Unbelievable Photo Shows The Effects Of The Sun On Premature Aging [PHOTO]

A new photo recently released shows the dramatic effect that the sun has on the premature aging of your skin.

This is a photo of a 69 year-old man that has spent the past 28 years driving a truck. During that 28 years, the left side of his face has been exposed to the sun and has suffered considerably more exposure to sunlight than his right side. Made obvious in the photo above, the effects of the sun has caused extreme premature aging.

Suffering from a condition called dermatoheliosis, this 69 year-old man shows exactly what it looks like for a person to be exposed to too much of the suns UVA and UVB rays that are emitted everyday.

Discovered by Northwestern University dermatologists, this case of dermatoheliosis was actually studied and published in the New England Journal of Medicine:

A 69-year-old man presented with a 25-year history of gradual, asymptomatic thickening and wrinkling of the skin on the left side of his face. The physical examination showed hyperkeratosis with accentuated ridging, multiple open comedones, and areas of nodular elastosis. Histopathological analysis showed an accumulation of elastolytic material in the dermis and the formation of milia within the vellus hair follicles. Findings were consistent with the Favre–Racouchot syndrome of photodamaged skin, known as dermatoheliosis.

The patient reported that he had driven a delivery truck for 28 years. Ultraviolet A (UVA) rays transmit through window glass, penetrating the epidermis and upper layers of dermis. Chronic UVA exposure can result in thickening of the epidermis and stratum corneum, as well as destruction of elastic fibers. This photoaging effect of UVA is contrasted with photocarcinogenesis.

As we approach summer, this photo and study released by the New England Journal of Medicine is a great reminder to be mindful of the sun and to take precautionary measures to ensure that you are protecting your skin when outside for long periods of time.

After all, I don’t think many people want to end up like this infamous tanning mother.