Yesterday, I went to my biannual visit to my dermatologist. As usual, there were things to hit with the liquid nitrogen, which left some places to eventually scab over and fall off. It's the fruits of my youth, and according to my doctor, probably the result of a severe sunburn I was afflicted with when I was young. I can pinpoint the sunburn. I received it when I was about 10 years old, and it left huge water blisters that eventually peeled. The pain was barely tolerable, and can best be described as second degree burns over 75% of my body. It wasn't an even trade off for a day at the beach.
I don't think many people realize the sun emits ultraviolet radiation that is destructive. Like all ionizing radiation, it destroys cells, and cuts DNA like a knife. The result is mutations, and with me, these mutations result in seborrheic keratosis, basic cell carcinomas, and melanoma. Most are only unsightly, and annoying, but melanoma is deadly. I've been lucky with only one melanoma that was stage zero at removal.
I now wear hooded, long sleeve shirts, with a hat and gloves, when I venture out in the sun. I should have worn the same during my years of working in the sun, but youth, and ignorance, led to where I am today. My ignorance is now my sentence, and I will deal with this until I'm gone.
Ouch!
ReplyDeleteLiquid Nitrogen leaves a burn that eventually scabs over and heals in about a week. It's not as bad as a cigarette burn, but when there are about a dozen each visit, it's not pleasant.
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