Risks of ultraviolet rays

Increased exposure to ultraviolet rays can cause skin diseases and eye damage.

<Skin Disease>

Short-term excessive exposure to ultraviolet rays can cause skin conditions such as sunburn, tanning, and sunlight allergy.

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• Sunburn: Damage occurs to epidermal cells, leading to dilation of superficial blood vessels in the epidermis, resulting in redness, warmth, pain, swelling, blister formation, and epidermal detachment.
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• Skin tanning: It occurs when ultraviolet radiation stimulates increased melanin production.
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• Sun allergy: Photosensitivity causes skin rashes, itching, and other symptoms when exposed to sunlight.

Prolonged exposure to ultraviolet rays causes significant degenerative changes in skin cells, connective tissues, and blood vessels, leading to premature skin aging and the development of skin cancer.

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• Skin aging: Gradually loses skin elasticity, leading to wrinkles, dryness, and rough skin as aging progresses. Additionally, pigmented areas such as freckles, moles, dark spots, and brown pigmentation also develop.
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• Skin cancer: Non-melanoma skin cancer and malignant melanoma skin cancer occur.
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  • Non-melanoma skin cancer: the two most common types are basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.
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  • Malignant melanoma skin cancer: It can develop as new spots or from changes in the color, shape, size, or sensation of old spots, freckles, or moles.

<Eye Disease>

There are two main effects of UV exposure on eye damage: acute effects and chronic effects.

• Acute effects include keratoconjunctivitis and conjunctivitis.
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  • Corneal keratitis: refers to inflammation of the cornea.
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  • Conjunctivitis: It refers to inflammation of the conjunctiva, the membrane that covers the inside of the eyelids and the eyeball.
• Chronic effects include cataracts, pterygium, and cancers of the eye and surrounding areas.
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  • Cataracts: An eye disease where the lens gradually becomes opaque, leading to vision impairment and blindness.
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  • Pterygium: Growth of fleshy tissue that can cover part of the cornea
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  • Cancers of the eye and surrounding area: basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma