AUSTIN -- With more than 47 million people on the road this week for holiday travel, according to AAA, we wondered if all that time in the car can give you sun damage.
There’s a famous photo of a truck driver published in the New England Journal of Medicine back in 2012 that helps explain this.
The 69-year-old man has significantly more sun damage and wrinkles on the left side of his face compared to the right side. It’s the side closer to the window while driving.
That photo was taken by dermatologist Jennifer Gordon during her fellowship in Chicago, but now she’s practicing at Westlake Dermatology in Austin.
“The stark aging seen on Bill's face is the UVA aging him over the many years he was a truck driver,” said Gordon.
She told KVUE glass naturally blocks UVB, known as the "burning" rays, but not UVA rays, also known as the "aging" rays.
“The heat from the sun can also cause pigment damage on your skin as well, so if you are prone to that you might want to get a sunscreen or sunblock that also has infrared protection,” said Gordon.
She recommends sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher, and broad spectrum. She also encourages people to reapply throughout the day, especially before you drive home from work.
For your car, Gordon highly recommends a UVA protection tint for your car windows.
“Patients often tell me that they don't need SPF because they aren't "outside," but I like to ask them how they got from the car to my office. If you don't need a flashlight, then you need protection,” said Gordon.
Board-certified dermatolgist Rawn Bosley at Westlake Dermatology said the sun damage can happen on a sunny or cloudy day.
"UV rays penetrate through glass, so it's important to always protect for UV rays, not only for the face, but also the hands, which are on the steering wheel. Oftentimes that's forgotten, so having a little bit of sunscreen in the car is always helpful, to reapply before and throughout the day if you're driving,” said Bosley.
He also said things like window tinting could help.
"Window tinting, think of it kind of like wearing sunglasses, so the more UV rays that are not penetrating through the glass, the less exposure you have -- but nothing's perfect,” said Bosley.
Jason Yancer is the owner of Sunbusters Window Tinting in Austin.
"We get a lot of sunshine in Austin, you know, throughout the year, and most people do it to make their car more comfortable inside and to protect themselves from UV penetration,” said Yancer.
He said window tinting can protect from UV rays and heat in your car, but also said that doesn't always mean your windows have to be darker.
"What a lot of people aren’t aware of is we have clear films, that is high infrared blocking ceramic films, that you wouldn't even know were on the car that block 30 to 40 percent of the heat, and all of the UV. And then we have ones that are more noticeable that are going to reject up to 60 65 percent of the heat,” said Yancer.
Yancer said there are knockoff brands, and said it’s important to find a professional installer.
According to the International Window Film Association, that could be the difference between only blocking 70 percent and 99 percent of UV rays.
You can find a dealer on their website here.