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Recently Became Allergic to the Sun. Is This Serious?
- Thread starter appleguy123
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I wouldn't be taking medical advice from some kid whose claim to fame is a 27.65 posts a day average at MR.
Isn't giving advice on the internet about not to seek advice on the internet exactly what you're advising against?
You can give suggestions that a person can then go research themselves to see if it applies. Such as the suggestion of Lupus (if the other symptoms are connected).
If the sun rash is isolated, it could be ultraviolet overexposure when you haven't been in the sun for a while (as the OP says). Google 'Polymorphous Light Eruption'. The second possibility is an actual sun allergy - google 'Solar Urticaria', but the rash appears almost immediately on exposure (which didn't happen in this case did it?).
i get the same thing when im working outside for a few hours too.
it itches like yours does.
i dont get any largely noticeable joint pains and no sores beyond my normal acne.
it does go away when I go inside and put cold water on the affected parts.
but then again i have kinda sensitive skin and my personal thought is, sweat + dirt/fruit fuzz can cause mine.
I dont think its too big of a deal for me but ive shown my parents so they know about it and if it gets worse, ill go to a doctor.
but i want to know what your doctor thinks of it when you see it.
im 17, so I cant do much either.
Appleguy: do you have any sensitive skin issues or acne? I do and that might contribute too I think.
it itches like yours does.
i dont get any largely noticeable joint pains and no sores beyond my normal acne.
it does go away when I go inside and put cold water on the affected parts.
but then again i have kinda sensitive skin and my personal thought is, sweat + dirt/fruit fuzz can cause mine.
I dont think its too big of a deal for me but ive shown my parents so they know about it and if it gets worse, ill go to a doctor.
but i want to know what your doctor thinks of it when you see it.
im 17, so I cant do much either.
Appleguy: do you have any sensitive skin issues or acne? I do and that might contribute too I think.
I'm sure it's worth asking but just remember that no answers you receive on the internet should really be considered a substitute for seeing a real doctor.
With that said, I'm not sure what's going on but sometimes bodies just do strange things like this (and usually self-resolve) without any clear indication of why. If it were me I would be asking a doctor for a more thorough examination and for blood tests for autoimmune disorders along with the bog standard tests, like Complete Blood Count.
I would GUESS it's just a fluke, that being at camp, with all the new people and germs as well as new food and more sun has flared up your immune system and you've been fighting something off. It may be enough to explain all of that.
With that said, I'm not sure what's going on but sometimes bodies just do strange things like this (and usually self-resolve) without any clear indication of why. If it were me I would be asking a doctor for a more thorough examination and for blood tests for autoimmune disorders along with the bog standard tests, like Complete Blood Count.
I would GUESS it's just a fluke, that being at camp, with all the new people and germs as well as new food and more sun has flared up your immune system and you've been fighting something off. It may be enough to explain all of that.
I've said it before and I'll say it again...asking medical advice on the Internet, or self-diagnosing based on ANY Internet site is I'll-advised. I tell my patients to feel free and read up once a diagnosis is given, but not before.
OP, see an MD. Start with your pediatrician/family physician/internist. They can help you most of the time. Take a list/timeline of all of your symptoms any any new exposures (food, medcines, soaps, detergents). With rashes, pics help if you are not currently breaking out. You may be referred for blood work, or to a dermatologist or rheumatologist.
That having been said...some possibilities:
Photosensitization by something applied to skin or ingested (sulfites are notorious for this)
Drug-induced lupus
An autoimmune disease such as lupus, dermatomyositis, etc.
Bechets
Neurodermatits
Poison ivy
Mouth sores could be herpes (cold sores), which can be activated by UV
etc.
The differential is broad. The more information about the "who, where, when, and how" will help your physician figure out the why.
Good luck and stay inside.
OP, see an MD. Start with your pediatrician/family physician/internist. They can help you most of the time. Take a list/timeline of all of your symptoms any any new exposures (food, medcines, soaps, detergents). With rashes, pics help if you are not currently breaking out. You may be referred for blood work, or to a dermatologist or rheumatologist.
