on my face, very itchy, forearms, elbow creases, backs of wrists… in some patches red, bumpy lumpy, very itchy, raised areas, swollen face sometimes…
very mild steroid seems to work (topical)
been dx’ with possible sunlight sensitivity
but no one has ever said why or if it is safe or etc…
any info
while there are lots of meds that can cause sunlight sensitivity, the most common are Sulphor based antibiotics
I have heard of some anti psychotics that can cause this, but it is quite rare…
very mild steroid seems to work (topical)
Don’t put Steroid creams on your face if you can help it, they make it worse long term. They thin your face skin and may give you roscea to boot.
Thanks… that is the Dermatologist’s working diagnosis, (sunlight and antipsychotics)… but he wants to see me in about another 2 months to check if the winter months continue not to give me a rash
until now (spring sunshine) possibly…
I’ve had one attack in early jan which would not make sense as - in late jan we were in the Alps for 8 nights and it was sunny the whole time.
After nearly a year i think i am fed up enough to record everything i put on my face or body and every food substance, every attack documented same time of day every day.
write time of sun exposure (&temperature)
I have found out that i have a dust and cat allergy - although at time of testing very mildly - both - but we also have 2 cats and a dusty environment… as i don’t clean like i should
I’ve had good results with a very mild cream. Used 2 x on the first day of a flare up seems to get it under control enough to cover it with makeup during the days
They work short term, but long term can make things worse. Use it as little as possible if you’re going to use it. It can end up making your skin sensitive to makeup. Also it can thin your face skin, and give you steroid induced roscea.
I developed sunlight sensitivity after taking antipsychotics. Even in spring or autumn I can’t stand under strong sunlight for more than 10 minutes otherwise I will get rash and headache. I always wear a hat in spring, autumn and summer.
Hi green.
Can you tell me at which point after exposure you notice the rash And how much sun can you cope with before getting a rash ? With the hat on?
It isn’t immediate for me, leaving me to think ‘is it the cats’ who both sleep with us
I get the rash overnight but does seem to match when I’ve been in the hot sun within the last 48hrs
Have woken up to it worse than ever and it’s now early morning
Also - thought of something else… Does an antihistamine help you ?
And have you found and stopped the offending drug?
I don’t know which med caused this. It could be either risperidone or seroquel, or both.
Usually 30 minutes after the exposure I would feel the rash with a red face and a headache. I avoid staying under the strong sunlight even with a hat on. I went to the shades of trees as much as possible.
I have extreme sensitivity to sunlight and it also makes me sneeze. I have about 5% vision in one eye from an astigmatism that cannot be improved without surgery (which I can’t afford), so that might contribute. There are plenty of genetic and immune system functions that can explain these phenomena. I suppose different genetic expressions could be triggered by different meds too.
How long have you had this? Do you find it psychologically difficult to stay out of the sun?
Do you feel like you will annoy your friends / family or affect your other half negatively
i feel like my husband feels that it’s a pretty stupid thing to think about / talk about / is that really what it is
I read that it is better to be in ‘deep shade’ than any light shade,
how much do you go against recommendations like stay out all day next to the beach?
I have delayed reaction - on the second day in the morning it shows up - overnight - very itchy, plaques and slightly sore looking bits and lumps, bumps, patches of raised thick skin (weals?) big and small on my arms and face.
Not really feeling good about the whole thing. Read about a guy on line who had this and went on to win round the world races on a boat, so i’m sure there is always going to be the one person who defeats all the odds and go and make a serious outdoor career for himself - but I’d rather hear from everyday people - not the most idolising guy who anyone can think of
Hi I am sorry to everyone for copy paste
How long have you had this? Do you find it psychologically difficult to stay out of the sun?
Do you feel like you will annoy your friends / family or affect your other half negatively
i feel like my husband feels that it’s a pretty stupid thing to think about / talk about / is that really what it is
I read that it is better to be in ‘deep shade’ than any light shade,
how much do you go against recommendations like stay out all day next to the beach?
I have delayed reaction - on the second day in the morning it shows up - overnight - very itchy, plaques and slightly sore looking bits and lumps, bumps, patches of raised thick skin (weals?) big and small on my arms and face.
Not really feeling good about the whole thing. Read about a guy on line who had this and went on to win round the world races on a boat, so i’m sure there is always going to be the one person who defeats all the odds and go and make a serious outdoor career for himself - but I’d rather hear from everyday people - not the most idolising guy who anyone can think of
As long as I can remember.
Yes and no. It’s complicated. I understand on a scientific level the importance of sunlight exposure to good health. If I didn’t, I’d probably be happy in a cave.
I’m not really hugely affected by empathetic thinking, so this is a challenging question for me. I guess, I have to hand the car-keys to my wife a lot because I can’t see well enough to drive, but that’s pretty minor. I have ups and downs with my social issues too, so I expect that my partner and friends rarely get past that in order to actually blame sunlight avoidance as the culprit.
No amount of emotional blackmail would improve the odds of me doing anything. Ever. If you hate the beach because it makes you feel unwell, stuff anyone trying to force you to live life like they do. 
This is clearly having a strong impact on your quality of life. I cannot recommend strongly enough that you proactively exhaust all avenues until the day you die. Do not give up. Do not subscribe to mediocrity. Do something you haven’t done yet.
Here are a few suggestions:
Dermatologist
Interrogative GP
Natropath
Dietician
Biohacker
To better understand “Biohacker”, here is a guy I can recommend and a lot more information on what this entails: http://selfhacked.com/contact/
Good luck
You should check all your medicine side effects to see if one has a rash with the same symptoms as yours. Sometimes you can find pictures.
I have had this for more than 5 years.[quote=“Thanna, post:12, topic:46873”]
Do you feel like you will annoy your friends / family or affect your other half negatively
[/quote]
yes, this side effect of med does affect my family as I can’t go traveling with my husband in summer or on other hot sunny days.
I can all but guarantee that it is caused an immune-system dysfunction of some kind. Drugs can appear to be to blame because when sunlight (UVR usually) is absorbed by your skin, it can interact with drugs (resulting in changes and reactions to the chemical structures) that are in your system and confuse your immune system into reacting like it would to an allergy or disease. Hence the rashes (inflammation).
The same goes for any topical agents you might apply, like lotions or perfumes etc. Again, the UV initiates a reaction, so you don’t think to stop applying them to your skin because it just appears to be the sun causing it.
However, if the issue is long standing and the drugs and products you’ve been using haven’t been consistent over the entire time, then it is probably not a problem that can be solved by changing meds or eliminating skin products.
Of course, I haven’t seen your rashes, so it could be anything… even Lupus, which is easy enough to rule out.
Get your GP to organise a skin biopsy when you present with a rash. That’d be where I’d start if you haven’t already had that done. If your GP becomes a dead end, go through that list I wrote (in any order you like).
I did have a rash that was determined to be caused by Tegretol. But the symptoms were different than what you describe. My arms were broken out in red bumps like poison ivy, but they didn’t itch. It got worse with time. I left the Tegretol off. In a week the bumps were gone. Other symptoms disappeared in time. Though I’m not sure if some of them are coming back.