As the days get longer and the temperatures get warmer, the lure of the outdoors begins to call to you. Whether your preference is gardening, hiking, biking or going to the beach, the spring and summer months are an excellent time to go out and soak up the sun’s rays.

However, it is important to remember that the sun’s rays aren’t exactly friendly to your skin. Too much sun on unprotected skin can lead to the following complications:

Skin

Sunburn

Almost everyone has gotten at least one bad sunburn during their lifetime. Not only can they be excruciatingly painful, they can also cause other complications such as dehydration, electrolyte loss (especially if you have a severe, blistering sunburn) and infection. Making matters worse, having several bad sunburns over your lifetime increases your risk of developing Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.

Premature Aging

Continued unprotected exposure to the sun can cause spotting of the skin, wrinkles, dryness and other signs of damage. UV radiation causes what’s called ‘photoaging’ (meaning skin aged by the sun) by altering how our skin cells make chemicals like Melanin. With continued unprotected exposure, the skin loses its ability to repair itself, as the radiation breaks down collagen and elastin in the skin and impairs the making of new collagen.

Skin Cancer

The World Health Organization has classified UVA and UVB radiation (what’s found in the sun’s rays) as ‘known to be carcinogenic to humans’. This means that too much exposure to the sun can actually give you cancer. Skin cancer generally presents itself in four main ways:

  • Actinic Keratoses (AK) – This is basically pre-skin cancer. It generally affects people in their 40’s due to years of exposure. Usually found on places that get a lot of exposure (head, neck, hands, forearms) it usually looks like dry and scaly patches or spots. Treatment is important, as AK can progress to Squamous Cell Carcinoma if left untreated.
  • Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) – The most common type of skin cancer, BCC appears after years of sun exposure or tanning. While it can occur in darker skin, BCC typically occurs in fair-skinned people. It looks like a flesh colored, pearl-like bump or pinkish patch on the skin. Commonly appearing on the head, neck and arms, it can also appear on the chest, abdomen or legs. Treatment is vital; BCC can invade surrounding tissues and grow into bone or nerves, causing disfigurement and other damage.
  • Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) – The second most common form of skin cancer, SCC also primarily develops in fair-skinned people despite affecting darker complexions as well. It usually looks like a firm red bump, scaly patch, or sore that heals and re-opens. Typically, SCC forms on places with a lot of sun exposure, such as the rims of the ears, tip of the nose, chest, arms and back. Like BCC, SCC can grow deeply into surrounding tissues and cause extensive damage, so it should be treated as promptly as possible.
  • Melanoma – Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer. It forms primarily from a pre-existing mole, or appears as a new mole or discolored patch on the skin. There are four types of Melanoma; all but one primarily affect the surface layers of skin before progressing more deeply as they grow. Thus, early diagnosis and treatment are important to ensure it doesn’t metastasize.

So before you pick up your beach towel, hiking boots or helmet, you might want to pick up the phone and call Rodriguez MD for a skin check-up — it will keep you enjoying the summer months for years to come.