With excessive exposure in a short time, or with prolonged exposure over the years, UVA and UVB radiation from the sun damages skin on the chest and produces effects akin to accelerated aging. UVA radiation penetrates the skin, primarily causing the more severe problems associated with sun damage, such as textural and appearance changes and skin cancer; UVB radiation doesn't penetrate as deeply, mostly causing sunburns, as the Burn Survivors Throughout the World organization explains.
Sun Protection
Protecting chest skin from the sun's rays is essential to prevention and treatment of sun damage. Wear shirts made from tightly-woven fabric outside. Sunscreen or sunblock is needed when going outside bare-chested during daylight hours year-round, even when it's cloudy. Sunscreens, which absorb UV radiation, must be applied half an hour before going out, while sunblocks simply prevent the sun's radiation from reaching the skin, notes The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library.
While a sunburn on the chest must be waited out, there are ways to soothe it. A cold compress, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and topical local anesthetics such as benzocaine help, according to Merck. Sun protection is especially important after sunburned chest skin peels, as photosensitivity is heightened. In the rare instance of an infection resulting from sunburn, a doctor prescribes antibiotics to clear it up.
Topical Non-Prescription Medications
Non-prescription medications treat mild sun damage to the chest. Fade creams help reduce the appearance of age spots and sun-related discoloration. Choose creams made with hydroquinone, deoxyarbutin, glycolic acid or kojic acid, recommends MayoClinic.com.
Other topical applications help even skin tone, soften sun-toughened skin, reduce the appearance of fine lines and otherwise help clear up sun damage on the chest. Products with alpha hydroxy acids, vitamins C and E, soy, copper peptides, or retinol are effective options, according to Burn Survivors Throughout the World's website.
Topical Prescription Medications
Prescription-strength skin bleaching creams made with hydroquinone help clear up discoloration from sun damage. Retinoids are also available at prescription strength, and are sometimes used in conjunction with hydroquinone and mild steroid treatments, notes MayoClinic.com.
Cosmetic Procedures
Certain skin resurfacing cosmetic procedures can clear up sun damaged skin on the chest, though men should note that hair removal is necessary in some instances. Injectable fillers are a temporary way of evening out fine creases and wrinkles caused by sun damage, notes Burn Survivors Throughout the World. Destroying damaged skin and allowing new, healthier skin to grow back in its place, as with dermabrasion, chemical peels, laser surgery or cryosurgery, is an option as well.
Surgery and Other Procedures for Skin Cancer
Surgery or other procedures may be necessary if a dermatologist determines that sun damage on the chest is pre-cancerous or malignant. Damaged skin is sometimes cut off, shaved off, frozen off or sliced off in layers, as with Mohs micrographic surgery, explains the National Cancer Institute. Sometimes laser surgery, dermabrasion, chemotherapy or radiation therapy are performed as well.
