Sun damage - a graphic example

Being from Africa, and more specifically from parts where it's a good deal hotter and drier than many other places, I've seen the effects of bright, very hot sunlight on the skin 'up close and personal' for many years.  I took good care to wear head protection and use sunblock whenever I could, because the incidence of skin cancer and other exposure-related ailments among those of Caucasian ancestry in Africa is notoriously high.  (My father had several nasty carcinomas removed from his head during the last couple of decades of his life.)

A graphic example of the damage the sun can do to one's skin has come to light in Australia.

ONE side of Bill McElligott's face is 66-years-old, the other side is 86-years-old, and his photo will shock truckies, cabbies and professional drivers.

Mr McElligott is 66-years-old and the drooping, wrinkled, rutted and prematurely aged left side of his face is the result of sunlight pouring through the window of the trucks he drove for 28 years through Chicago, USA.

His damaged face has led to the Cancer Council of New South Wales advising professional drivers to think about getting their vehicles' windows tinted to reduce sun exposure.

Mr McElligott's plight was revealed when he went to a medical clinic after his grandchildren kept asking why his face was so different on one side.

. . .

Mr McElligott spent so much time in his truck and car that his left side was exposed to UVA rays which can penetrate glass and cause the majority of photo-aging, unlike UVB rays, which cause sunburns.

. . .

The Cancer Council of New South Wales said Mr McElligott's face, suffering from what doctor's officially call unilateral dermatoheliosis, was a stark reminder of the damage the sun can do, even while sitting behind the wheel.

There's more at the link.

If any of my readers has problems like this, even if they're still minor, please get a medical check-up as soon as you can!  For those young and 'undamaged' enough to benefit from taking precautions, please read the whole article and follow its recommendations.  I've lost more than a few friends to skin cancers, many believed to be caused by over-exposure to the sun.  It's not a nice way to die.

Peter