Summer: health risks from sun exposure not only at the beach, but also in the car
Although we are in spring, summer is approaching and the health risks from sun’exposure to the sun are increasing. A study published in Jama Opthalmology has shown that prolonged exposure to UVA rays affects not only the classic beaches, which will soon be taken by storm again, or tanning beds. Serious precautions must also be taken in cars, as windows, as opposed to different types of windshields, are generally unable to stop them, exposing the driver to a number of health risks. In the study, conducted by Brian Boxer Wachler of the Boxer Wachler Vision Institute in Beverly Hills, 29 cars from 15 different manufacturers, manufactured between 1990 and 2014, were tested. The windshield in all cases was shown to stop about 96 percent of UVA rays, while the side windows were much less efficient, with percentages between 44 and 96 percent, and with only four models above 90 percent. “And there is no correlation, with the cost of the’car, whether it is luxury or cheap”.The phenomenon, writes Jayne Weiss of Louisiana State University in a commentary article, could be directly linked to health consequences. “The adverse effects of UV radiation while driving have already been documented.
Previous publications have documented an increased prevalence of cataracts and skin cancers on the left side caused by’asymmetric exposure due to the driver being on the left side of the car”. Emblematic is the shocking photo, highlights Giovanni D’Agata, president of "Sportello deiRights," accompanying an article published in the prestigious U.St. medical-scientific journal New England Journal of Medicine. It’s the case of the patient, who reported a gradual and asymptomatic thickening of the skin only on the left side of his face, along with a progressive increase in wrinkles, that was deemed representative by two researchers at Northwestern University in Chicago , who also released his photo to spread concrete evidence of premature skin aging caused by UVA rays. On one side of the face shows his 69 years, on the other at least two lustres more.
Yet what you see are the cheeks of the same person: a man who drove trucks for 28 years, exposing only half of his face to the sunlight filtered through the window.
