I mentioned in a previous post about a sun-induced skin disorder that I have suffered from since about mid-teenage years. As a sun lover and beach goer, the idea of having to stay out of the sun was pretty devastating ... and not really an option. After doing a little research, it seems experts believe 1 in 10 people suffer from this disorder - and not surprisingly, European countries are spending much more time and energy trying to come up with prevention and treatment remedies than the US. As you can probably guess, in the states if you tell a doctor or dermatologist that you have a sun-induced skin issue, their answer is to..... stay out of the sun!! Duh!!
If one more person told me the rash I developed was sun poisoning, I was going to LOSE IT!!! I can tell you first hand that if you find someone else who gets this AND knows what it is, I will be very surprised!
Suffering from polymorphic light eruption (PMLE) has led me to do my own research and experimentation with prevention (not so much treatment since once the rash appears it's really too late) and I'd like to share my findings here for those who might be interested.
(all info in
italics was taken from the best website I've found on this disorder:
http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Polymorphic-Light-Eruption.htm)
What Is Polymorphic Light Eruption and How Do I Know If I Get It?
Polymorphic light eruption (PMLE) is a skin condition where your skin reacts to sunshine with a rash. It is not the same as sunburn. PMLE is not harmful, but can be inconvenient. Usually the PMLE rash occurs in spring or on a sunny holiday, when the skin is not used to sunshine. The rash heals completely. There are various treatments and preventative measures.
Reading just this small paragraph told me I was reading about exactly what I develop while on vacation. For many years, I blamed the sand and the ocean for the rash I developed.... thinking I was maybe allergic to some sort of shell fish or something. Turns out, we're just in the sun a lot more while on vacation.
Polymorphic light eruption is a particular type of rash that occurs in reaction to sunlight on the skin. The name comes from 'polymorphic eruption', which means a rash that varies (it can look different in each person). It will be called PMLE in the rest of this leaflet.With PMLE, the rash follows a particular pattern (explained below under symptoms). It usually starts when you first get sun on your skin after a long period without much sunshine. For example, in spring, or if you go on a sunny holiday during the winter.PMLE mostly affects people aged 20-40 years. It is more common in women and in people with fair skin type. It probably affects around 1 in 10 European women.
While it can come in many 'forms', but rash always looks the same. It starts with just a little itching sensation on the chest or upper arm. Within a couple of hours it looks terrible... red and blotchy, even a bit raised, and the itching is indescribable. That night, it might go down a bit, but within minutes of being back in the sun the next day, it's back and gets continually worse until I'm able to stay out of the sun entirely for at least a few days. As I said, many people would stop me and say: "Gosh, you have sun poisoning!!" But it simply wasn't possible... and I wasn't even sunburned! Annoying!
What Causes PMLE?
PMLE is caused by the radiation from the sun. The degree to which people suffer from this varies a lot. Some people cannot even get near a window and must stay covered all the time in order to not experience symptoms. Others, life myself, need a lot of exposure over the course of a day or several before the rash emerges. There is also research that shows you can 'toughen' your skin up by increasing the amount of sun exposure slowly - which is a technique those with severe PMLE must use to even be able to step outside on a sunny day. This might also explain why I hardly EVER get this on a late summer vacation (because we've been out in the sun, at the pool, etc... all summer already), but a February or March beach vacation is the worst!
The rash is usually on the parts of the body which have been covered during the winter, such as the arms and chest. The face and hands are less likely to be affected.The rash clears up within a week if you stay out of the sun. However, if there is more sunshine on the skin then it is likely to get worse. It heals well, without scarring. Symptoms tend to improve during the summer, as your skin becomes more adapted to sunlight.
There really is no definite way of diagnosing that you have PMLE accept for "phototesting" your skin's reaction to sunlight --- the best way is just to notice a pattern of reaction to the sunlight over time. As a sufferer of this, believe me, you know if you have it!!
Treatment and Prevention
Here's where it gets worse. Treatment basically comes down to wearing high SPF sunscreen (UVA AND UBV protection!), covering up, staying out of the strongest sunlight (10-2) etc... This is all fine and well for someone who is OK with slathering on their kids SPF 55 and staying hidden under an umbrella all day! NOT ME! So, moving on to what matters:
According to this website (and others - just google PMLE for more info!) there are other things that can work to prevent this from occurring (other than just staying out of the sun!) Here I have gone down the list of what I have found:
From the left: Eucerin Daily Sun Defense, Ocean Potion Anti-Aging Sunblock, pure vitamin E, beta-carotene pills
EUCERIN DAILY SUN DEFENSE LOTION: This is what a dermatologist recommended to us years ago to use for PMLE. There is a lovely mix of alphaglucosylrutin (AGR), Parasol 1789 (avobenzone), SPF 15, and other anti-oxidants in this lotion, which I would use twice a day for about a week before heading to the beach, plus while we were at the beach, and it warded off the rash pretty well. Here's the catch - it became harder and harder to find, until I realized it had been discontinued (apparently because of the miracle-working AGR??) by the company. I contacted them and they said there was nothing comparable or a replacement. Joy. I was able to order some from Germany about a year ago (for a pretty penny, might I add), which was awesome, but now it appears I might not even be able to get it there anymore! Ahhh!! I do still have a bottle of this stuff left, but the scarcity of it led me to begin researching what else could help prevent PMLE, instead of stalking this lotion!!
