You can keep the window up but you can’t escape the sun’s rays.
The New England Journal of Medicine has published a shocking photo of a 69 year-old man with unilateral dermatoheliosis — severe damage from ultraviolet rays on one side of his face.
The unnamed man, who gave permission for his photo to be used in new stories, told researchers that had driven a delivery truck for 28 years.
Ultraviolet A (UVA) had penetrated the window glass, damaging the outermost layers and sublayers of his skin.
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The right side of his face had been protected from being inside the truck, away from the direct sunlight.
This kind of damage is consistent with the Favre–Racouchot syndrome which includes white bumps or cysts (known as milia), larger flesh colored lumps (nodular elastosis) and blackheads.
He also experienced extensive skin thickening and sagging due to the destruction of the elastic fibers on one side of his face.
While the patient was not revealed to be suffering from skin cancer, dermatoheliosis has been linked to certain mutations that have resulted in melanomas.
The patient was ordered to use sun block, topical retinoids and undergo monitoring for skin cancer.
