Sun exposure can damage skin in several ways, especially if sun exposure occurs repeatedly over many years. Ultraviolet rays from the sun can damage your skin. Between 50 percent and 80 percent of lifetime skin exposure to the sun occurs before age 18, according to the Texas Cooperative Extension of the Texas A&M University System reports. The neck often remains unprotected from UV rays and experiences sun damage.
Causes
Two types of ultraviolet rays cause sun damage: ultraviolet A, or UVA, and ultraviolet B, or UVB. Ultraviolet A rays, the less powerful but more plentiful of the two, penetrate deeper in to the skin, causing wrinkles and other signs of premature aging on the neck and other skin. The intensity of UVA rays doesn't change through the year. Ultraviolet A rays can pass through glass and plastic. The more powerful UVB rays, which can't pass through glass or plastic, cause sunburn and most skin cancers on the neck and elsewhere, according to the website for the Texas Cooperative Extension.
Types
Sun damage on the neck can range from a first-degree sunburn to permanent leathery, wrinkled skin or cancer. Poikiloderma of Civatte, also called sun aging, causes reddish-brown discoloration of your skin, mostly on the neck and cheek, the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology explains. Poikiloderma can occur as early as the mid-teens in children with chronic sun exposure. Skin cancer can also appear on the neck. Basal cell cancers, which make up 80 percent of skin cancers, most often appear on the head or neck, the American Cancer Society states. Squamous cell cancers, which are more aggressive than basal cell skin cancers, also often appear on the neck. Skins cancer may appear crusty, or scaly, or may ooze or bleed. Any new skin lesions on your neck or changes in the color, shape or size of older lesions need evaluation by your medical practitioner.
Risk Factors
Any degree of sun exposure can cause damage to the skin on your neck, but repeated exposure can worsen the damage. People with light-colored hair and eyes develop burns and skin damage more easily than those with more pigment in the skin. Those people will need a sunblock with a higher sun protection factor.
Prevention
Wearing a full-brimmed hat and wearing sunscreen when you're outside reduces sun damage. Clouds block 20 percent to 40 percent of UV rays and can penetrate 1 foot below water, FamilyDoctor.org explains, so use sunblock and a hat even on cloudy days. Avoid direct sun exposure between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., the times when UVA rays are most intense. Avoid tanning booths, which emit UV radiation more intense than that of the sun, the Texas Cooperative Extension warns.
Treatment
Many types of skin damage can be removed with topical medications, including topical forms of vitamin A and vitamin C, with lasers or with intense pulse light. Skin cancers usually need surgical removal; the extent of the lesion determines the incision required to remove all the cells.
References
- American Osteopathic College of Dermatology: Poikiloderma of Civatte
- American Cancer Society: Skin Cancer: Basal and Squamous Cell
- Texas Cooperative Extension: Sun Exposure, Damage and Protection
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Skin Wrinkles and Blemishes
- FamilyDoctor: Skin Cancer: Saving Your Skin from Sun Damage
