The hot summer days are in full swing which means more time spent outside — traveling, grilling out, pool time, etc. While enjoying all the outside summer fun activities keep in mind healthy exposure to sunlight can have positive effects as long as you are taking measures to protect your eyes and skin from the sun’s harmful UV rays.
Why Protect Yourself:
- Applying sunscreen daily protects your skin from UV rays which helps lower your risk of skin cancer, helps prevent premature aging of the skin, and helps maintain an even skin tone.
- Wearing UV-blocking sunglasses help prevent various eye conditions caused by UV rays/radiation like cataracts, eye cancers, and growths on the eye.
Stretch Your Summer Funds:
Help stretch your summer funds by using your flexible spending account (FSA) to cover many of the purchases needed to help protect yourself from the harmful UV rays with tax-free funds. Check out the list below of just a few items covered by your FSA to help make the most of your summer fun and your FSA.
- Prescription Sunglasses – Prescription sunglasses that block most or all of UV-A and UV-B radiation thus offer a variety of health benefits.
- Sunscreen– The good news is that using SPF 15 or higher sunscreen on a daily basis reduces the risk of developing melanoma by 50 percent, as noted by the Skin Cancer Foundation.
- Aloe vera and other sunburn treatments – If the sun’s ultraviolet rays have your skin looking red and feeling hot (in a bad way), you may want to seek out aloe vera creams and gels, calamine lotion, or other sunburn creams or ointments of choice.
- Motion Sickness Treatment – Research has found about 33 percent of people are susceptible to motion sickness even in mild circumstances such as being on a boat in calm water, and nearly 66 percent of people are susceptible in more severe conditions. Your FSA can be used to buy a variety of motion sickness treatments.
- First Aid – While you cannot prepare for everything, you can be more prepared by making sure you have a pre-made first aid kit and you’re stocked up on bandages, tape, gauze, wound care items, insect bite cream, and ice packs – all of which are eligible for FSA reimbursement.
- Antacids – Find relief from grill time heartburn by using antacids.
You can find a full list of FSA-eligible products by visiting the Office of State Human Resources’ FSA Eligibility List at https://oshr.nc.gov/media/3439/open or by visiting the FSA store online to search for eligible items and make qualifying purchases.