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The Damaging Effects of UV Radiation

  • Created in Skin Care Topics

The sun emits UV radiation in the form of UVA, UVB, and UVC. UVA rays, which are the longest, penetrate the deepest in the skin and are responsible for tanning and premature aging. UVB rays are shorter and responsible for vitamin D production in the skin. UVB rays are also the cause of sunburning. UVC rays, which are the shortest, are absorbed by the ozone layer and do not reach the surface of the earth.

Similar to the sun, tanning beds also emit UV radiation. Tanning beds emit mostly UVA, but also smaller doses of UVB. The UVA radiation in tanning beds can be much more intense than that of natural sunlight.

It is important to understand that UV radiation, whether it be naturally through the sun’s rays or artificially through tanning bed use, can have damaging long term effects. These include:

  • UV rays can damage the eyes. UV light can be damaging to any and all parts of your eyes including your eyelid skin. Prolonged and chronic exposure can lead to corneal damage, cataracts, and even macular degeneration. These conditions ultimately affect our eyes' ability to see.
  • UV rays can damage the skin. Prolonged sun exposure can lead to sunburns, freckling, leathery texture, premature aging, precancers, and skin cancer.
  • UV rays can affect our immune system. UV rays have been shown to suppress our immune system responses. While this can at times be useful in treating immune system driven conditions like vitiligo and psoriasis, it can be harmful when it comes to our body’s ability to fight off skin cancer and infections.

  • UV rays can worsen certain skin conditions. UV rays can at times elicit skin rashes such as in the case of solar urticaria and polymorphous light eruption. UV radiation can also exacerbate or flare certain conditions such as lupus.

Disclaimer:
The information on this website is provided for educational and information purposes only and is not medical advice. Always consult with a licensed medical provider and follow their recommendations regardless of what you read on this website. If you think you are having a medical emergency, dial 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. Links to other third-party websites are provided for your convenience only. If you decide to access any of the third-party websites, you do so entirely at your own risk and subject to the terms of use for those websites. Neither Fabian Dermatology, nor any contributor to this website, makes any representation, express or implied, regarding the information provided on this website or any information you may access on a third-party website using a link. Use of this website does not establish a doctor-patient relationship. If you would like to request an appointment with a health care provider, please call our office at (239) 949-0742.

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We participate with Medicare, Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Aetna. Many other plans have out of network benefits that may allow you to receive care from our office. We do our best to verify insurance benefits but it is ultimately the patient’s responsibility to cover any costs incurred beyond what insurance will cover.

We welcome self-pay patients, including visitors from Canada and Europe. We charge reasonable rates while maintaining a high standard of care.

What Patients Are Saying
  • "I want to express my thanks and appreciation for the superior care and treatment I received during my recent Mohs surgery. The patience, sensitivity, and genuine concern of everyone on your staff was so reassuring that it took away a lot of my apprehension. I was impressed with the level of professionalism exhibited by everyone and thanks to your skill, my wound is healing quickly. I will be certain to recommend your office to everyone I know."
    - J.G
  • "Words cannot fully express my thankfulness and appreciation. I am so fortunate to have been treated by your practice. Having a highly skilled and caring surgeon along with a kind and compassionate team of nurses and support staff makes the difficult task of skin cancer surgery bearable and hope-giving. I trust in you completely and am grateful for the care you all have given me."
    - D.Y
  • "I can’t thank you enough for how much I appreciate all of you making my visit so comfortable and easy. My trip to your office was by far the best and most positive trip to a dermatologist’s office I’ve ever had. Thanks for being so wonderful and I’ll see you again next time!"
    - E.B.Y
  • "Just a note to tell y’all how much I appreciate your fine work, professionalism and more importantly, your kindness, friendly office visits and your personal attention. We are truly grateful."
    - B.S.H
  • "I am so happy with my nose!! How can you do this so perfectly? Everyone was so very kind and helpful and from the bottom of my heart I do appreciate this. I cannot see a scar and it’s only been 13 days. You must be magic! Thank you so much!"
    - S.M.N
  • "Thank you soooo much. You did such a wonderful job at removing the cancer and repairing it. I’m amazed at how great it looks. Your staff is courteous and most professional. Thanks is hardly enough to say for your help given my financial hardship. Looking forward to seeing you all again soon."
    - C.A.N
  • "I appreciated being seen on time and how courteous everybody was to me. Dr. Fabian was prompt, polite and efficient. Thanks again!"
    - J.K
  • "Thanks for the care today. The staff was awesome! You are a great doctor with a great staff surrounding you."
    - J.B
  • "A thank you doesn’t seem enough to express how much I appreciate all you have done for me. Even though I rudely woke you up with a phone call on your day off after a long difficult work week, you put me at ease and reassured me that all would be fine. How very kind and gracious of you. Wishing you continued success. See you next year."
    - M.L
  • "Just a note to thank you for the great work that you did on my nose. As an old corpsman in the Navy and Marines back in the 60s I can appreciate an excellent job when I see one. I put in a few facial stitches myself back in those days."
    - D.B
  • "I want to thank you for your gentleness, caring, kindness and consideration. Please keep up the good work. It meant a lot to me."
    - N.C
  • "My ear healed quickly with no complications. Thank you! Your staff was so friendly and professional. I will recommend you to anyone needing a dermatologist.”"
    - C.F
  • "Thank you for all your help in my surgery and healing. I certainly have the right team on my side."
    - K.K
  • "I just want to thank you for the wonderful care I received from you and your friendly staff. 10 years ago you performed surgery on my nose, so returning to you again I knew I would be in good hands."
    - M.L.
  • "Thank you to you and your staff for your wonderful treatment of me in healing my cancer problem once again! You guys are truly the best in what you do! I hope not to see you for a while (nothing personal) but knowing my history I probably will!"
    - C.P.
  • "I recently had mohs surgery on my nose for removal of a basal cell. I wanted to thank you and your staff for an excellent job! I looked just absolutely awful for a couple weeks but everything healed very nicely. My family and friends can’t believe how well everything healed. Thanks!"
    - N.M.M.