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Excessive sun-exposure can lead to loss of moisture from the skin, dark patches and even premature aging. The skin needs physical protection against harmful rays which is provided by sunscreens. A few tips on buying and using sunscreen lotions:

• A good sunscreen should provide protection against the sun's UVA and UVB rays.
• Check the SPF or Sun Protection Factor on the label. This is denoted by a number and is related to duration of sun-exposure. If your skin is more sensitive, choose a sunscreen with SPF of 20 and above.
• Apply the sunscreen about 20 minutes before sun-exposure. This gives the skin time to absorb it.

The sun and your skin
These lectures are not meant to replace your physician and are simply provided as a free educational service to all our visitors. If you feel that you have a skin problem, please see your doctor.

The effect of sunlight over the years is to weather or to prematurely age the skin. While the brown splotches, thinning, wrinkling, drying, and exposure of many prominent tiny blood vessels at the surface in these sun exposed areas are of primarily cosmetic importance, certain scaling red spots, called ACTINIC KERATOSIS, are in some cases, of more serious significance.

When an area of sun damaged skin forms a skin cancer (such as a BASAL CELL OR SQUAMOUS CELL SKIN CANCER),



RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TREATMENT OF SUN DAMAGED SKIN
1. A patient with sun damaged skin should visit his or her clinician at least once a year for a thorough examination of the skin in light exposed areas.
2. A patient who has had a skin cancer with a sun damaged skin should keep all follow-up visits until the cancer is pronounced cured.

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