Any sunburn damages DNA
Sunburn is the skin’s acute and painful response to overexposure to the sun. It is an injury to the tissues of the body. But is one type of burn more acceptable than other?
Many people like to believe a slight burn is safe. And perhaps in terms of discomfort and short-term symptoms, this is a fair assumption. However, in the long-term, the effects of any kind of burn are the same. Let’s look at the difference between first and second degree burns, then why all burns create a risk for skin cancer.
First, consider the intensity of the burn. Burns are classified according to the amount of tissue they affect and how deep they are. A first-degree burn is considered the least serious type of burn because it injures only the top layers of skin, called the epidermis. Skin with a first-degree burn is red, sore, and sensitive to the touch. It may also be moist, slightly swollen, or itchy. When lightly pressed, the reddened skin whitens, which is called blanching. First-degree sun burns do not usually blister or leave a scar.
A second-degree burn is more serious as its symptoms are more severe. Second-degree burns are also called partial-thickness burns and are identified by their depth in the skin’s layers. This type of sunburn can swell and blister which may mean that deep skin layers and nerve endings have been damaged. They may also radiate heat from the skin’s surface and the blistering may weep fluids. Second-degree sunburns are very painful. In severe cases an individual with second degree sunburn may experience fever, vomiting, dehydration and secondary infection. Those who experience this type of sunburn may require hospital treatment to manage these symptoms.
Despite the differences in symptoms, in the long term, both types of sunburn –first and second degree – have triggered a biological response in the cells of the skin. UVR has been absorbed which causes damage to the cell’s deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), which in turn triggers a response, including proliferation, toxic change, mutation or death. In a first-degree burn, these changes may be triggered only at the first level, the epidermis, but there is nothing to stop the changes from spreading to other levels. In second- degree burns, the changes may be triggered at deeper levels, creating a greater risk of changes being widespread.
A sunburned skin cell viewed under a microscope, regardless of the layer from which it is taken, looks like a cancer cell.
Follow the advice outlined in SunAWARE and protect yourself and your family from sunburn. Be safe.
