Hats & Health

[Minnesota Marco]

I'm wondering if any FLers wear hats for health reasons. The reason that I bring this up is to mention that I, an epilepsy sufferer with photo-sensitivity issues, find that wearing wide-brimmed hats inside commercial buildings lessens the chance that I will experience a seizure. Fortunately I work from home, but I need to be careful in certain establishments (Target, Home Depot, some supermarkets) that have lighting that sometimes triggers seizures in me.

I prefer to wear Western or Western-hybrid hats. Most fedoras don't throw enough indoor shade my way. My Marine training (decades ago) and common hat etiquette conflict with wearing a hat indoors. The only alternative, other than avoiding said places altogether, is to wear prescription shades recommended by my ophthamologist. Yet wearing the tinted glasses, sans chapeau, makes me more self-conscious. Why? Dunno, other than the sense that strangers may think that I'm trying to act "Hollywood" or that some may suspect that I'm hiding bloodshot eyes like a typical pothead. (For the record, I smoke nothing stronger than a cigar.) I know that I shouldn't be concerned with what strangers think, but I guess it's just a minor hang-up of mine.

As for my epilepsy, my neurologist has come up with the right medication for me so that I can lead a pretty normal, seizure-free life. I was unable to drive for a couple of years until the MDs got things stabilized. But now I can go about, yet be mindful of certain triggers. My hats stay with me in public, while the shades remain in the car. I'm careful as to which restaurants I can dine in without wearing a lid.

Sorry for the longish post. I don't share this info so that anyone will feel sorry for me. I have a great life with a super wife. Any one in a similar boat as to hat-wearing?

 

[gtdean48]

I wear hats due to already have skin cancer removed from my face as well as I seem to get less sinusitis/sinus infections with regular hat wear...
Welcome to the Loung Marco...

 

[zetwal]

I'm wondering if any FLers wear hats for health reasons. The reason that I bring this up is to mention that I, an epilepsy sufferer with photo-sensitivity issues, find that wearing wide-brimmed hats inside commercial buildings lessens the chance that I will experience a seizure.

Interesting! I've never heard this before. But it does make sense. Thanks for sharing your experience with us here. And welcome to the Lounge! :yo:

 

[danofarlington]

I'm wondering if any FLers wear hats for health reasons. The reason that I bring this up is to mention that I, an epilepsy sufferer with photo-sensitivity issues, find that wearing wide-brimmed hats inside commercial buildings lessens the chance that I will experience a seizure. Fortunately I work from home, but I need to be careful in certain establishments (Target, Home Depot, some supermarkets) that have lighting that sometimes triggers seizures in me.

I prefer to wear Western or Western-hybrid hats. Most fedoras don't throw enough indoor shade my way. My Marine training (decades ago) and common hat etiquette conflict with wearing a hat indoors. The only alternative, other than avoiding said places altogether, is to wear prescription shades recommended by my ophthamologist. Yet wearing the tinted glasses, sans chapeau, makes me more self-conscious. Why? Dunno, other than the sense that strangers may think that I'm trying to act "Hollywood" or that some may suspect that I'm hiding bloodshot eyes like a typical pothead. (For the record, I smoke nothing stronger than a cigar.) I know that I shouldn't be concerned with what strangers think, but I guess it's just a minor hang-up of mine.

As for my epilepsy, my neurologist has come up with the right medication for me so that I can lead a pretty normal, seizure-free life. I was unable to drive for a couple of years until the MDs got things stabilized. But now I can go about, yet be mindful of certain triggers. My hats stay with me in public, while the shades remain in the car. I'm careful as to which restaurants I can dine in without wearing a lid.

Sorry for the longish post. I don't share this info so that anyone will feel sorry for me. I have a great life with a super wife. Any one in a similar boat as to hat-wearing?

That's a true challenge, I had not considered such a medical reason for hats before. I guess you just have to cultivate that thick skin and embrace a "not your business" attitude with the hats and the shades. The more solid reasons you have to do those things, the less anyone could disapprove, if they knew, which they don't need to.

 

[warbird]

I have worn hats for nearly 30 years. Brimmed hats that is, westerns and fedoras. For one thing I am very light sensitive. Bright light triggers migraines for me. i wear sunglasses anytime I go outside and a hat as well nearly all of the time.

I also had to have a birthmark removed from my face a number of years ago. My type of birthmark, even though removed for the most part, has a high incidence of cancer. So in order to protect my face from the sun I wear a hat.

 

[JimWagner]

Like others here I started wearing hats religiously after having a skin cancer removed from my forehead about 15 years ago. It's only since joining FL that I really started learning about the better hats out there, though.

 

[jlee562]

Akubra hats are actually rated for ultra violet protection:

http://www.akubra.com.au/products.html

Akubra Hats regularly and independently tests its fur felt hats for Ultraviolet Protection. Samples are sent to the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA), a Federal Government Agency. Akubra then receives an Ultraviolet Protection Factor Report and an Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) rating.

The UPF rating indicates how effective a fabric is at blocking out solar ultraviolet radiation. This testing is performed according to Australian/New Zealand standard AS/NZS 4399. UPF ratings range from 15 to 50 with higher ratings indicating more effective blocking and therefore better protection for the wearer of a garment made from the fabric. Fabrics that test higher than UPF 50 are rated as UPF 50+.

