Hi Newtodis. One of my best friends is allergic to the sun. It doesn't mean she never goes out in the sun, but if she stays out too long she starts to get a rash -- if she gets under cover right away it usually goes away on its own. Longer or consistant exposure and it is much worse. She also had no problem with it when she was younger -- I didn't have hayfever as a kid either, but I sure do now.
Good luck at the dermatologist -- hopefully you have a less intense form of this.
Hey redrosesix!
Yes I get the rash - mostly on my hands and arms and it's incredibly ithcy!
Both my mother and I are allergic. We have to be really careful when we are out in the sun and cover up as much as possible. We usually end up with rashes on our arms mostly.
Me too - arms and hands and these "sores" on my face.
i am allergic to the sun and have to be VERY careful. even a few minutes of riding in the car with sun shining in on my arms causes a blotchy rash that itches worse than anything you can imagine. i've never had any sores. i did get a horrible case of epcot rash back in june from not putting sunscreen on my legs. that's the only thing i've ever found that itches worse than my sun allergy-i don't usually have to put sunscreen on my legs, but i will at epcot from now on. the pavement reflects more sunlight than at the other parks.
Yes it's incredibly itchy!
I am and I most often get blisters. Squillions of teeny tiny blisters.
My arms are the easiest to blister. It's not a sunburn blister either, but an entirely different sort of blister. That's just one of the reasons I'd never got to WDW in the summer. I'd have to swim in a vat of sunblock every 30 minutes.
Oh that sounds awful!
at the swimming in sun block!
I have reacted to sun exposure at different times in my life. I get hives. Only on the exposed areas and one time my forearms and hands swelled up to nearly twice their size.
For what it is worth, you can develop an allergy at any time in your life. You don't have to be allergic to it from birth.
Do see a dermatologist and take any medications your doctors give you to clear up what is going on with you.
There are some lip balms that contain sun protection. I know Avon makes some and I am sure others do to. Neutrogena has been a good sunscreen for me too as it is very gentle and I don't break out from it like the others.
If you don't get this cleared up keep trying with a different doctor...not all of them have the same knowledge or experiences.
Thanks for all of your advice!
I understand the allergy could develop at any time
I'm awaiting a referral from another doctor (saw doctor number 3 today and he promised I'd have an appointment within the next week).
I'll have to check out the stuff from Avon. I bought some new stuff from Neosporan last night at Target and that made it worse...
Oh I'm going to try every docotor in town until I get this figured out. It's just so frustrating.
If I don't wear sunscreen on my lips while in the sun I will get a fever blister. My husband and our niece are the same way. I use Banana Boat lip balm with spf 45, as long as I am vigilant with it while I am outside, I don't have a problem.
I don't have any experience with your issue but hope that you can get it cleared up quickly!
As someone else posted, you can develop an allergy at any time in your life.
Thank you! I hope it's cleared up quickly too!
If all you are doing is getting cold sores around your mouth it is probably Herpes Simplex virus, not an allergy. Outbreaks are commonly triggered by the sun or extreme cold. It's very common. My guess is you had the outbreak and it got infected with impetigo which perpetuated the outbreak. Viscous cycle.
Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional, nor do I play one on TV!
No herpese - I've been on Valtrex for six weeks now and the doctor (third doctor) confirmed the sun allergy as they're not blisters like a cold sore. It kind of looks like a misquito (sp?) bite (small, round, red and itchy like a hive) then it kind of crusts over a little bit. Once I'm out of the sun for a couple of days they go away and the Valtrex and stuff the last doctor gave me should have cleared it up if it were herepes and impantago. It's just frustrating to no end....
I am allergic to the sun. It developed suddenly a few years ago. I wear longsleeves all summer and try to keep covered up as best I could. I found an awesome beach shirt when I was in Florida that has long sleeves and even a hood. It is light and airy and works great to keep the hives away , especially when I use sunscreen underneatha nd then put the shirt on over my bathing suit. I even wear it in the water. My bathing suit this year came with pants made of the same meterial. I wore those every day on my beach vacation this summer. When they came off for a short time on a cooler day, I came home with sunburn and hives on my legs that didn't go away for almost a month. That was with 70 SPF too.
Wow! Thanks for the suggestions - I may have to look into that special clothing when I got to beach and stuff although my reactions are not that severe at this time.
I've been allergic to the sun all my life. I get these big red itchy welts all along my arms, hands, feet, legs--anything exposed to the sun. I even get them riding in the car with tinted windows or if I put on sun screen.
I've had several different creams prescribed by different doctors all my life(I'm 37) and nothing worked. I've just learned to live with it and knew if I was going out in the sun during the summer I would have an itchy rash. So when my current doctor told me to take claritin and pepcid ac every morning--I didn't believe it would work at all. I was pleasantly surprised!!! I have had 2 summer sun months without a full blown itchy red rash! The real test will be when we goto WDW in October. Anyway just thought I'd pass that along to other people with sun allergy. I've been buying the generic versions of claritin and pepcid ac.
To the op I've never had any open sores around my mouth. Good luck with your problem.
Huh! I hadn't heard that yet but might just have to try it! I get the rash on my hands and arms and it itches like crazy!
OP, I am also allergic to the sun and get the same exact reaction as you, I understand what your going through!!! What I have learned is it is a developed auto immune allergy from prior exposure to the sun. Your immune system is attacking the burn area.
I have several "hot spots" that will react when they get even slightly burned. My nose being the worst. I use a clear zinc oxide on the areas before I go in the sun and it works well to prevent reaction.
Also, believe it or not, I was advised to go tanning a bit. The rays of the tanning booth are not the same that cause the reaction. So if I know I am going to be in the sun (say beach vaca) I will tan a bit to get a protective base. Not once did I get a reaction from tanning.
Best of Luck!
Can't tell you how good it is to hear someone say they know what I'm going through! It's a huge relief!
My "hot spots" appear to be like the lower half of my face, my hands and arms.
I used to tan in the winter when we lived in MI and was outside in the summer and stuff and never had this problem before.
Thank you all so much for your help, suggestions, advice and support. I do appreciate it! I'll be sure to come back and post what the dermatologist suggests once I have an appointment with him.
