7 surprising ways you are getting sun exposure:- Have you ever wondered, “Why do I look older than I feel?” when you gazed in the mirror? In actuality, your skin’s appearance can be more influenced by how much sun exposure you’ve had than by the number of birthdays you’ve celebrated there. “When they learn that most of these symptoms are caused by sun damage, my patients are frequently taken aback.”
7 surprising ways you are getting sun exposure
You are well aware that exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun can cause skin cancer and that the greatest defense against it is to protect your skin. It’s never too late to start protecting your skin from the sun if you want to keep it looking fresh. However, what if the damage was already done when you were a child and didn’t know any better, or when you had to work outside, or when you believed that a deep, dark tan would make you appear better for a particular occasion?
1. Wrinkles
I inform my patients that cumulative sun damage is the true cause of over 90% of wrinkles that come with aging. Your skin is firm, supple, and robust because of the proteins called collagen and elastin, but sun exposure can destroy these proteins due to UV radiation.
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Wrinkles are a natural result of prolonged sun damage, which dermatologists refer to as “photoaging.” Consider this: We don’t see many wrinkles on skin that isn’t exposed to the sun, such the breasts, buttocks, or other regions. The sun is a major factor in the tendency for exposed skin to get more wrinkled.
2. Venous breakage:
Have you noticed the red veins that like spiders around your cheeks and nose? Yes, being exposed to UV light is what causes them. It is inaccurate to refer to someone’s “broken” blood arteries as such. A damaged blood vessel would bleed into the skin, resulting in bruises.
These vessels are actually larger. They’re “broken” because they’re not completing their proper functions, which include flowing blood from one place to another and remaining taut and invisible.
Blood vessels are generally kept taut by elastin fibers. However, those fibers lose their ability to hold the vessels in place and maintain them when they are broken down by sun exposure.
3. Brown Areas:
Whenever one of my patients tells me they’ve always had freckles or brown spots, I gently remind them they haven’t. It is what it is. “No, you weren’t,” I respond to a patient who says, “Well, my mother said I was born with them.” You got freckles for the first time when your mother took you outside and exposed your skin to the sun.
Dermatologists refer to larger tan spots as “solar lentigos” and freckles as “ephelides.” Although they are related to sun exposure rather than age, they are commonly referred to as “age spots” by most people. They can occasionally combine to form large brown spots, which are not the same as scaly lesions known as keratoses or pigmented brown birthmarks.
4. Excessive pigmentation:
Patients frequently report having blotchy or mottled skin that shows both dark and light spots. Occasionally, red discoloration may also be visible. This is not a sign of an underlying medical disease; rather, it is a typical cosmetic concern.
Sun exposure is a common cause of skin irritation, which can lead to hyperpigmentation. Many people seek treatment for skin blotchiness and hyperpigmentation. The majority of patients are unaware that long-term sun exposure is the cause of the dark discoloration.
Many may have tried over-the-counter skin lightening solutions, which frequently exacerbate inflammation and skin irritation and cause further pigmentation.
Facial skin, which frequently experiences accidental sun exposure, has been better shielded from the sun thanks to the widespread use of masks during the pandemic.
5. Melasma
Melasma is characterized by dark spots on sun-exposed facial skin, especially on the cheekbones. Using a protective face mask has also been helpful in reducing the appearance of these patches.
Although melasma can be made worse by hormones like estrogen, frequent or prolonged sun exposure causes inflammation of the skin, which is what causes melasma to occur.
6. Blackheads:
We are referring to groups of blackheads that develop on the cheeks and temples as a result of skin suppleness being compromised by prolonged sun exposure, not blackheads linked to acne.
Skin pores and fissures increase due to the breakdown of elastin fibers, trapping dirt that turns black inside. Favre-Racouchot syndrome is a disorder that primarily affects middle-aged males who have previously had a history of significant sun exposure.
7. An erect neck
This is not the same as recently being exposed to the sun and developing an intense burn. Poikiloderma is a chronic red (and frequently splotchy or net-like) discoloration across the middle chest and lateral sides of the neck.
Due to the prolonged exposure of those areas to UV light, those who spend a lot of time outside, such as gardeners, construction workers, truck drivers, and sports, are more susceptible to this illness. Exposed skin on the neck and chest develops swollen blood vessels that give the skin a permanent red appearance.
It’s interesting to note that the shadow the chin casts on the front of the neck, protecting it from the sun, often leaves the skin behind the chin unharmed.
