Davis Instruments 6152C manual Skin Phototype Skin Color Tanning & Sunburn history, UV MEDs

UV MEDs

MED (Minimum Erythemal Dose) is defined as the amount of sunlight exposure neces- sary to induce a barely perceptible redness of the skin within 24 hours after sun expo- sure. In other words, exposure to 1 MED will result in a reddening of the skin. Because different skin types burn at different rates, 1 MED for persons with very dark skin is different from 1 MED for persons with very light skin.

Both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Environment Canada have developed skin type categories correlating characteristics of skin with rates of sunburn.

TABLE A-1: EPA SKIN PHOTOTYPES

Skin Phototype	Skin Color	Tanning & Sunburn history
1 - Never tans,	Pale or milky white;	Develops red sunburn; painful swelling,
always burns	alabaster	skin peels
2 - Sometimes tans,	Very light brown;	Usually burns, pinkish or red coloring
		appears; can gradually develop light
usually burns	sometimes freckles
		brown tan
3 - Usually tans,	Light tan; brown, or	Rarely burns; shows moderately rapid
	olive; distinctly
sometimes burns		tanning response
	pigmented
4 - Always tans;	Brown, dark brown, or	Rarely burns; shows very rapid tanning
rarely burns	black	response

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