Akubra hats are currently rated at UPF 50+, and as such are classified as EXCELLENT under the UPF Classification System. This is the highest classification achievable under this system. This confirms the long held belief that Akubra hats provide(s) excellent protection from the sun for those who are outdoors, either at work or at leisure.

 

[SteveAS]

My ophthalmologist said she was glad to see me wearing a hat because it helps keep UV light from damaging the eyes over time. I knew they were good for protecting skin, but it hadn't previously occurred to me that eyes would also be damaged by UV light.

 

[1961MJS]

I wear hats due to already have skin cancer removed from my face as well as I seem to get less sinusitis/sinus infections with regular hat wear...
Welcome to the Loung Marco...

Hi Marco

No skin cancer yet, but I went to a "businessman's lunch baseball game" (noon game at the AA club) in Wichita. I wore a baseball cap, and did put sun block on my arms and the back of my neck. I didn't do the back of my ears, and when they peeled, I got a piece of skin the size of my right ear off, and another the same size as my left ear. I know it grossed me the heck out, I bought the Sunbody hat with a gus crease right after that. I didn't keep it wet, and sat on it, but I still wear it.
Later

 

[Cliffnopus]

Marco, instead of a hat, how about wearing a sunvisor. I have a Scala raffia sunvisor that I can wear anywhere; no problems with hat etiquette issues. Mine clamps to my head like a pair of sunglasses, others go completely around your head and attach via velcro or a strap.

Cliff

 

[Mobile Vulgus]

Never considered a hat for health reasons. Makes sense, of course, but I just like 'em.

 

[Minnesota Marco]

GtDean and JimW, Sorry to hear about the skin cancers. Hope all is well with you in that regard. I fear that we'll see many more cases down the road due to those tanning salons. I notice that many women in my frigid part of the country think they need to have a year-round tan. (A local clothes alteration shop offers cut-rate tanning; brides-to-be can get their gowns altered and work on their tan in the same place.)

When I was a kid I was a die-hard surfer in CA. Never wore hats, except when I attended an Angels game. Some days, when sitting on my board while waiting for the next "set," the sun would do a number on me. Hope I don't pay the price later on.

 

[Minnesota Marco]

Marco, instead of a hat, how about wearing a sunvisor. I have a Scala raffia sunvisor that I can wear anywhere; no problems with hat etiquette issues. Mine clamps to my head like a pair of sunglasses, others go completely around your head and attach via velcro or a strap.

Cliff

That's an idea, Cliff. Problem is, I can use the coverage a hat confers due to my bald pate. But you're right, the visor does skirt the indoor hat issue. Thanks.

 

[dwebber18]

I can understand your apprehension about wearing a hat indoors, but I think your condition precludes the etiquette for hats indoors. Given that most people that wear hats these days wear ball caps and do so wherever they please I think a proper fedora or western hat would not raise too many eyebrows as to the appropriateness of wearing it indoor. I wear my fedora indoors as well as a flat cap, its much easier to wear it while walking around a store than trying to hold it and shop. I do take it off when I'm seated at a restaurant of upon entering church, but I don't hold the mall in such high regard.

 

[EggHead]

I wear it for protection. From sun into eyes, on skin. Rain, cold. It does lessen my runny nose occasions - I think it's because the sweatband keeps warm the pockets above the eye brows (where nasal mucus generates).

 

[Corky]

I wear hats to primarily advance the cause of my MENTAL health. Any protection against the harmful rays of the sun is a bonus.

 

[scottyrocks]

Ive always worn hats, but as my age has advanced to the point of 'follicle-challengement,' I need something on my head to keep the sun off. I happen to love fedoras, so 1 + 1 = 2.

 

[Mr. Paladin]

Welcome Marco. I grew up on a ranch in West Texas and have fair skin which was constantly lobster-red from sunburn working outdoors. I have always worn hats in part because I routinely have skin cancers and pre-cancers cut off. My friends call it my weight-loss program. Now that my hair is getting thinner, I need to shade the "new territory" from the sun as well.

 

[Minnesota Marco]

Welcome Marco. I grew up on a ranch in West Texas and have fair skin which was constantly lobster-red from sunburn working outdoors. I have always worn hats in part because I routinely have skin cancers and pre-cancers cut off. My friends call it my weight-loss program. Now that my hair is getting thinner, I need to shade the "new territory" from the sun as well.

Hi Paladin: My wife, with olive skin and Mediterranean heritage, claims that I don't tan--I turn pink. What does she know? A couple of years ago we were in Chicago and a friend of ours took a photo of some building. In the shot was a person whose back was to the camera. When I saw the digital image later on I thought that the shirt the fellow was wearing looked very familiar; after a minute or so of looking at the picture did I realize that his chrome dome was mine! I was shocked at how bald I looked from the rear. Another reason to wear a proper hat.

 

[panamaJess]

I bought this Panama hat for my dad because of the Solarweave lining under the brim (UV protection). He's had some skin cancer removed around his temple. My dad doesn't like regularly applying sunscreen (blech, me neither), so I'm hoping wearing a hat over the summer will be enjoyable for him as well as protect his skin from further damage.