Dr. Jennifer Gordon, a dermatologist from UT Southwestern, submitted a fascinating case study to the New England Journal of Medicine about Bill McElligott, a 66-year-old who has been driving a truck for the last 30 years. After delivering milk to stores around Chicago almost every day from 6 A.M. to 3 P.M., McElligott now looks like he's two different ages. The right side of his face, which mostly stayed out of the sun, is 66. But the left side of his face, which was constantly touched by the sun, is 86. You must take a look at his startling photo here.
McElligott has unilateral dermatoheliosis, caused by repeated, long-term exposure to UVA rays of the sun (which Gordon says can easily go through a car's glass and cause the most damage): “It (UVA) can penetrate more deeply into the skin than UVB and affect your collagen and elasticity. When you destroy those that’s what gives you the aging appearance that we see," she says.
Sunblock! Sunblock! Sunblock! Every day. McElligott's case serves as an important reminder for that--even for himself. He says he wears it every day now, and carries it with him just in case. He also plans on having the older side of his face treated so that it looks like the younger side, saying: "That way my grandkids will quit asking me, 'what are these bumps, grandpa?'"
If this doesn't make you want to wear sunscreen daily, I don't know what will!
No comments:
Post a Comment