Worse Than Leather

[eytonxav]

Did any of you catch the story on the news about this guys face after driving a truck for 20 years. Its hard to believe the sun can do so much damage. My face looks like a babies bottom compared to him.

World News: Daily sun exposure leaves left side of man

 

[powerplay]

It could be a good ad for using sunscreen.

 

[LauAnn]

Yes, I saw that. Pretty amazing. Really got the point across what the sun can do to your skin.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

Yes, we saw that on the news and it rang a bell. I've never seen evidence like this but now we know. We've heard for a number of years about the sun beating in the windows of the car. My BIL told us a while back about some statistic regarding people with skin cancer on their left arm vs the right arm. Since 1990, when we moved to Florida, we have always had the front windows on our cars tinted the maximum allowable. Not quite as dark as the privacy glass in the rest of the car but dark enough.

 

[Animorph]

I used to get a bit of a sunburn when driving on long trips, face and hands. Never thought of doing it professionally.

 

[TromboneAl]

I guess this is reasonable. However: Half the time you are driving, your face is not in the sun at all. Also, it is only when the sun is relatively low in the sky (and less strong), that your face is in the sun. Finally, Chicago is not that far south, and the air is smoggy.

Why isn't the left side of his nose sun-damaged?

If the damaging UVA rays penetrate glass, then the front of his face got a lot of exposure also.

 

[JakeBrake]

According to the article, the vehicle was unairconditioned, so he had the driver's window down most of the time. The wind may have done as much damage as the UV rays. Also, I would like to know if he is/was a smoker.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

Sounds like some people can't believe the sun could do this much damage but over the years, even if it was just the summers when he got the sun, after what, twenty something years? I can understand this. When we were in Okinawa years ago, the lady drivers always wore long sleeves while driving and my SIL said it was due to the intense sun. The ladies wanted to avoid it. Okinawa and Tampa are at the same latitudes. This guy just had the most extreme case I could imagine.