SUMMARY
- Your skin may show signs of too much sun right after sun exposure or later in life.
- Signs can include sunburn, dryness, swelling, and new skin spots like moles and freckles.
- After sun damage, protect your vulnerable areas and perform skin self-exams regularly.
Summer is celebrated for its longer days and outdoor fun in the sun. But the increased sun exposure, although positive for its mood boosting vitamin D levels, can also damage your skin over time. When damage occurs, your skin signals when it’s had too much sun in ways ranging from the obvious (like sunburn) to more subtle changes that may surface down the line.
Signs You’ve Had Too Much Sun
Tans and sunburn are two of the first ways your skin may tell you it’s had too much sun. Both indicate your skin has been damaged by the sun, and every single instance of each increases your lifelong risk of skin cancer.
Aside from these changes, your skin might show signs such as:
- being hot or painful to touch,
- redness,
- dryness or cracks, and
- swelling.
As your body tries to remove the damaged skin cells later, you might also experience blisters and peeling.
Sun Damage Over Time
When evaluating your sun exposure, it’s important to consider that damage to your skin is cumulative and can begin at a very young age. Childhood signs of sun exposure may be the appearance of new spots, moles and even freckles. With additional sun exposure, these growths may change, bleed or itch—signs you’re getting too much sun without proper protection.
And as you age, a lifetime of sun damage may appear as:
- leathery/premature wrinkled skin
- red, spidery veins around your nose and cheeks
- blotchy or mottled skin, with dark and light patches
Steps to Take After Damage
After short-term sun damage, your body will try to repair itself but can use your help. For sunburn, cool the skin and reduce inflammation by using a cool compress and increase your hydration. Take extra care to protect your healing skin from further sun damage by wearing UV-resistant clothing and sunglasses, avoiding the sun during peak UV index times (10 a.m. – 4 p.m.), and applying sunscreen frequently. In fact, a new bemotrizinol sunscreen is coming to the U.S. soon that many dermatologists consider to be more effective at blocking both UVA and UVB rays and to be better at offering protection throughout the day.
If your skin can’t repair itself, damage over time may lead to cancerous cells that produce growths, so it’s recommended you perform skin self-exams regularly.
The first time you perform an exam, make sure to carefully observe the appearance of all moles, blemishes, freckles, and other marks on your skin so that you can recognize future changes.
According to the American Cancer Society, things to note may be:
- A spot on your skin that’s new or changing in size, shape or color
- A sore that bleeds and/or doesn’t heal after several weeks
- A skin patch that is rough, scaly, red, crusts or bleeds
- A wart-like growth
- A mole with an odd shape, irregular borders or areas of different colors
For specific steps on how to perform a skin self-exam, visit www.dgaplans.org/skin-exams. If you notice any concerning areas, you should see a doctor, who may refer you to a dermatologist. The Health Plan’s network and non-network schedule of benefits will apply to these visits.
