Tradies and outdoor workers: your skin takes the hit
If you work outside in Brisbane, your skin is doing overtime that office workers never see. Here is what that means and what to do about it.
The maths is not on your side
Outdoor workers receive several times more UV exposure than people who work indoors. Not a bit more. Several times more, day after day, year after year. UV damage is cumulative, which means every workday on a roof, a scaffold, a garden or a delivery run adds to a total that never resets. That total is what drives skin cancer risk later, and often not that much later.
Brisbane makes it worse
In southern states, outdoor work in winter comes with genuinely low UV. Not here. Brisbane UV stays high enough to damage skin essentially year round, so the exposure keeps accumulating even through the months that feel cool. We wrote more about that in our winter UV article.
Where it shows up
Skin cancers in outdoor workers cluster on the spots that cop sun every single day:
Get familiar with the three main types of skin cancer, because a sore that will not heal on your ear or a scaly patch on your forearm is exactly the kind of thing outdoor workers learn to ignore, and should not.
Protection that survives a work site
The one non negotiable
Regular full body skin checks. Found early, most skin cancers are very treatable, and outdoor workers are exactly the group where finding things early pays off most. The clinic is open Saturday mornings and there is free off street parking, so a check does not have to cost you work hours. Your doctor will tell you how often to come back based on your skin and your job.
This article is general information, not medical advice. If a spot on your skin is new, changing or will not heal, book an appointment with a doctor.
Your skin works as hard as you do
Full body skin checks in Bulimba, 15 to 30 minutes. Saturday appointments available, free parking on site.