As I type this I am scratching my lower
forearm, that has two large hive-like
welts. This happened after I spent about
an hour on a friend's deck yesterday
morning and then golfed in the afternoon.
In both instances I had a long-sleeve
shirt but pushed the sleeves to my elbows,
exposing the skin. The other arm
developed hives during the golf round-
this one waited until this morning!
I am 45 years old and this condition (now
I know what it's called!) first happened
to me four years ago and took me
completely by surprise. I find that the
first few sun exposures of the summer are
the worst, but as i'm out more and get a
natural base tan, it doesn't occur as
often. I live in maine so the summers and
sun exposure are short. I use sunscreen
constantly now, which also seems to help,
and cover up often. My downfall is that I
love the sun and the beach and summers
here in maine are so short... :( the
hives get so bad that often a wide patch
of skin is just one "big hive"- one time
my entire lower back was one huge, raised,
welt.
Interestingly, I have no history of
allergies except for a period in my
childhood when I would break out in hives,
typically after getting over a cold or
other virus. I eventually outgrew
this.
I've never thought to seek medical
treatment or try drugs but reading some of
these posts has led me to that
direction.
Kathy
|
OzNed
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 02 Apr 2006 Posts: 1 Location: Western Australia
Solar Urticaia Is Not Pleasant Posted: 04-03-06 02:56am
Hi all su sufferers
i too am soooo happy to find this site. I
am 28yrs and live in perth western
australia. My su started when I was 9
weeks pregnant with my son who is now 15
weeks old. I have only been diagnosed for
two months and following light tests am
sensitive to the entire spectrum. My
dermatologist suggested we attempt light
therapy but as my sensitivity is less then
3 seconds this only created a massive
histamine release and I was rushed to
hospital via ambulance. I have not tried
any drugs as yet but have had no success
with anti histamines nor sunscreen. I am
finding the lifestyle changes more
frustrating as my son grows.
I have enjoyed reading all the posts and
think it is important that all su
sufferers not only read but also post...I
have another appointment thursday to get
al my results back from yet another round
of bloods etc and will advise asap of any
progress that others may find useful.
Please do no do any sun bed experiments
without supervision as with my experience
thus far its not pleasant and potentially
life threatening depending on our reaction
to the histamine release. I was very very
lucky.
Ciao for now
|
Cleo
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 02 Aug 2005 Posts: 17
Hey Buckets Posted: 04-03-06 10:53am
Well, if solar urticaria really came from
the sun's uv rays, uv total blockers would
simply help then but as they don't...
What you are not thinking about is that
urticaria is rarely just caused from one
thing.
Western doctors do not know what causes
urticaria other than allergens or most
commonly stress as an explanation, it must
be from that you are referring that "no
one knows" and also as you refer to
anti-histamines which is also western
highly used medecine for urticaria. But
first of all, using histamines is only a
*symptome* reliever but you are not
actually treating the cause. Chinese
medecines and homeopathic medecines cure
urticaria and they do know what causes
urticaria. They do not simply relieve you
from the symptons, they learn the body to
not react as it does either this be by
acupuncture or through natural medecines
which give instant relief. When having
urticaria the immune system is highly
pressured and ultra sensisitive, as
chinese would describe it, the yin and
yang is unbalanced and it is the yang
which has taken over. Yang stands for
energy.. Energy comes in many formes and
yang is stress, alocohol, hot food, sun.
Ie there is help out there and thankfully
this website is here to spread information
like this becuase the message you have is
one that comes from western medecines and
I don't need to tell you that, they don't
know what they are doing, how to cure it
and therefore I am surprised you have
resorted in them even knowing what they
are talking about...
|
Cleo
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 02 Aug 2005 Posts: 17
Reply of a Possibility to Get Cured I Think You Should Try Posted: 04-04-06 09:36am
Hi buckets, unfortunately I am not myself
trained in chinese medecines or
homeopathic medecines, I was just cured by
them so they made me into a believer.
Acupuncture by an acupunturist who is
specialized in these outbreaks relives you
instantly with one treatment and depending
on your condition you can go once a week
or more/less. Above all I recommend you
book an appointment with a homeopath who
knows what he/she is doing (a lot of not
properly trained ones out there I am
afraid). The homeopathic medecines take
care of the immune system reaction, the
cause itself. They simply add small doses
of a natural substance to make the body
reverse its reaction, it is fascinating.
