Sillyfrog's Blog

After 28 years on the road veteran trucker Bill McElligott’s face shows the staggering effects of prolonged exposure to the sun.

While the right side of his face looks his age (69), the left side is wrinkled and sagging from years of sun damage through the window of his truck.

The patient reported that he had driven a delivery truck for 28 years.

Ultraviolet A (UVA) rays transmit through window glass, penetrating the epidermis and upper layers of dermis. Chronic UVA exposure can result in thickening of the epidermis and stratum corneum, as well as destruction of elastic fibers.

This photoaging effect of UVA is contrasted with photocarcinogenesis

 Although exposure to ultraviolet B (UVB) rays is linked to a higher rate of photocarcinogenesis, UVA has also been shown to induce substantial DNA mutations and direct toxicity, leading to the formation of skin cancer.

The use of sun protection and…