Polymorphous Light Eruption - anyone?

[nkereina]

Anyone here familiar with or suffer from PMLE - Polymorphous Light Eruption? It's a skin irritation/rash that breaks out from over exposure to the sun. It's not a burn and it's not sun poisoning. I've read it occurs often on skin that has not been exposed to sunlight for a period of time (such as chest/shoulders during the winter, etc.). It's brief and for me, cleared up in a day or two with cortisone cream. Not contagious or painful, but itchy and noticeable.

Just looking for others' experiences with this, how they treated it, and how they prevent it if possible? I had a bout with this while in Hawaii back in September. I'll be going on a cruise in March, after my skin has not been exposed to much sun over the winter, so hoping to prevent it through means other than just staying in the shade!

 

[Magpie]

My daughter gets this. It's sometimes called a "sun allergy".

She prevents it by using sunscreen on exposed skin, and also by wearing clothing that covers her arms and legs, and a hat. She does not wear sandals, because the skin on the top of her feet is particularly sensitive to the sun. She doesn't deliberately stay in the shade, but she doesn't go lying out in the sun either.

Good luck!

 

[loves to dive]

I get it and I have olive skin and don't sunburn per se. I just break out but I've been told it's because I'm allergic to the sun and have been exposed to it too much throughout my life. I was one of those people in the 70s that used to slather baby oil on my skin and lay out in the sun all day in New Mexico. I would turn a nice shade of brown since my skin is olive to start with but I'm paying for it now. I wear a hat of some sort any time I'm out in the sun and will have some sort of light sleeves on, even when wearing a sun dress. I seek shade and try not to get too much sun exposure. I will go to the pool and the beach and I'm a scuba diver so do spend a lot of time on and under the ocean. I use sunscreen anywhere my skin is exposed. I just ignore it. My family gets furious with me when I've been outside and haven't used sunscreen and break out. I do get tanned with just a tiny bit of sun exposure but even my tanned skin will break out.

 

[Magpie]

I get it and I have olive skin and don't sunburn per se. I just break out but I've been told it's because I'm allergic to the sun and have been exposed to it too much throughout my life. I was one of those people in the 70s that used to slather baby oil on my skin and lay out in the sun all day in New Mexico. I would turn a nice shade of brown since my skin is olive to start with but I'm paying for it now. I wear a hat of some sort any time I'm out in the sun and will have some sort of light sleeves on, even when wearing a sun dress. I seek shade and try not to get too much sun exposure. I will go to the pool and the beach and I'm a scuba diver so do spend a lot of time on and under the ocean. I use sunscreen anywhere my skin is exposed. I just ignore it. My family gets furious with me when I've been outside and haven't used sunscreen and break out. I do get tanned with just a tiny bit of sun exposure but even my tanned skin will break out.

We're Canadian, and my daughter has never been out in the sun very much (bookish kind of girl), so in her case it's unlikely to be due to over-exposure. But she does have vitiligo, mild Reynaud's syndrome (fingers go white when stressed or cold) and allergies, so the doctor told us her sun allergy was probably just one more thing to blame on her generally overactive immune system. On the plus side, she rarely catches colds or flu, and when she does she recovers fast.

 

[sonnyjane]

No. I get prickly heat, but I just googled it and it looks like prickly heat is caused by the temperature whereas PLE is from the light itself.

 

[nkereina]

My dermatologist described it as your skin getting lengthy or strong sun exposure after a period of time of getting no exposure at all. It wasn't conveyed as an allergy to me and it's actually never happened to me before last summer. For me back in the Fall, I hadn't been in the sun much for a several weeks. We then went to Hawaii and I was in the strong sun for a few hours and developed the rash on my chest and shoulders, which had the least amount of sun exposure in the few weeks prior. It's almost as if your skin that had been covered up from the elements was now being shocked, so to speak. I've read that taking beta carotene and Claritin (no idea why) a few weeks prior to sun exposure will help lessen the effects, so curious if anyone's tried that or has any other tips? I always wear sunscreen but this rash seems to be unrelated or not impacted by sunscreen.

 

[Bilberry]

It's only observational, I didn't see a study on it, I've read some people comment that their sun sensitivity went away after taking vitamin D oil fat supplements. Whether that includes PLE, or even if true, I don't know. It is just something I recall reading on the vitamin D council web sight.

 

[Magpie]

My dermatologist described it as your skin getting lengthy or strong sun exposure after a period of time of getting no exposure at all. It wasn't conveyed as an allergy to me and it's actually never happened to me before last summer. For me back in the Fall, I hadn't been in the sun much for a several weeks. We then went to Hawaii and I was in the strong sun for a few hours and developed the rash on my chest and shoulders, which had the least amount of sun exposure in the few weeks prior. It's almost as if your skin that had been covered up from the elements was now being shocked, so to speak. I've read that taking beta carotene and Claritin (no idea why) a few weeks prior to sun exposure will help lessen the effects, so curious if anyone's tried that or has any other tips? I always wear sunscreen but this rash seems to be unrelated or not impacted by sunscreen.

As I understand it, PLE is an immune reaction. Your skin is reacting to the sun exposure by trying to mount an immune response, similar to the way you can get hives from touching something you're allergic to. Sunscreen should be SPF 25 or more and block both UVA and UVB. Either that, or just go for the kind containing titanium. Also, antihistamines can help suppress your immune reaction (which probably explains why Claritin is said to work).

(Edit: Reading further, it seems the causes behind PLE aren't yet fully known. I've come across a report that suggests sufferer's skin defences are impaired, and others linking it to overactive immune response. It's never lupus. )

 

[nkereina]

@Magpie - good information, thanks!!

 

[J'aime Paris]

I was diagnosed with PLE by my dermatologist. I'm fair skin, fair hair and live in WI. I abused the sun as an outdoor lifeguard for many years. The rash started a few years ago, and is worse each year...even when applying sunscreen. Now I try to stay covered in intense sun.