Camera captures skin damage 

 What if you could peer into a camera and see what you will look like in 20-years?  That's not as impossible as it sounds.

 When you look into the mirror, do you see sun damage? If you don't, you may not be looking deep enough.  Tthere's a new ultraviolet or u-v detect camera to help you get a glimpse
into the future, and that future could be scary.

 Loretta Pratt, MD- "A person gets a good look at what they might look like 20 or 30 years from now."

 The sun's rays emit two types of ultraviolet light: one causes wrinkles, the other burns.  The UV detect camera shows you damage from both. 

 Loretta Pratt, MD- "The damage in the skin is at the basal cell layer, the lower level of the epidermis, and the particular wavelength of light that is used targets this particular layer and so we can see it."  

 At 31, Maria Flood wants to see the damage multiple burns have done to her skin.  In just a few seconds, you see the results.  "It was really scary. I think it's shocking."  

 Dermatologist Loretta Pratt is ten years older than Maria, but doctor pratt has avoided excessive sun exposure.  The camera shows little damage to her skin.

 So, what can people with sun damage like Maria do about it?  

 Loretta Pratt, MD- "The first thing is by protecting the skin with sunscreen." 

 Doctor Pratt says chemical peels can make the skin look fresher, and products like retin-a can build up collagen and remove outer dead layers of skin.  This little look into the future has changed Maria's opinion about the sun. 

 Maria Flood- "I won't expose any part of my body to the sun like it was before." 

 A lesson Doctor Pratt says we should all learn. 

 The American Academy of Dermatology offers several free
pamphlets providing information about sun exposure and skin damage or skin cancer.  Information is also available on the academy's web site at--http://www.aad.org

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