Does sunscreen cause skin cancer? Web searches for 'anti-sunscreen movement' misinformation spike 3,900%, and more health questions Canadians asked

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The internet is a treasure trove of information — especially when it comes to our health. Canadians go online every day in search of answers to their most pressing health concerns, or to gain more insight into what’s happening in the world.

This week, Canadians were on the hunt to learn more about sun safety, or rather the lack of sun safety, with web searches for the “anti-sunscreen movement” up 3,900 per cent this week.

What is the anti-sunscreen movement?

A host of misinformation online could be putting people at risk for developing potentially life-threatening skin cancers. Since summer 2023, “anti-sunscreen movement” has been gaining traction on social media platforms like TikTok, with unqualified content creators claiming sunscreen contains cancer-causing chemicals or that sunscreen actually “damages” your skin.

The movement has caused alarm with dermatologists who reiterate there is no evidence to support claims that wearing sunscreen causes cancer. However, there is data confirming UV rays damage the skin’s DNA molecules, which can cause cancer.

“People forget what the alternative is. It's that people die from skin cancers induced by sun damage all the time,” Dr. Harvey Lui, a dermatologist and professor of dermatology and skin science at the University of British Columbia told CTV News.

What is Rocky Mountain spotted fever?

This week, web searches for Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) spiked by 1,100 per cent after a Tennessee pet hospital reported two separate cases of dogs infected by the tick-borne illness.

RMSF is a potentially life-threatening bacterial infection spread through the bite of a Rocky Mountain wood tick or the American dog tick. RMSF can occur in both North and South America, but it's the most prevalent in the United States, where there are approximately 250 to 1,200 cases per year.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, symptoms of RMSF typically appear two to 14 days after a person is infected with Rickettsia rickettsii bacteria. The symptoms begin much like the flu: High fever, headache, nausea and vomiting, lack of appetite, muscle pain, stomach pain and sensitivity to light.

There’s also a rash that begins at the ankles and wrists and spreads to other areas of the body and looks like red spots. Symptoms progress to include confusion, shortness of breath, seizures, numbness and anxiety. Complications can occur, including sepsis, brain inflammation, acute respiratory distress syndrome, necrosis (which could require amputation) and loss of bladder control.

Some people may not know they were bitten by a tick and may not think to inform their doctors. Although there are blood tests to diagnose RMSF, results take time. Health-care providers can make a clinical diagnosis and prescribe antibiotics while waiting for blood work results.

Protect yourself by wearing bug spray that contains DEET or Icaridin outdoors. When hiking, wear long-sleeve clothing and pants you can tuck into your socks to prevent ticks from biting your skin. Avoid walking in long grass, opting to stay in the middle of the path away from plants.

When you return indoors, check yourself thoroughly for ticks, including your scalp. Put any clothes you might have worn in the dryer for 10 minutes to kill any ticks that may have attached to them. In addition keep your grass at home cut so it doesn’t attract ticks, and keep your pets up-to-date on their tick and flea medication to also protect them.

Do tattoos cause cancer?

Tatted Canadians were in search of answers to one burning question: Are tattoos linked to lymphoma? Web searches for a new study caused a 1,100 per cent increase in online searches for a possible connection between tattoos and cancer.

A Swedish study recently made headlines for reporting an association between people with tattoos and lymphoma. Researchers from Lund University recently published a study that found the risk of malignant lymphoma was 21 per cent higher for people with tattoos. The study suggested the number of tattoos a person had didn’t result in a higher cancer risk.

“We do not yet know why this was the case. One can only speculate that a tattoo, regardless of size, triggers a low-grade inflammation in the body, which in turn can trigger cancer,” co-author Christel Nielsen, an associate professor in the division of occupational and environmental medicine at Lund University, said in a news release. “The picture is thus more complex than we initially thought.”

The study’s authors speculated if the issue is with tattoo ink, but ultimately, more research is needed. The study has earned criticism from experts who told CNN the study is "overstating" its results and “getting people very nervous.”

“I would say the message here should be, we really didn’t learn a lot about whether tattoos are associated with cancer with this, and if I had to make a conclusion, I would say the data suggests there is no association,” Dr. Timothy Rebbeck, an epidemiologist with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, told CNN.

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