RIsk Factors For Melanoma

Frequent Sunburns

A sunburn is the result of too much ultraviolet radiation from the sun. The harmful rays cause damage to the skin cells and molecules, effectively changing the DNA to cause inflammation and small blood vessel dilation by making different kinds of enzymes and proteins. It takes these proteins around six hours or so to fully synthesize, which is why individuals do not feel the effects of a sunburn until several hours later. When this happens once, the body can handle the self-healing of the damaged skin, however, frequent sunburns cause melanoma due to the compounded DNA mutating damage inflicted with each additional sunburn. Being badly sunburned more than five times within an individual's lifetime doubles their chances of developing melanoma later on in life. In addition, incurring a sunburn only one time within every two years can triple the risk of developing melanoma.

Continue reading to reveal the next risk factor for melanoma now.