You have your result within a couple days
(otherwise u stop and try other
substances) however to cure the urticaria
you need to continue the regime a longer
time until the body is fully deprogrammed
even if you have no outbreaks like in my
case.
I was in italy (i am swedish but currently
a year in new york working) when I got
this horried horried reaction to the sun,
the urticaria got out of hand. I had the
conditon before but the sun was so hot I
got worse. Desparate I got the contact
information to a medical doctor who also
was a homeopath in that town. Italy is
one of those countries were hoemopathic
medecines are still big and respected
along side modern medecines. He gave me a
tailored regime to follow, I am not joking
but within a couple of days they were all
gone, and I was on the brink of giving up
then! So now I am off the medication..
Very happy story and my body doesn't react
with urticaria when stressed, in sun etc
anymore.
He told me to stay off tomato (causes
itch), all kinds of cheese, tuna, milk ,
cigaretts and alcohol for 6 months. A lot
of stuff and he was right, what we eat
really effects us far more than we are
aware of. I have learnt so much from
these people, to see our bodies and mind
in one and why the nody reacts as it
does..
Well each regime is tailored, I got a
regime of ribes nigrum, apis mellifica and
formidium d6.
Get in touch with a organization that
certifies homeopaths or similar to find
out were to find a good one who knows your
condition. There are also different
schools, I have to recommend the italian
approach as it worked for me with
combinational regimes. If you ever pass
italy (alassio), I still have the contact
information to the doctor who changed my
life!
Take care
cleo
|
ebuckley
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 04 Apr 2006 Posts: 4
"wow! You Are Really Sunburnt!!" Posted: 04-05-06 00:04am
No friend, I have hives and I would really
appreciate it if you wouldn't touch my
severly inflamed skin!!
Hi all! I just came across this site
tonight. I've been suffering for 11
years now and it seems to only be getting
worse. I will say it is really nice to
know there are others out there dealing
with su as well.
Last year I discovered that the su was
tolerable if I did the following:
1. Used a daily body moisturizer w/ spf.
I found a huge bottle online w/ spf 16
for a decent price.
2. Take a claritin hive pill. I have
tried regular claritin, zertec, benedryl,
etc. Not one worked for me.
3. Used coppertone spectra 3 sunblock
(spf 50). This was great b/c it had the
uva and uvb protection. I found it with
the kid sunblock. I think it's part of
the water babies line.
4. Use the "acquire a base" method.
I'd go out for a few minutes each day to
gain exposure.
By doing these things the itching wasn't
bad at all. However, I still turned as
red as a lobster!!!
Anyway, I hope this helps.
Eb
|
cwabtech
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 18 Apr 2006 Posts: 1 Location: Southeast
Finally Posted: 04-18-06 09:30am
I have never talked to anyone about this
before. I have had it for years and just
finally found a Dr. That is going to
help, I hope. She said my was caused
from fertility drugs that I took 20 years
ago to become pregnant. My daughter was
just a toddler when this started. Mostly
on my hands and arms. I wear long
sleeves and gloves a lot. The itching is
unbearable sometimes. I use cortison
cream, it helps some. The new
prescription will be here today. Pray it
helps. Will keep you posted
|
ClaudiaR
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 21 Feb 2006 Posts: 2 Location: Florida
Some Relief Posted: 04-18-06 15:17pm
Well, I have found that wearing sunblock
and taking zyrtec is preventing me from
getting su at the moment. I was just in
vacation, I live in fl, and was out in the
sun for 4 days straight. I usually dont
take anti-histamines right before going
outside, I wait until I get some kind of
reaction (ie, itching) then I take it.
One day I didnt even have to take
anything, although I have to say I was
freaking out a little bit, but I didnt get
an allergy! I honestly think that the
mind has a lot to do with it.
As far as homeopathic medicines, I have
heard great things about it. I will try
it one day, but for now its too expensive,
especially when you dont know how long
you'll have to go to the sessions.
Cleo you say that your doctor told you to
stay off tomato, all kinds of cheese,
tuna, milk , cigarettes and alcohol for 6
months. Any idea why? What do these
products have that causes the body to
react in such a way? And what do you
replace them with, at least the milk?
