Anyone have a sun alergy?? What happens and what do you do to avoid it?

[bargainhuntingbetty]

The last few weeks when I have been outside in the sun my arms have got really itchy and got like prickly heat on them,. When I was out yesterday in a particularly sunny place, within minutes I was itching and then blister type things appeared all over my arms. It was so itchy that I had to go home and take antihistamine. It sstarted itching again in the early hours of the morning and is now driving me nuts again. Does anyone else get this and how do you avoid it?

Thanks

??????

My friend has- she has to keep covered up, gets big lumps a bit like how you describe.
She can't sit in the sun, has to stay in the shade, and has taken anti-histamines when she has got caught out in the past, and some sort of soothing gel- I think she uses aloe vera.

Does it need a diagnosis from a gp ?? Do I need to waste their time or is it pretty certain that is what I have??

I'd go see the GP anyway, it's always best to seek medical advice.

Good luck!

Thhanks. It is not sunny here today so hopefully I will be okay today when I walk the dogs. Thanks

I know my friend gets it even if she puts a really high factor suncream on, and it can be very uncomfortable.

You won't be wasting the GPs time- something is happening that is putting you in a lot of discomfort.

there is such a thing called polymorphic light eruption - google it, it may have some helpful advice.

I have something similar and I just take antihistamines which seem to control it - it is worth seeing your GP. My SIL has something more extreme where her skin blisters and looks like a burn when it is exposed to the sun. She wears sun block (highest factor available) takes anti-histamines and also has intense UV therapy at St Thomas' hospital in spring before it gets too sunny. She was at the point of not being able to go out at all as her condition was so bad.

are you on any medication at the moment??

I ask because when I am on certain medications and anitbiotics I also get an allergic reaction when out in the sun.

I have to take antihistamine daily anyway, due to other severe allergies, and it helps, altho I still get what I call 'red freckles' where the sun hits. (I have normal freckles anyway, so my skin type is fair anyway.....not sure if that makes my skin more likely to react?)

you do need medical advice tho. sun allergy doesn;t sound good if for no underlying reason (ie, medication reaction)

Hiya

I take ad's but have been on these for years, I also got the coil fitted in Feb, other than that I am not on any meds. This is a new thing and it looks awful. I was out for lunch with my grandadd today and he noticed it andd commented, he thought I had done something to myself. I will let it settle this time and if it happens again I will go to my gp. I want to double chheck it is the sun and it wasnt some grass allergy or something that I had come into contact with yesterday. I have never suffered allergies before though so I cant see it being that.

Thanks for the replies though

Betty - google Ploymorphic Light Eruption.

I had this for several years starting when I was pg with dd (at the same time I developed an allergy to the cold; come up in big nettle rash weals) For me it seems to be hormone related.

I had mine diagnosed by my GP when it was at it's worst about 10 years ago. The rash is generally much worse than prickly heat; more blistery and bumpy. He prescribed antihistamines (Telfast 180) which I am supposed to take before exposure to the sun. Also I use a lotion with high UVA rating as well as UVB. The UVB is the factor rating, UVA is rated by stars. This last two years mine has been much improved, I'm not sure why although I do still get th cold thing. Generally once PLE has flared at the beginning of the summer and then settled you often don't get it again until the following year - it seems to be triggered by the first good exposure of the year.

HTH

God the typos...Polymorphic.

I've had PLE for years. If I know I'm going on a big holiday where I'll have a lot of sun exposure, I go for a few sunbeds before I go - 25 mins (a min or so at a time) is enough to prepare my skin. If I'm in the UK I tend to put up with it - cover up, avoid sitting in full sun. I never get a tan but comfort myself by telling myself that I'll look better than a lot of my friends in years to come (and no one ever believes I'm as old as I am so I guess it's working!)