Alas, those of us in the upper decades of life knew little in our younger years about the risks of sun damage beyond the need to avoid a bad sunburn. Many youngsters like me swam, hiked, biked and played sports minimally clothed while the sun tanned or burned our skin. And many of us, myself included, failed to reach adulthood with sun-protective habits that could have prevented the skin damage now woefully apparent. “There’s been an increase in sun-protective habits and a resulting decrease in the development of skin cancer,” Dr. Marwaha said in an interview. Repeated exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet radiation causes most of the skin changes — wrinkles, age spots and tiny broken blood vessels — generally considered a normal result of aging.

Source: New York Times May 24, 2021 14:37 UTC