SOLARICARE (or HELIOCARE) PILLS: Read up on these by clicking
here and
here. I was about to go this route, when I decided to read what the main ingredients were. I went the way of trying to duplicate this pill myself. That being said, if I was able to just grab this from Target or something, and they were a little cheaper, I would be willing to try it. I would also try them if I had any specific knowledge of these puppies working: so if you've tried them, please speak up in the comment section!
BETA CAROTENE: I found these pills at the local CVS for under $10 for a ton of them. I began taking 2 per day on days I was in the sun and 1 on days I wasn't. This is a no-brainer because BC is so good for your skin and nails anyway.
TOPICAL VITAMIN E: This, also from CVS, comes in a little plastic bottle of oil. I added a couple of drops to my lotion and sunscreen every time I applied. I also would put it alone on dry parts of my skin. Research shows applying this topically can be more effective treatment than taken orally, which is why I went with this oil.
ANTI-OXIDANTS IN SUNSCREEN: A lot of articles I read recommended using a sunscreen with Parasol 1789 and plenty of anti-oxidant vitamins, which aid in the reduction of cell damaging free radicals - meaning it not only helps the skin prevent as much damage, but also helps repair it. Most people recommended suncreeens by Eucerin, but I could only find really high SPFs with the anti-oxidants, plus I couldn't find any with Parasol. Then I stumbled upon "Ocean Potion Anti-Aging Sunblock SPF 15 with Parasol 1789 and Solaplex". This had everything I wanted, plus was pretty cheap!
*UPDATE*
Check out these links:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16760827
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15238098?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_SingleItemSupl.Pubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=1&log$=relatedarticles&logdbfrom=pubmed
Prevention Tips to Try Based on Comments Below:
1.) Heliocare: Ok, now I really want to try this. A few of you mentioned this, and even that some doctors sell it. I plan on ordering this in the next month of two! There are many sites online, though I'm not sure of any stores to buy it at. I will definitely do a review of this product.
2.) Light Therapy: Done at a doctor's office. I need to look into this... is it just a tanning bed? hmm?
3.) Claritin, Niacin and Beta Carotene for two weeks prior to vacationing. This is similar to the pills I was talking about taking in the post, but adding Niacin and Claritin. DEFINITELY trying this!
4.) Sun lotions with Parasol and / or Helioplex!
5.) Also check out this webpage which suggests Lycopene as being the best free-radical scavenger in the carotene family ... which is what we want!
6.) I just read an interesting take on PMLE online where they suggested PMLE is an immune system reaction to a 'preditor' (the sun) attacking the body. Interesting, I'll be looking further into this.
Keep the comments coming people... especially anyone who knows WHERE you can find/buy products (or pure) alphaglucosylrutin!? Anyone have thoughts to share on HelioCare as it relates to PMLE? Sun-season is almost here again!
THE BREAKDOWN!!
Here is what I'm going to take this Spring/Summer to prevent this PMLE nightmare and we'll see what happens:
PILLS:
-Beta-carotene, niacin, and lycopene supplements (in the form of pills)
-Alternatively, I may try the HelioCare pills instead .... I need to read the ingredients on this to see if they might be the same of what I listed above.
- Claratin for 2 weeks before a vacation (as well as the other pills listed before up to 2 weeks before the vacay!)
TOPICAL:
- Eucerin Sun Defense (for the alphaglucosylrutin, Parasol, and other anti-oxidants) Mostly I'll use this to build up resistance before a vacation.
- ANY sunscreen I can find with the most anti-oxidant and free-radical protection I can find.... the lower the SPF the better .... higher SPF's are easier to find with this particular protection.
- Extra Vitamin E oil added to lotions both while in the sun and after-sun.
OTHER:
- A hat does wonders for me, and since my face and chest rarely tan well any way, and the chest is generally where my PMLE first pops up, the hat can REALLY increase the number of days I can stay rash-free while in the sun.
- This is obvious, but build-up sun slowly the first few days in intense sun and DO NOT GET BURNED even a little bit, which just decreases the amount of rash-free time I have in the sun by about 10 times! No burning!
OK - so that's my five minutes on a soapbox. What say you? I'd love to hear from others who suffer from this, what works, what doesn't, etc.... Have you tried the Solaricare or Heliocare pills? Anyone? I'm intrigued!
PS - Please remember - I am not a nurse, doctor, dermatologist, etc... not by a long-shot. I am just a normal person suffering from PMLE and trying to make other people's lives better! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE research everything for yourself before trying anything!!! It's hard to find info on this (which is why I'm putting it hear) but it is possible!!
