When It's Not A Sunburn But A Sun Allergy

As it gets warmer and people start spending more time outside, I have more and more patients coming into my office and complaining of a “sun allergy.” A sun allergy is really a layman’s term, which refers to a number of conditions when a rash occurs on skin that has been exposed to the sun. These are also referred to as photosensitive disorders or photodermatoses, and can be broadly categorized into the following medical terms: idiopathic photodermatoses, exogenous photodermatoses, photoexacerbated dermatoses, genetic photodermatoses, and metabolic photodermatoses. Sounds complicated, right?  A sun allergy refers to a number of conditions when a rash occurs on skin that has been exposed to the sun. Let’s break it down: If, after spending a few hours in the sun, you develop an itchy red bumpy rash on your chest and arms, you likely have polymorphous light eruption (PMLE). Often when someone says they have a “sun allergy,” they are referring to this condition, which has rash-like symptoms. It is also one of the most common photodermatoses. PMLE most frequently occurs in women between the ages of 20-40. Polymorphous refers to the fact that the rash can look different on people, but it mostly appears as pink or red bumps on the arms, chest, and legs; the face is usually not affected. Typically, it occurs in spring or early summer, and is triggered by several hours of sun exposure after a long period of no sun exposure (winter!). It's not...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news