Any comments will be appreciated.
|
sun
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 19 Apr 2006 Posts: 1 Location: Australia
Solar Urticaria! Posted: 04-19-06 04:35am
Hi all,
i am 22yr old female in australia. I
have had su for 6 years now, even though I
only found out the exact name for my
condition su today! So I did a google
search & found this thread. I get su
after being in the sun (behind glass or
not, & when the sun is behind cloud
& overcast) it affects me in under 3
minutes. I try to prevent su by wearing
covering clothing all year around
including a hat. I dont take any
medication for it or wear any creams. I
found it interesting to read that someone
else thought su was linked to taking the
triphasil birth control pill, as this is
the pill type I take & have taken
since 6 months before su developed. I
have also heard that it can be linked to
taking tofrinol, another thing I have
taken briefly in the past before su
developed. If too much of my body gets
exposed to the sun I get su including
feeling faint, & light headed, &
shaky. So I try to cover up from the
sun, which looks silly on a hot day...Lol!
Luckily my boyfriend, friends &
family are supportive cos they always try
to make sure that I am not stuck out in
the sun more than I need to be. I catch
public transport which isnt fun when its
busy & you get stuck on the sunny side
of the bus! I am interested in trying
homeopathic method of treatment cos my
allergist doesn't know what else to do
about it except the obvious antihistamine
treatment-periactin, creams. We arent
going to do the blood test as we see it as
useless since it wont reveal any treatment
or cure anyway. I hope to learn lots
from this su info forum.
Sam.
|
BUCKETS
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 03 Feb 2006 Posts: 5 Location: Sydney, Australia
Hive-free For the Last 2 Weeks Posted: 04-23-06 23:50pm
Hello all,
two weeks ago I decided to desensitise (or
"harden") my skin to the sun.
Basically, what I did was expose
relatively small areas of of my body to
sunlight for about 20 minutes twice a
day.
I noticed that after about the third
exposure to the sun my skin did not
develop a reaction at all! It was very
exciting and I am pleased with the
result.
Obviously it does take a bit of effort to
do this and the climate that you live in
could make it difficult to desensitise
effectively. However, getting a few doses
of sun each week is rarely a problem here
in sydney, australia.
It is obviously also very uncomfortable
(and a bit scary) to take the initial step
of forcing yourself into the sun to bring
out the reactions, but I know that
longterm benefits were worth it. All I
need to do now is make sure I continue to
spend a bit of time in the sun every
couple of days do maintain the
desensitisation, and pray that we dont get
more than a few days of continuous cloud
and/or rain!
A word of warning to anyone contemplating
trying this: please make sure that you
check with your own
doctor/dermatologist/allergist before you
contemplate trying this, as it goes
without saying that no two people are the
same and we all have different severities
of s.U. Finally, if you go ahead and try
this only expose small amounts of skin at
a time to the sun to limit the inevitable
reactions you will have.
Cheers,
malcolm
|
LadyRenee
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 05 May 2006 Posts: 2 Location: Canada
Sun Allergies Posted: 05-05-06 22:49pm
Hi there!
I'm 23 and I have been suffering form sun
allergies for 7 years now. I miss the
sun. It takes about 5 minutes to react ,
I get red ( like huge sunburn) and it
itches. My skin swells up also but that
may be because I scratch to much.
The doctor diagnosed me with solar
urticary, but I dont have hives?
It just get red and extremely itchy. The
reacton wheres off after 30min - 1 hour.
Nothing stops it, sunblock, allergie pills
(aerus). Im screwed the doc said.
I recently heard that bitrh control pills
can cause photosensitivity. I have been
taking birth control for 7 years.
Coincidence????? Did any of you guys ever
heard of this?
Joined: 03 Feb 2006 Posts: 5 Location: Sydney, Australia
Posted: 05-06-06 00:46am
Hi!
I have heard stuff about the pill possibly
triggering su in women...
However, it definitely didnt trigget mine
coz im a man! :lol:
if you read some of the posts above you
will see that I have successfully
desensitised my skin to the sun. I am
very pleased about it.
I can now go into the sun at any time of
the day for as long as I want and not get
a reaction at all. It has been great!
(though I still know deep down that I have
su, and that only now the symtoms do not
show themselves like they did before).
I make an effort now to go into the sun as
often as the weather, my job and schedule
allows me, in order to maintain this
"immunity". I have also accepted that if
I do not get any sun for a few days then
my reactions to the sun will re-commence
again :cry:
cheers,
mg
|
LadyRenee
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 05 May 2006 Posts: 2 Location: Canada
Hardening May Work... Posted: 05-06-06 10:45am
Hey buckets,
it makes sense actually because I notice
that when I go in the sun, react and if a
can stand it and dont leave the sun,i wont
react to the same spot... There was a
huge concert last summer, rolling stones
came to moncton... 100 000 pple!!!! I
had to go. But the catch was, all day
outside. In the sun..... But I went
anyways. I mean , come on.... I coudlnt
miss the stones man! :lol: I had a huge
reaction, almost fainted twice, but after
like 2 hours, it went away and I got to
enjoy the sun, and the concert! I even
got a tan!! Me! A tan.... I dont know
what was better, seeing the stone live or
closing my eyes in the sun and taking it
in......
