With summer almost here and the days approaching their longest, now is the time to be ready for the potential dangers of the sun.
Although the warm weather is a very pleasant thing to feel at first and can get us all to take off some layers of clothing, the importance of avoiding sunburn is huge.
Some aspects of that are obvious; getting burned is very painful, while in the longer run multiple burns can greatly increase the risk of skin cancer. Even a single instance of sunburn increases the chances of it, which means that if you have fair skin, it is vital to use a high-factor sun cream and cover up at times, especially at midday when the sun is high, as it is in June.
However, in between short-term pain and deadly long-term threats, there is also the issue that repeated excessive exposure can lead to other dermatological problems, causing faster skin ageing. Even if this does not cause cancer, it can still cause long-term damage.
If you have wrinkly or dry skin and want to see a dermatologist in Birmingham about it, you may find the sun has been a major factor in causing the issue.
There is extensive research to show this. For example, a scientific paper published in the US National Library of Medicine in 2015 stated: “Chronic exposure to UV irradiation causes an aged phenotype (photoaging) that is superimposed with ageing caused by the passage of time (chronological ageing).” This, it explained, meant skin regularly exposed to the sun will age faster.
If the sun or other factors have led to your skin suffering the effects of ageing, such as the loss of elasticity that causes wrinkles, a dermatologist can help ease the effects of these, such as with filler treatments.
However, it is important to take steps to look after your skin every day, which in summer means making sure that you protect it from the worst of the hot sun.
