annual conference. Kraft emphasized that technology is on the cusp of shifting health care from episodic and reactive to proactive and continuous. Some new health care devices may even provide more targeted treatment than medications. Kraft notes that pharmacists should stay abreast of new technologies and adapt accordingly because “the future is coming faster than we think.” Pharmacy Times is here to help you do just that: see “Next IT Virtual Health Assistant: Engaging Patients and Improving Their Outcomes” in this issue’s Tech News.

Thank you for reading!

Mike Hennessy

Chairman and CEO

References

• American Skin Association website. www.americanskin.org. Accessed April 9, 2015.
• Koh HK, Geller AC, Miller DR, Grossbart TA, Lew RA. Prevention and early detection strategies for melanoma and skin cancer: current status. Arch Dermatol. 1996;132:436-442.
• Parkin DM, Mesher D, P Sasieni. Cancers attributable to solar (ultraviolet) radiation exposure in the UK in 2010. Br J Cancer. 2011;105:S66-S69.
• How sunlight damages the eyes. Skin Cancer Foundation website. www.skincancer.org/prevention/sun-protection/for-your-eyes/how-sunlight-damages-the-eyes. Accessed April 9, 2015.