That having been said...some possibilities:
Photosensitization by something applied to skin or ingested (sulfites are notorious for this)
Drug-induced lupus
An autoimmune disease such as lupus, dermatomyositis, etc.
Bechets
Neurodermatits
Poison ivy
Mouth sores could be herpes (cold sores), which can be activated by UV
etc.
The differential is broad. The more information about the "who, where, when, and how" will help your physician figure out the why.
Good luck and stay inside.
I'm curious as to why your physician didn't order an ANA (a good baseline screening method for autoimmune conditions) and/or Lupus Antigoagulant Profile with Reflex. I can assure you she was taught this in medical school and is as simple as a routine phlebotomy from any decent CAP accredited clinical laboratory...
My money is on a simple dermatitis combined with male hypochondria.
The chances of lupus are vanishingly small and not remotely near the top of the list of likely diagnoses.
The chances of lupus are vanishingly small and not remotely near the top of the list of likely diagnoses.
To the OP....
I hope you get it figured it soon. Can't be fun at all, and I'm sure a little worrying. Keep bugging your doctor until it's figured out.
In the interests of looking at long-term solutions, in case you have developed a permanent allergy to the sun, may I suggest you look at moving to Prince Rupert, in British Columbia, Canada? It is almost always cloudy and rainy there.
See this link about a South African family who had members with a sun allergy. And yes, this is meant to be humourous. Imagine the look on your family's face when you pull out the map and tell them you would like to move there, while pointing to spot on the map that is so far away from anywhere.....
Seriously - Good Luck. Stay calm. It may take a while, but be confident that you will get if figure out. At this point the stress of being worried is not doing you any favours, so try to get some stress-busting activities in.
I hope you get it figured it soon. Can't be fun at all, and I'm sure a little worrying. Keep bugging your doctor until it's figured out.
In the interests of looking at long-term solutions, in case you have developed a permanent allergy to the sun, may I suggest you look at moving to Prince Rupert, in British Columbia, Canada? It is almost always cloudy and rainy there.
See this link about a South African family who had members with a sun allergy. And yes, this is meant to be humourous. Imagine the look on your family's face when you pull out the map and tell them you would like to move there, while pointing to spot on the map that is so far away from anywhere.....
Seriously - Good Luck. Stay calm. It may take a while, but be confident that you will get if figure out. At this point the stress of being worried is not doing you any favours, so try to get some stress-busting activities in.
Answers to some questions I saw.
I don't have sensitive skin and don't get acne very bad at all. I do have psoriasis.
The rash does not happen "as soon" as I walk outside. It seems to happen after around 10 minutes.
I don't have sensitive skin and don't get acne very bad at all. I do have psoriasis.
The rash does not happen "as soon" as I walk outside. It seems to happen after around 10 minutes.
Hmmmmm allergic to the sun? Has anyone been chasing after you with wooden stakes? Have you been sleeping in a coffin? any unusual appetites for blood? Do you sparkle? are you over 100 years old and teenage girls cant get enough of you?......see this is why you don't come to an online forum for advice go find a damn doctor. LOL
My mother is allergic to the sun, terribly so, and has been since she got sun-poisoning at 19. (She's 82.) The sun will start to make her feel prickly pain within just a few minutes (about 3) of being out in it. If she is in the sun any longer than about 10 minutes, she will get a terrible rash and run a high fever. It will take her a couple of days to recover. Sunblocks don't help at all. The good side is that she looks very young for her age.
OP, I doubt that you are allergic to the sun. It is a very rare condition. Lupus is also highly unlikely.
I hope that this thread will just help you to talk to your doctor, ask plenty of questions, and pay attention to what s/he tells you. I hope that you are not too alarmed by all the possibilities put out here by everyone.
OP, I doubt that you are allergic to the sun. It is a very rare condition. Lupus is also highly unlikely.
I hope that this thread will just help you to talk to your doctor, ask plenty of questions, and pay attention to what s/he tells you. I hope that you are not too alarmed by all the possibilities put out here by everyone.
