[smarino]

Well, for what it's worth, smoking will kill you a lot faster than the sun. Lung cancer is a terrible way to die. Everyone I have ever known that had lung cancer, when they cecked into a hospital they never left. Not alive, anyway.

I think it's OK to comment on the sun and it's effects on the skin, especially in a Florida forum. But assuming that this was the issue w/ someone you met briefly, w/o talking to them about this in regards to why they looked the way that they did, is going off half cocked. No one knows why that woman looked that way. It could have been caused by lots of different things.

[New Horizons]

It most likely is the cigarettes and overexposure to the sun that caused her nasty complexion. Florida is full of these kinds of characters. Go to the gulf beaches and you'll see them frying their skin, with a beer in one hand and cigarette in another. It's basically hard living wrapped in a facade of a healthy outdoor beach lifestyle. They don't have a healthy fear of the sun there. I mean here in Phoenix AZ you'd think they would all have leather complexions but that's not the case. I see more people with fair complexions here. Of course when the sun is blaring down you at 110+ degrees, the idea is to seek shade.

Originally Posted by Jo48

A few years ago I was standing outside a restaurant in Naples smoking (horrors). A woman came up to me and started talking. She was dressed to the 9's with a lot of expensive jewelry and had very brown, leathery skin, which honestly looked like a Mummy. I thought she was in her 70s.

She started talking to me about her 6 year old son and his school. What? How old is this woman? I then told her that I was in my 60s and that my children were adults. She just started at me, frowned, and said she was 42 years old. Damn. I thought to myself that she was young enough to be MY child, but she looked like my mother, or even my grandmother. Apparently, she didn't like I was so much older than she and abruptly walked away from me when I told her my age.

My point? This is what being a sun worshiper will get you if you are young. Think about it. Do you want to look like King Tut when you are only in your 40s?

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by smarino

Well, for what it's worth, smoking will kill you a lot faster than the sun. Lung cancer is a terrible way to die. Everyone I have ever known that had lung cancer, when they cecked into a hospital they never left. Not alive, anyway.

I think it's OK to comment on the sun and it's effects on the skin, especially in a Florida forum. But assuming that this was the issue w/ someone you met briefly, w/o talking to them about this in regards to why they looked the way that they did, is going off half cocked. No one knows why that woman looked that way. It could have been caused by lots of different things.

Like what for instance...?

Oh, and melanoma, which is also a skin cancer associated with overexposure to the sun, is every bit as aggressive and destructive as lung cancer......

[FromCTtoFL]

Originally Posted by Travelassie

[/b]

Like what for instance...?

Oh, and melanoma, which is also a skin cancer associated with overexposure to the sun, is every bit as aggressive and destructive as lung cancer......

There is a relatively rare hereditary disease called hemochromatosis. Excessive amounts of iron are absorbed into the bloodstream and accumulate in susceptible organs and body tissues. I wrote a paper about it. The patient I studied had a year-round bronze-y colored tan. Skin had the same "leathery" appearance and feel as a life-long sun worshiper. There are probably other diseases or conditions that can cause a hyperpigmentation of skin, hemochromatosis is a definite.

Melonoma is a *horrible* disease - much, much worse than people realize.

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by FromCTtoFL

There is a relatively rare hereditary disease called hemochromatosis. Excessive amounts of iron are absorbed into the bloodstream and accumulate in susceptible organs and body tissues. I wrote a paper about it. The patient I studied had a year-round bronze-y colored tan. Skin had the same "leathery" appearance and feel as a life-long sun worshiper. There are probably other diseases or conditions that can cause a hyperpigmentation of skin, hemochromatosis is a definite.

Melonoma is a *horrible* disease - much, much worse than people realize.

I'm familiar with hemachromatosis, I suppose with a combination of skin color changes and a person's own skin type, it is possible that someone who's suffering from this condition could have skin that looks like he/she's been out in the sun for his entire life- I'd think it was a lot more rare than the condition from long-term over exposure to the sun- and the iron accumulation in the organs as well would have caused serious problems that would lead a patient to treatment before the skin got to that point, but I guess you never know.

In any case, I never have, nor would I ever say anything to a person showing the type of skin we're talking about, for that matter IMO it's out of line to say anything to anyone you meet or see casually about their appearance at all. I've always just made it a practice myself to avoid excess sun-not always easy as I've lived in Florida most of my adult life- by covering up and using sunscreen when I am outside for any length of time.

You're right about the melanoma, I've known several people who fought it and lost.....

[OptimusPrime69]

if one wants to enjoy fun in the sun, all one needs to due is use sunblock effectively.
apply it evenly and on areas directly exposed to the sun and you'll be fine.

[mrviking]

Originally Posted by BucFan

my dermatologist discussed what happens during my last screening - said that often the skin abuse doesn't present itself for 2-3 decades after the chronic exposure - so if you abuse your skin at 40-60 yrs of age, you can expect possible cancer to show itself in your 70s and beyond....sure it feels nice having a tan and there are some positive effects from sun (mood, bone strength), but look at people who've abused their skin and ask if that vanity of having a tan is really worth it.......

Agree... started to cut back in my 40's as well. I like to be outside but take precautions and don't abuse my time in the sun. Definitely use more shade when I can. I found the beer stays colder longer in the shade.!

[doggiebus]

I remember when I was 15/16 I met a woman who looked like she was in her 40s, when she told me she was in her 60's I asked her what her secret was. She said avoiding the sun, as she was wearing a large hat and a light long sleeved shirt. I've never forgotten that, my dermatologist tells me every time I see her, the sun in the worst thing for your skin in South Florida. I think avoiding the sun is working, as people are always amazed how old I am. It's tough to avoid the sun in Florida, driving down the street we get sun. I just had my tint redone on my car, so its darker, hopefully that keeps more of the sun out. Those people that want to bake in the sun can have it and the skin cancer possibilities years later.

[Trigger-f]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

And to the OP, WTF are you posting this now for, all these years later, just to brag or something?

Agree, gotta love how people think! They think they are better than others for x,y,z reasons. Ex: skinny people making fun of overweight people, people with better complexion making fun of the sun burned, sorry worshipers. Everyone thinks they are better than anyone else until they step in the shoes of the one who suffers.

One more thing, beauty is in the eye of the beer holder, err beholder.

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by Trigger-f

Agree, gotta love how people think! They think they are better than others for x,y,z reasons. Ex: skinny people making fun of overweight people, people with better complexion making fun of the sun burned, sorry worshipers. Everyone thinks they are better than anyone else until they step in the shoes of the one who suffers.

One more thing, beauty is in the eye of the beer holder, err beholder.

....or something like that...