You guys should know what I mean..
I m gonna try to do this on a more regular
basiss, now that summer is here.. Im from
nb canada, so I only 2 months of summer.
This is the time to do it for the season.
|
accents
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 09 Jul 2005 Posts: 4
Support Group For Sun Sensitive People Posted: 05-08-06 13:44pm
Previously, I had suggested that we join a
urticaria group. But I had trouble with
that group. Now I have created a yahoo
group for sun sensitive people with
conditions like solar urticaria, lupus
etc..
over the years, I have read and collected
a lot of information on photosensitivity,
solar urticaria, sunscreens, and sun
protection. As time permits, I will be
uploading files to the group web site and
creating new documents.
Please come by and say hi.
Accents
|
cmadele
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 11 May 2006 Posts: 1 Location: Canada
Solar Urticaria Posted: 05-11-06 09:05am
Hi there,
reading these posts has been very
comforting to me....Sorry!
My daughter had her first episode of hives
when we visited friends in dallas tx when
she was 6 years old. We live in ontario
can. And the heat in dallas in april was
very different from our april temps and we
beleived it was heat rash.
Later that summer my daughter had another
episode on a hot day and we treated with
the leftover cortisone and cold showers.
(cortisone is only available by
perscription in canada).
The next spring (7 years old) we went to
disney world in florida and again my
daughter came out with hives. We tried
all sorts of sunscreens thinking now she
was allergic to some sunscreens. Problem
is if we didn't apply sunscreen she would
be worse!
This spring, ontario had a mild spell in
early march and my daughter now 8 came
home from school with hives on the back of
her hands! I freaked! If this was
starting in march imagine what would
happen in august when temperatures reach
30°c (i think 100°f). I took her to
our md and recieved a specialist
appointment with an allergist in december
2006!! (canadian medical is amazing) so
we are on our own this summer.
Right now she is taking alleve once daily
and using a prescription cortisone 5 to 6
times daily (recommended twice daily but
she cannot control the itch). The hives
have moved from the back of her hands
(hardened?) to her forearms. She comes
home from school just in a mess and we put
her into cold baths and soft shirts. I
have purchased her a cool cotton long
sleeve cover for recesses and she always
wears a sun hat. Sun induced melanomas
run on both sides of my family so we are
always very careful in the sun anyway.
Well as my daughter at the age of 6 was
not taking and birth control :) or any
other medications I don't think any drug
inducement could have caused this. I do
think though that being fair skinned and
overexposed to heat and sun (dallas) may
have preempted her condition.
Well that's our story. As I said I am so
glad to find this forum and I am taking a
few suggestions from the thread and
following up. My first attempt will be
with a naturalist doctor as we have a very
reputable one in town that I hope will
have an appointment open before december!
Hee hee!
Thanks for listening!
Adele begin
|
accents
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 09 Jul 2005 Posts: 4
Support Group For Sun Sensitive People Posted: 05-16-06 18:29pm
I have solar urticaria. I take
antihistamines and use a sunscreen that
protects against visible light.
We are a support group for people who
suffer from sun sensitivities such as
solar urticaria, lupus, porphyria sun
hives, photosensitivity, sun allergy,
rheumatoid arthritis and more. We share
our experiences and ways of coping and
living with sun sensitivity such as
sunscreens, clothing, hats, sunglasses and
the effectiveness of medical treatments.
Sun sensitivity shows usually shows up as
a bad sunburn in a very short amount of
time. Sun sensitivity can be due to drugs
or medications, plants, phototoxicity and
diseases.
See you there,
accents
|
Maggie Stang
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 02 Jun 2006 Posts: 1 Location: Upper Michigan
Solar Urticaria Posted: 06-02-06 13:31pm
I have had solar urticaria for about 2
years now. I was very confused at first
what was causing the hives on my feet.
Six trips to the er later and some
research on my own I sat down with my Dr.
To find out what I can do about this. I
live in the upper peninsula of michigan
and summer where summer is short and
sweet. I was so relieved that there are
others out there. This seems like such a
strange thing!