Obviously you didn't read my thread. If you had you would see that I had already been to a doctor among my other problems with going to doctor.
This is very good advice, but above all I would keep careful track of when symptoms appear and what is happening and avoid convincing yourself of things based solely on internet resources.
If your family doctor hasn't offered any additional options, consider meeting with her again and discuss running an ANA (anti-nuclear antibody) serum titer. This is a common first-step in considering a diagnosis of something like lupus. While the ANA test is not terribly specific, positive results can begin to point to a more focused workup.
Have you ever had formal allergy testing (with skin needle testing for specific sensitivities?)? That may be a consideration.
The combination of mouth sores plus photoreactive rash sounds like a systemic immune reaction of some kind, but the sun may not be the source. In medical school, we never discussed these kinds of syndromes in any great length, so I would urge consultation with either an Immunologist/Allergist, a Dermatologist, or both if you can. Differential diagnosis of rashes and allergic reactions are tricky, even for the skilled and experienced.
I wish you the best!
I think that you provided me with some good advice. The moderators deleted a lot of what you said though.
AS of right now, I haven't been in the sun since Friday. The rash is gone, but the joint pain persists.
I saw that they deleted most of what i and others said about post count... and im ok with that, theyre just doing their job.
I dont know about the joint pain.... it may just be a coincidence.
Thanks for the information. For the record, I have been out of the sun for 5 days. All symptoms that I reported are gone.My mother is allergic to the sun, terribly so, and has been since she got sun-poisoning at 19. (She's 82.) The sun will start to make her feel prickly pain within just a few minutes (about 3) of being out in it. If she is in the sun any longer than about 10 minutes, she will get a terrible rash and run a high fever. It will take her a couple of days to recover. Sunblocks don't help at all. The good side is that she looks very young for her age.
OP, I doubt that you are allergic to the sun. It is a very rare condition. Lupus is also highly unlikely.
I hope that this thread will just help you to talk to your doctor, ask plenty of questions, and pay attention to what s/he tells you. I hope that you are not too alarmed by all the possibilities put out here by everyone.
Technically, it is an allergy.
An allergy is defined as a body's (immune) response to a foreign substance. For some reason, skin exposed to sun can be sometimes (rarely) seen by the immune system as an allergen.
I did some research, OP. As someone with some training in Biomedicine (Western Medicine) but who is NOT a Doctor, I can say to my eyes this link appears useful and well-grounded for questions about "being allergic to the sun."
http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/c/9339/10710.html
In regard to your other symptoms, that sore on your nose...could simply be the byproduct of your nose becoming over exposed to the sun. Did you get a sunburn that day you were out in the sun? The nose is an extremely common place to get sun burnt. My own father just came back from the Bahamas and even though he used sun screen, his nose is literally oozing from the amount of solar damage he acquired.
Sometimes, when we have an issue that appears serious (your rash) we start noticing other things going on in our body that all seem to be part of the problem but are actually just mundane. Like, possibly, your joint pain.
for what it's worth, OP...I don't know if you wear cologne, or some artificially scented skin products...even deoderant..but, if you do, there is a vague chance that products like that could be a contributing factor in your photosensitivity.
anyway, don't worry. You are young and probably totally fine
good luck.
ps: You might be able to get help with your psoriasis by having your parents take you to a reputable Naturopathic Doctor or Doctor of Chinese Medicine (acupuncturist). There are both Western herbs & Chinese herbs which can greatly help with psoriasis. I'm an advocate of Chinese Medicine..it's what I'm going to school for.
This is thought to be because sunlight acts as an immunosuppresant on skin. Pretty cool
.
Posting this wasn't such a great idea, now the OP is going to go through that list, see he has some of the conditions, and think he has auto-immune.
Going on a forum to ask for medical attention isn't always the best thing to do. What if someone were to offer bad advice? You could wind up making your situation worse. The best I can recommend is to see a dermatologist, someone who specializes in this field and can help you best.