By Dalal Akoury, MD Act Now Exercise for skincare Facelift Facial skin Family meals Fitness programs Healthy Aging Healthy lifestyle Healthy living Healthy skin workout Skin health Skin workout Sun rays Sunshine March 9, 2017

Excess sunlight exposer and skin cancer: Melanin

Melanin is the colour pigment of our skins. When skin experiences excess sunlight exposer, more melanin is produced to help protect the skin against the UV rays. This makes the skin darker what people refer to as a suntan. Form the expert’s desk, doctor Dalal Akoury MD President and founder of AWAREmed health and wellness resource center, explains that, although melanin stops your skin burning so easily, it does not prevent the harmful effects of UV rays. Most skin cancers are caused by too much exposure to the sun including:

The non-melanoma type of skin cancer
The melanoma type of skin cancer

Non melanoma skin cancers include basal cell carcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas. Sun damage can also cause other skin problems to develop. For example, it can cause premature skin ageing, such as wrinkles and loss of elasticity. It can also cause non-cancerous growths on the skin, such as solar keratosis

Excess sunlight exposer and skin cancer: Who is at risk of skin cancer?

People of all ages should protect their skin, but it is even more vital to protect children. Although skin cancer is rare in children, the amount of sun exposure during childhood is said to increase the risk of developing skin cancer in adult life. Children who have had episodes of sunburn are more likely to develop skin cancers in later life. The skin of children is more delicate and more prone to damage. Therefore, take extra care with children, and keep babies out of the sun completely.

If you have pale skin, red or fair hair, and freckles, you have the type of skin which burns most easily. This puts you at increased risk of sun-related skin damage and you should take extra care to protect your skin NEVER allow yourself to burn. If you have pale skin, you do not have as much protective melanin. Skin cancers, especially melanoma, are less common in non-white skin types. However, they can still occur, and sun protection is still important. Other factors which can put you at higher risk of developing skin cancer are:

Having lots of moles.
Having a history of a skin cancer of any type.
Someone in your family having a history of skin cancer.
Having albino skin. This is very white skin which has no melanin at all.
Having vitiligo. This is patches of very white skin with no melanin.
Scars on your skin from burns or ulcers.
A weakened immune system (being immuno-suppressed.) This can be from an illness such as HIV or AIDS, or from certain medication which affects the immune system.
A job which involves you being outdoors most of the time.
Living in a hot country, particularly if you have naturally pale skin.

Finally, nobody wants to have a rough and unpleasing skin texture. Because this is everyone’s’ desire, we must all pool together to ensure that we are safe from the scathing attacks by excess sunlight exposer. Scheduling an appointment with the expert’s at AWAREmed health and wellness resource center should be your starting point. Make the right decision and enjoy your everyday life with doctor Akoury’s professionalism.