I have allergies in the spring to pollen
and fall to maple trees. I take zyrtec
daily during those seasons to avoid the
sinus infections that were chronic. In
january of this year I had sinus surgery
hoping to open the passages that had
swollen shut trapping the infection in.
I only seem to get the hives on my feet
(primarily) and hands (only recently). I
take a pepcid with atarax when the hives
start along with keeping my feet on ice.
Sometimes this "catches it" sometimes
not.
If the hives continue to grow and connect,
they swell so that I no longer have a
definable arch to my feet. I can't walk.
They burn like a hot iron is being
applied to them. It will wake me out of
a restful sleep.
I love to be in the sun, no problems so
far with other areas of my body. I don't
want to miss summer this year! The meds
used to treat this make me tired, dizzy
and anxious. If anyone has new ideas, I
would be very appreciative.
|
SpringSunshine
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 13 Jun 2006 Posts: 2 Location: Indiana
Sun Allergy Help Posted: 06-13-06 14:45pm
I was researching mercury poisoning and
came accross this I totally have this.
It is s painful I don't go outside. Its
getting worse as I get older. Any
suggestions. Im allergic to all
sunscreens as well
spring
|
Great_White
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 20 Jun 2006 Posts: 1
Real People!!! Posted: 06-20-06 12:56pm
I've been living with this for seven years
now. The longer you live with it the
slower your body adjusts to getting rid of
it. I swear to you though, that a tan
helps. I have talked with a lot of people
about this and most of them agree. Go to
a tanning salon in early spring or once a
month, and the reactions aren't nearly as
bad.
If anyone does figure out how to cure it,
i'd love to know about it!
|
sandyallen
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 02 Feb 2004 Posts: 4580
Posted: 06-20-06 13:42pm
It seems like it is generally different
for most. Whenever I get a new
prescription, I always research it and
keep in mind that we are all different and
we may react differently just like our
diet or what we eat. I am no dr but
sometimes they can be wrong also as we
know our bodies and we know when their is
a change in our system for the negative or
the positive. Sometimes the home remedies
help some, sometimes the homeopathic/herbs
help some and sometimes it is the
prescriptions will help some as we are all
different and their are times that it
takes time to find the right thing for us
and their are times that getting second
and maybe more opinios help too.
Good luck to all of you!
|
starzck82
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 17 Aug 2006 Posts: 2 Location: Pennsylvania
Posted: 08-18-06 09:18am
Hi
i will apologize in advance for this being
so long.
In august of 2005 I was in the hospital
for an ovarian cyst that ruptured. The
bloodwork showed an infection so I was
prescribed the antibiotic cipro. After
about 6 or 7 days of this medicine my lips
swelled up and became really red and sore.
It felt like a really bad sunburn. I
don't remember if I was outside before
that happened or not. My lips were so dry
I couldn't stand it. I tried everything,
but nothing seemed to help. After a
couple of weeks they became infected. I
finally went to the doctor and got a
topical antibiotic and the infection
cleared up within days. This whole ordeal
lasted about 6 weeks because the swelling
and redness would appear and disappear on
its own. Also there were tiny red
blisters all over my lips. By about
october my lips cleared up and I had no
problems all winter.
This past june, it was around the 17th, I
layed out in my yard for about 20 minutes.
I got a shower and again my lips swelled
up and got red and blistered and a rash
around the right side of my mouth. I had
a shirt over my face the whole time. I
get cold sores from time to time thats why
I used the shirt. It took about a week to
clear up. Since then every time I went
out in the hot sun my lips would swell up.
I found that keeping an ice pack on my
lips clears them up in a few hours.
Here's the kicker: I went on vacation to
the beach for a week and didn't have a
single moments trouble. But when I came
back home they swelled up again. I think
its an allergy to trees or pollen or
something buy my allergy doc thinks is
solar urticaria. I am currently waiting
for the results from my allergy tests.
Any ideas????
My lips are the only part of my body that
is affected
The site is not a replacement for professional medical opinion, examination, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your medical doctor or other qualified health professional before starting any new treatment or making any changes to existing treatment. Do not delay seeking or disregard medical advice based on information written by any author on this site. No health questions and information on eHealth Forum is regulated or evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and therefore the information should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease without the supervision of a medical doctor. Posts made to these forums express the views and opinions of the author, and not the administrators, moderators, or editorial staff and hence eHealth Forum and its principals will accept no liabilities or responsibilities for the statements made.
Schizophreniahealth
This page was last updated on June 11, 2008
