Cancer-causing rays can get through your car windows.
Most skin lesions appear on the left side of your body — the driver’s side.
You need sunscreen whenever you’re riding in a car.
Sun exposure in the car is a real thing, but often something we don’t pay much attention to because we “feel” like we are inside. Lately we are driving a lot more as air travel has taken a backseat to car travel for many. Families and individuals have opted for road trips instead of flights so they can avoid crowded airports and tight quarters inside planes. While a road trip with the people in your household can reduce your risk of exposure to the coronavirus, it may increase your exposure to the sun's harmful rays. If you've got a road trip on the horizon, or if you've returned to your daily commute, here's what you need to know.
Your windshield protects you and your co-pilot from the sun's harmful UVA and UVB rays. UVA rays tan and age your skin. UVB rays burn it. But the side windows don't offer that same protection. Now, it's unlikely you'll get a sunburn through your car windows, but the sun can still do harm. "UVB rays don't penetrate glass, but UVA rays do, and while these rays won't give you a sunburn, they do contribute to skin cancer," board-certified dermatologist Rebecca Baxt, MD, tells SurvivorNet.Even in the car, the sun can harm your skin. Studies suggest that sun exposure in cars is a common contributor to skin cancer. One study found that nearly three out of four skin cancers develop on the left side of the body the part that gets the most exposure to the sun when you drive. Baxt says this plays out in her practice, as well, where most of the suspicious lesions she sees are also on the left side.
You Need Sun Protection Even in the Car
It's easy to remember to slather on sunscreen when you're basking in the sun's warm glow on the beach in the Caribbean. Not so much, when you're driving to see your in-laws in Schenectady. But that same sun shines onto your skin no matter where you are.
And, of course, sunscreen works, too. Just make sure to use "broad spectrum" protection. That means it protects against both types of UV rays. "We don't have shades or UV shielding in our car," Baxt says. "Sunscreen is what we do to protect."
But don't forget the littlest members of your family. You shouldn't put sunscreen on infants younger than six months old. For these little ones, use a window shade, hats and protective clothes.
