Page 50 - RPA Magazine December 2020

48 RPA 2020 TRENDS IN REVIEW OUR TOP TRICKS AND TIPS OF 2020 By Emily Devon and Margaret Mielczarek. Throughout 2020 we’ve spoken with many insightful and brilliant people, who have generously provided their knowledge and time to help us (the journalist and the editor) pass on information about the latest trends in health and wellbeing, beauty and pharmacy. Here’s a roundup of what surprised us, or the most interesting tips and tricks we uncovered while delivering Retail Pharmacy Assistants magazine in 2020. EMILY DEVON, JOURNALIST, RETAIL PHARMACY ASSISTANTS How harmful air pollution is to skin (RPA April: Beauty Buzz, pages 66-67) This feature was originally inspired by Australia’s bushfires devastating the land and many lives. Due to large amounts of air pollution from the smoke, people were being advised to stay indoors. I wondered, how affected would the skin be? A lot, it turns out. I spoke with Melbourne dermatologist Dr Adam Sheridan, who said: “Particulate matter may have direct negative impact on the skin through oxidative damage and may also have local mechanical effects such as irritation and occlusion of sebaceous glands. “Basically, any form of airborne allergens, such as house dust, grasses and pollens, cigarette and vape smoke, etc \\\\\\\[can damage skin\\\\\\\].” Living with asthma doesn’t mean less exercise is required (RPA April: Body & Soul, pages 69-69) I began writing this feature with the mindset that those with asthma are unable to participate in as many physical activities. This was absolutely proven not to be the case. I spoke with registered nurse Marg Gordon, Asthma and Respiratory Educator at National Asthma Council Australia, who said: “The triggers for asthma are different for each person. Exercise isn’t a trigger for everyone with asthma, but people may worry that exercise will cause a flare-up of symptoms.” Clean beauty products are a huge trend but not all are very ‘clean’ (RPA June: Beauty Buzz, pages 54-55) While discussing which ingredients are not classified as ‘clean’, pharmacy assistant Bradley Miller said: “All these ingredients can cause hormone imbalances, disrupt healthy skin products and eliminate the skin’s ability to eliminate toxins, therefore increasing the likelihood of acne and other disorders.” Heart disease is Australia’s single biggest killer, and food has a lot to do with it (RPA July: Body & Soul, pages 66-67) I participated in the Heart Foundation’s ‘Cook with Heart’ challenge – to make dishes from a range of heart- health recipes. I spoke with the Foundation’s dietitian, Sian Armstrong, who said: “If Australians ate the recommended daily intake of vegetables, it would reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke by about 16.6 per cent and save $1.4 billion in health spending.” Fake tan doesn’t prevent your skin from being burnt (RPA May: Skin Fix, pages 58-59) Not one of my brightest thoughts, but I did think that because I didn’t go red from being in the sun with a fake tan on, that I wouldn’t be sunburnt. This is not only untrue, but also very dangerous. Mohs surgeon and dermatologist Dr Eleni Yiasemides said: “They \\\\\\\[fake tans\\\\\\\] have no sunscreen ability, and they don’t protect the skin from getting burnt or damaged from UV exposure.” RETAIL PHARMACY ASSISTANTS • DEC 2020