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Acute health effects

UV radiation can have acute positive and negative effects on the eyes and the skin.

Acute eye damage

Acute eye damage due to UV radiation results in painful conjunctivitis and corneal inflammation.

The vitamin D metabolism

Vitamin D

The only known positive biological effect of UV radiation is the UV-B-induced synthesis of endogenous vitamin D.

Acute skin damage

Acute skin damage due to UV radiation includes sunburn, sun allergy and phototoxic reactions.

Recommendation vitamin D

The Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) together with the UV Protection Alliance initiated an interdisciplinary scientific expert discussion on the harmonization of the hitherto conflicting recommendations regarding UV exposure for endogenous vitamin D synthesis. The scientific discussion led to the following joint recommendation:

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