Dr A. Geronimo Jones has reiterated that dousing on some sunscreen lotion before heading outdoors, particularly on young children, can prevent skin cancer later in life. Photo: Internet Source

UV photo on the left shows the sun damage to the face. Photo: Provided

The left half of the face shows what sunscreen protection looks like when photographed with a UV camera. Photo: Provided

Dr A. Geronimo Jones is a General/Cosmetic Dermatology with a special interest in Prevention, Diagnosis, & Treatment of Skin Cancer at the Eureka Medical Clinic. Photo: Provided

Likewise, sun screen lotion can prevent rapid skin aging and improve the general health of the skin.

While it is an undisputed fact that people from the larger continents flock to the Virgin Islands and the Caribbean on a whole to relish in the tropical climate of sun, sea, and surf, Dr Jones, using his Ultra Violet (UV) Camera, has sought to raise the alarm on the issue.

In an interview with Virgin Islands News Online, Dr Jones who holds a B.Sc. from Morehouse College, M.B.B.S. UWI, M.Sc. Dermatology University of London, King's College, explained the reasons for speaking out on the problem.

A lot of skin cancers exist in VI

“I treat a lot of skin cancers here because of the large expat community. We have a lot of people from South Africa, Australia, England and Europe, and those are about 99 percent of people that I treat for skin cancer and sun damage,” he said.

Dr Jones continued, “So I bought that UV Camera to make people more aware of what sun damage they have but they really can’t see with the naked eye.”

He said what he usually do is go to a beach and ask persons if they would like to see what they look like under UV light.

“But what’s interesting is not only does it show them the damage but it also shows them the benefit of using sun block. Because if you put sun block on your face, it might look normal with the human eye, but when you put it under the UV light it almost looks like shoe polish and that is actually showing the protection that you have from the effects of the UV Rays.”

Parents protect your children’s skin!

He said with children you rarely see a skin cancer, but it will appear later in life.

”But what people don’t realise is that sun damage you get as a child can cause skin cancer later on in life. One sunburn increases your risk of skin cancer by 50 percent later on in your life. What happens is, the UV Rays cause genetic changes in your skin and that is what can cause a skin cancer.”

“So the damage is a lot of times caused when you are a child and you don’t see the manifestation of it until you are older. So it is extremely important for children to wear sun block.”

Dr Jones has been practicing in the Virgin Islands (UK) over 10 years and is originally from the US mainland.

Background

According to an article written by Dr Jones, skin damage isn't easily seen with the naked eye, but it's there, lurking just beneath. Ultraviolet (UV) light is part of the light spectrum that reaches the earth from the sun. It is invisible to the naked eye. It consists of two main types, UVA, and UVB. They both penetrate the atmosphere and play an important role in conditions such as premature skin aging and skin cancers.

Excessive UV exposure damages the skin's DNA and produces genetic mutations that can lead to skin cancer. UV radiation is considered the main cause of Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) and Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) of the skin. UV radiation also plays a key role in Malignant Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, which kills more than 10,000 people each year in the USA alone. A special camera can show what your skin looks like in ultraviolet (UV) light, rather than visible light. Literally showing us “What Lurks Beneath Your Skin”.

Our skin is our primary line of defense against the UV rays of the sun. While damage to the skin in the form of moles or Melanoma is quite obvious, there can be changes that can only be seen when looking through UV photography. You can visualise the damage and aging effects of UV light and the signs of susceptibility to skin cancer with the use of UV photography. UV photography visualises the damaged parts of the skin as darker areas. Wrinkles in the face and neck, which are easy to spot in the same way, are indicative of prematurely aged skin due to excessive UV exposure. These skin changes vary in size and usually appear on areas most exposed to the sun. Though the marks are very common in adults older than age 40, UV photos have revealed skin damage in children as young as 2 years old. Simply said, UV light penetrates deeper into the skin than does visible light, and a UV camera can capture this, showcasing what is not visible to the naked eye.

Precautions

To minimise skin damage due to excessive UV exposure, doctors recommend avoiding direct sunlight and using sunscreen. Sunscreen is meant to protect us from the harmful UV rays of the sun, but it immediately creates a barrier between the skin and UV light, turning all of the subject’s skin black, as no light is being let through the sunscreen.

UV photography helps us take a closer look at the skin and see how a sunscreen is a vital tool towards protecting it. There is the UV-blocking power of sunscreen, and it’s vital as a weapon in the fight against skin cancer for people of all complexions.

When your skin is exposed to the sun's UV radiation, the high-energy rays can damage your DNA and injure your skin. In the short term, that might just mean sunburn, but in the long term, it can lead to bigger problems, like skin cancer or accelerated aging of your skin. Lesions under your skin that can’t be seen with the naked eye, or can barely be seen, become much more prominent with UV photography. When exposed to the sun’s UV rays, sunscreen appears black on the skin with UV photography. Sunscreen is a vital tool towards protecting your skin. The UV-blocking power of sunscreen is a vital weapon in the fight against skin cancer. And UV photography can show this. Sometimes we need to see it…to believe it!