anyone with sun alleregy, HELP!! Iam desperate, how to treat and sooth and prevent rash?

[dangerousliaison]

I have developed a sun allergy over the past 2 years, it has been pretty mild so far affectting feet, toes and arms only. However So far this year It seems quite moderate starting last week and the blisers on my toes are very painfull and becoming quite big, my arms legs neck and back are affected even where I have been covered up. I have been using factor 50 and still I had mild sunburn and my arms and hands and feet are absolutly covered, a little on my legs and back but legs and back where covered with clothes. this is the result of just one days exposure at begining of week with factor 50 and it seems to be just getting worse with new spots and blisters appearing even now.

I havent been to DR as i am aware there is very little that can be done other than light therapy which i dont really want, i know its sun allergy as my sis has same. I have been bathing in bicarb and it sooths for a moment but just wanted advice for any tratments or prevention that work for others.

You should probably take daily antihistamine, you should see your GP
about it.

already take antihistamine for hayfever. The dr only recomended daily light treatment for my sister, which is basically a sun bed. but was impossible for her to manage with work and family and must be started a specific time of the year and stopped on a specific time of the year and continue thereafter, so does not actually cure the problem. plus there are concernes about that much sunbed exposure.

was just after some remidies.

I use sudocreme to soothe the rash and take an antihistamine, wear long sleeve cotton clothes and try to stay out of the sun whenever I can.
I take a one a day piriton and when its bad I take a couple of the 4-6 hour tablets daily as well.

i did think about sudo creme but wasnt sure about sufocating the skin under it. I have had no exposure for a week and its still breaking out some of it is begining to dry out now though.

i think i will just need to be on top fof it this year and just stay covered up

Sudocreme is the best stuff I've used, I've tried all sorts. Worth trying if you have some. The main thing is keeping covered up. I'm nursing some pretty poorly arms at the moment after being caught out in that good weather we had last week.

thanks aquarium do you have or have you tried any prescribed treatment and what are your thoughts on or have you used 100% sun block at all?

I use this on my body and this on my face.

I've never been prescribed anything, the GP wasn't interested really, just said sunscreen and antihistamine.

I was told anti histamine. I take 1 tablet in the morning and again at night and when I know I am going to be exposed to sun I go on a sunbed a couple of times a week. Which weirdly really helps Also when my skin has got used to the sun and has a light tan the hives just disappear.

Oh and staying covered up has never worked for me. infact it seems to make it worse as the hotter and sweatier I get the worse it gets.

Sea water makes it better too.

So actually I just need to live in FLorida so I can have yr round sunshine and lovely warm sea to swim in.

I have developed something similar but only in extreme heat and sun such as when I am abroad.

In the past few years I have had quite a bad reaction on my arms, legs and chest and seen Drs where I have been on holiday at the time - USA, Spain, Greece and Portugal.

They have all told me the same thing. It is obvioulsy caused by heat and sun but made worse by suncreams clogging the skin and preventing it from swaeting and breathing properly. Obviously they recommend safe sun exposure so dont condone not using sun creams but suggest using sun milks or light lotions as opposed to thicker ones. Non waterproof is even better and although they dont actually say dont keep re-applying - it is the frequent re-application over the course of a day/several days that acerbate the problem. They also suggested laying off the after sun - or use it sparingkly to give skin a chance the "breathe".

I have found E45 lotion as a moisturiser when absolutely neccessary (as opposed to aftersun) is a little better and sudocreme when its really bad. Last week in spain the fronts of my legs were the worse they have ever been. I looked like I had horrendous burns down the front of my legs between knee and ankle. They were not even sunburnt but went from red to almost purple. It was scarily horrid to look at - even I thought it must be horrendous sun burn but it was not, just an allergy rash. I covered my legs for 2 days with a light cotton sheet and keots them in the shade. Used little lotions and took antihistamines. 2 days later they calmed down and now I have been home 24 hours to a cool wet UK there is no eveidence of anything ever being there.

The only other advice I have had in addition to the above was from a Greek Dr in Rhodes Corfu who also prescribed me calcium tablets. No idea what the idea was behind that at all - even my Uk GP looked bemused when I asked him.

apologies for my typos - there seems to be a delay between my typing and it appearing in the screen.

*meant to say in Rhodes or Corfu!!

i have an allergy to direct sun but not the heat so covering up works very well

i use the piz buin allergy range too which seems to help a bit

thanks for replies, as I thought, not much out there to help, my sis is yet to find anything that works other than sun bed daily for months but Im not really up for that and she found it impossible to manage.

will use the sudo creme. i dont use after sun, just the bicarb in the bath and have used aqueouse but it hasnt helped so far.

i dont think its the heat either everybodysleepyeyed, I will try and look out for the allergy range. thanks for that.

The heat doesn't bother me at all, its just the direct sunlight. Its fine on a cloudy day, but as soon as its proper direct sunlight then I have problems. It gets me down a bit in the summer if I'm honest.

Me too aquarium - I went on safari and the stronger sun meant i had to wear long sleeves, trousers and cotton gloves. i got lots of funny looks!

I'm normally ok in the UK, not the past week though!

i just found the piz buin on amazone for 9.99 Im going to order it.

It is horrible aquarium, I found the last 2 years my arms have constant blisters like chicken pox on them all summer round and once they dry up they dont then disapear they just stay white and shinny and then blister on top, but so far this year the blisters are larger and merging into each other particularly on my feet, the itching is unbearable and not to mention unsightly.

give it a go - hope it works!

Good luck. I hate that people think I'm badly sunburnt because I'm red and crusty looking, as if I'm really irresponsible to let myself get that burnt. When in actual fact I've just been caught out on a day I didn't expect to be sunny. My bed sheets get in a right state and have to be binned at the end of each summer because I have to sleep caked in sudocreme. Gah! Its miserable and seemingly no one else seems to have ever heard of it because when I tell people what the problem is they make this face as if I'm making it up!

I have a sun allergy which has been diagnosed as polymorphic light eruption. PLE for short. I've tried light therapy which didn't work. I'm now on tablets which can only be prescribed. I see a consultant dermatologist referred by my GP. Some skin conditions mean you can get sun cream on prescription and PLE is one of them. I used to think it was prickly heat but consultant ruled that out. You should ask your GP to refer you as there isn't just light therapy. Good luck!

Try a barrier mineral sunscreen, such as one with zinc oxide or titanium oxide, rather than a chemical one. Helps me and dd.

I hear you Aquarium!

I always joke that I'm really a vampire when people comment on my lack of summery clothes

Hello, I have variegate porphyria, some types of porphyria result in very extra sensitivity to the sun.
VP is genetic, (not all types are genetic) and I got tested because my mum was known to have it.

Go to GP just to be sure there isn't any under lying condition.

Another vote for Piz Buin Allergy Suncream - helps loads! Am PLE diagnosed and have found this the best by far. Mineral sunscreens - Liz Earle for example not so good.