The Effects of the Sun on You

Its summer now and its hot so we all head outside and relax. A lot of people have to work through the heat and the sun and some of us lay out and enjoy it. The bad thing is that a lot of people don't know the real dangers or problems that can occur from overexposure to the sun or what we can do to prevent things from happening.
Lets first think about our skin. The skin on our bodies is the largest organ we have. It protects us and everything inside of us.

The skin has three layers to it. The first layer is the epidermis which is the outer layer of our body. The epidermis are the oldest of our cells on our body. When you scratch your body you are scratching off the epidermis layer of the skin. The second layer of the skin is the dermis. The dermis layer of the skin has the blood vessels and nerves. This is the layer of skin that makes you feel what you feel. It tells you if things are hot or cold. The third layer of the skin is the subcutaneous layer. This layer is where hair starts to grow.

The sun has different effects on different parts of the body. Your eyes for example can end up with damage to the retina. The UV rays from the sun can burn the retina in your eyes causing partial blindness, cataracts, or even burning the lens of your eyes. The long term effects of the sun can be irreversible if you don't take care of your eyes on sunny days or in snow.

There are numerous ways that your skin can get harmed by the sun. Did you know that suntans aren't good for you or your skin. A suntan is a reaction from your skin saying "enough". The pigment in your skin turns to try and stop more damage to your skin. The redness from a suntan or sunburn is from your blood. A sunburn is much worse. In a sunburn, you kill your living cells because of overexposing yourself. Wrinkles also happen when you get to much sun. Wrinkles occur when the suns UV rays break down the collagen in your body. Collagen that is broken down by the sun can never be rebuilt.

Some other facts about the sun and our bodies are: skin cancer is the leading cause of cancer in the U.S., most sun exposure that humans receive is received by the age of 18, most kids are born without moles but do to overexposure to the sun they develop them, and the best for last is that tanning beds do just as much damage to your body as the sun does.

Next time you head outside remember to cover up or put some sunblock on. Also try and remember to put sunglasses on or try transition lenses. A lot of people get skin cancer every year and although its less talked about, a lot of people have problems with their eyes also.