Protect Your Skin This Summer Video

Learn how to protect your skin in the summer with dermatologist Doris Day


No matter how you choose to enjoy a day in the sun, chances are you've got some protective gear, a helmet for hard bike riding, a life jacket for a spill in the water, a pair of hiking boots to handle a rocky trail. But if you just kicking back, have you pack the protective gear for your skin? The sun can be as dangerous to your skin as a bad fall can be to your bones and most people don't realize it because there's no immediate pain and no apparent designs of damage. But sit down with a noted dermatologist like Dr. Doris Day as she looks at skin under a whole new light. </p> <p>Hi, how are you? </p> <p>Good. Nice to see you. Welcome. </p> <p>Thank you. Nice to see you too. Are you ready for what you're gonna see? </p> <p>I really-- Well, I don't know about that. </p> <p>Okay. Let's see. What I'm looking for is underlying sun damage. Everyone comes in with the same line, "One day, my skin just fell apart." And that's because behind the scenes every time you get sun exposure or you have certain irritants like pollutions, smoking, too much alcohol, too much stress, a whole bunch of environmental and-- and genetic factors. You get microscars underneath the skin and once enough of those buildup, that's when you sit on the surface in terms of both aging and sometimes unfortunately skin cancer, okay. </p> <p>Okay. </p> <p>Are you ready. So, I'll turn this on. You come inside and have this fabric covering as much as possible so it's as dark as possible. Come all the way board. Now, what I'm seeing are a lot of discolorations so there are some areas where it's kind of blotchy purplish and then faded out white, which are the areas of sun damage and I see the highest concentration around your mouth, around your nose and between the eyes. So, you can come on now. </p> <p>So, does anything look serious? </p> <p>What I can see is that there is a background of sun damage that is beyond what I see from the surface. </p> <p>Okay. </p> <p>Well, the good news is that everything I'm seeing is really a sign of more-- a sign of sun damage and actual pre-cancer even. So, your skin-- your skin probably is really good. </p> <p>What would I be looking for if-- if cancer was developing? What should I watch for? </p> <p>Okay. Watch for two things. For beauty marks or moles, you want to look for change. So if-- a mole looks different than it did, if it's changing color, shape, or size, then that's something to bring to the attention of your dermatologist. Now, a lot of people ask about-- they keep calling sun spots age spots. You know, it really offends me. This had nothing to do with age. These are entirely based on sun exposure. If you never went on the sun, this spot would not be there, but more looks like this. There are sun spots really come out from sun exposure over time. Now, a lot of people who say, "But I haven't been in the sun in 20 years." It doesn't matter. The sun exposure from 20 years ago can make a sun spot 20 years, 30 years later. </p> <p>Really. </p> <p>So, it's not what you do today. It's where you were in the past. </p> <p>So, it's a delayed reaction. Okay, what about shoulders 'cause I know-- </p> <p>Let's have a look. </p> <p>I'm getting a lot of these spots on the shoulder. </p> <p>Okay. Now, these spots here are sign of sunburn in the past. </p> <p>Uh huh. </p> <p>Sometimes, I see this and people ask they grow up when-- and I cause it as a marker of someone who's had actually blistering sunburns. So when my patients try to deny, I said but your skin is telling me. There was no hiding it. </p> <p>Yeah. </p> <p>So, if the skin gives you the clues how behave always shows in your skin eventually, right. Now, the other thing I've noticed is that when I look at your chest, there is some redness and some broken blood vessels. </p> <p>Uh huh. </p> <p>And that's a sign that you may have been a little bit more diligent with your face in the past than you were with your neck and your chest and I find that the neck and the chest age much more quickly scar and much more easily and heal much more poorly than the face. </p> <p>Uh huh. </p> <p>So, you really should be careful to put the sunscreen on your neck and chest first. And then you'll get to the face, but you'll forget the neck and chest. </p> <p>Great.

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