Many people understandably enjoy spending time outside. However, spending lots of time outdoors can cause serious health risks. This is because exposure to the sun causes a wide range of potential problems. With that in mind, here are four ways that sun exposure damages your body.

• Sunburns
  
  You’ve probably had a sunburn at least once in your life. This condition occurs when your skin receives excessive amounts of radiation from the sun’s rays. In most cases, a sunburn will cause your skin to become red and itchy. Severe sunburns are known to cause blisters and immense amounts of pain. Unfortunately, sunburns are known to occur after only a small amount of exposure to the sun.
• Heat Stroke
  
  Sun exposure doesn’t only damage your skin. You can also suffer from heat stroke by being out in the sun for too long. This extremely dangerous condition is known to set in fast. If you begin feeling tired or notice your muscles are cramping, drink water and get indoors as soon as possible.
• Rapidly Aging Skin
  
  In certain situations, sun exposure won’t cause damage that’s noticeable right away. Over time, sun exposure can cause your skin to age in a premature manner. This causes your skin to become dry and wrinkled. In addition, excessive exposure to the sun can also cause you to develop age spots.
• Increased Risk of Developing Skin Cancer
  
  Over time, sun damage increases your risk of developing skin cancer. In fact, skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed type of cancer. Research from 2018 found that about 1,735,350 new cases of cancer were diagnosed throughout the United States. If you spend lots of time in the sun, it’s a good idea to consider visiting a dermatologist. In turn, you can receive tests that help determine whether or not you’ll require skin cancer treatment. Fortunately, there are many skin cancer doctors who help their patients treat this condition.

To summarize, there are many ways that sun exposure causes damage to your body. Therefore, it’s important to remain protected from the sun’s rays. Understandably, most people are unable to avoid some type of exposure to the sun. However, you can minimize sun damage by keeping your skin protected with sunscreen. It’s also wise to think about receiving a skin cancer screening from a medical professional.