There are so many people all over the world that suffer from this condition solar urticaria is sunallergy which can affectyou at any time.
Ihave suffered from this condition for 10 years i'm 26 now,not much is known about it no know one that i talked to knows how it starts,if there even a cure!
My symptoms started with my skin that was exposed to the sunstatred going all red,itchy then coming out in big weals,feeling really faint and sick to the tummy,then headache then shaky this is the stages i go through, though everyone is different.these symptoms started happening everytime i went out in the sun but i still could'nt be sure that it was solar urticaria because it wasn't heard of.
so i did a little experiment please don't try this at home kids!
I went to the sunbeds and guess what? i gotall the same signs in just 2 minutes the collapsed and nearly went into anaphalactic shock just as well a family friend came on shift and got help, finally i got referredto ninewells photobiology unit in dundee scotland who did a series of tests and told me the conditions name solar urticaria the medication they put me onhas worked to relieve me of the symptoms but now i can't stand the heat.
my allergy went away when pregnant with the 2kids then came back after so it affects both men and women.
Here are some tips if you think you are suffering from solar urticaria
*Stay in from 11am-3pm
*If you have to go out put on a really high sun factor lotion
*Take anthistimines if you can before you goout
*wear fibres that don't let the daylight through,hold it up to the light and check
*please go to your doctor,this condition can be debilitating
*please remember this condition can be vey dangerous depending on the severity of the sufferer so be protected
I hope this helps xx
RE: solar urticaria
What a terrible allergy to have. The Sun is so reviving and brings joy with its light. Not having to go out in it would be awful for me.
Do you know what causes this condition? What is it about the Sun that your body disagrees with? You say that you didn't suffer when you were pregnant, so perhaps the answer lies there.
Hope you are feeling better.
Love,
Patsy.
[&:]
RE: solar urticaria
hi, well know one know's how it starts ur body just rejects the uva/uvb rays like it's a antibody, I wouldn't be surprised if othersolar urticaria sufferers have depression or have SAD maybe it's all linked one we'll find out.
the love n light is burnin bright
RE: solar urticaria
Sun / UV light hypersensitivity isn't as rare as you might think.
If you're on any medication, then do check the leaflet small print. On the herbal front, then St John's Wort is an uncommon possibility. There may be others.
Avoidance of sun & UV light, is only likely to contribute to SAD & sleep pattern problems, etc, so would suggest NAET to resolve the issue. There's likely to be an issue with certain foods & nutrients (especially vitamin D) that would need to be clearedfirst, then radiation & UV shouldn't be too difficult if there are no other major issues. Heat itself, of course could be an issue, as traditional Chinese medicine lays great emphasis on environmental factors i.e. heat, cold, damp, etc.
It sounds fairly straight forward, but that's just my view. 😉
Good luck - Andrew.
RE: solar urticaria
Thankyou for you veiw andrew,
The problem isday before you get it ur fine,out in the sun enjoying urself soaking up the sun and the next day you do it again and you have the allergic reaction out of nowhere and it does change the rest of your life,for some people medication does not work.How can the body change in just 24 hours?
When i got it i was not on any medication and ate pretty heathily.
RE: solar urticaria
It's all relative, so it sounds like you can tolerate a some UV exposure, but you have a limit that's less than the norm.
I'm sure it is life changing, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's for the rest of your life.
The implications are more widespread than you might think, as it can mess up your whole endocrine (hormone) system, especially the diurnal rythym (day- night cycle -melatonin & seretonin - mood, depression, etc.) and vitamin D production (that can affect calcium absorbtion - implications being osteopenia & osteoporosis).
I've treated several people now with UV hypersensitivity with NAET and it's not longer an issue for them. Admittedly only one of them was severe and it's almost always the case that there are several other allergies / hypersensitivities that need addresing first.
NAET practitioners are a bit thin on the ground in the UK, but I know at least on in Scotland -
[link= http://allergyfree.tripod.com/id28.htm ]http://allergyfree.tripod.com/id28.htm[/link]
Failing that, then check - [link= http://www.naeteurope.com/gb_default.asp ]http://www.naeteurope.com/gb_default.asp[/link], which is the official website for all NAET practioners in Europe.
I'm not sure that Aaron Cote's clinic (the first link above)is listed on the NAET for Europe site (the second) because he's Canadian and trained in Canada and the USA. Either way - he's a sound bloke, knows his onions & treated me before he slopped off North.
Andrew.
RE: solar urticaria
Thankyou so much andrew,
I will definatly check this out, would love to go out in the sun without medication and live normally again, well some sort of normality hehe:D
love and light xx
RE: solar urticaria
I hope that you can get this sorted out, Angelheart. The Sun is our friend, and it makes us feel good, alive and refreshed. Indeed, it is starlight under another name. I am sure that Andrew is right when he says that sufferers of this condition develop SAD, no matter what the time of year.
Hoping you will get better.
Love,
Patsy.
[8D]
RE: solar urticaria
No probs AH!
A few further thoughts on associated sensitivities;
Vitamin D - more a kind of problem assimilating & utilising, but amounts to the same. The logic being - exposure to sunlight increases production - system says - 'well I'm not sure that's a good idea' and goes into crisis management mode.
Other forms & sources of radiation;- TV, PC monitor, high current mains electrical equipment, mobile & remote phones, etc.
These are just possibilities / ideas thatmay or may not be relevent, so don't panic. It should just be a matter of testing & treating as appropriate.
Good luck - Andrew.
RE: solar urticaria
hey andrew,
it is me again!
i think i may have come across a link between solar urticaria with women and contraceptives,tell me if you disagree ok?
before i got this condition i had been getting the depo provera injection every 3 months that was 1 year b4 i got sun allergy then carried on with it 1year after,before the injection i was on microgynen excuse the spelling if wrong!
i've been on the pill apart from during my preganciesat that times i desensitised and was rid came back after had babies.
wot do you think then?
lots of lovies
angelheart
RE: solar urticaria
Could be a possibility. Not come across it myself, but if you Post or send links to articles I will do best to check them out.
Andrew.
RE: solar urticaria
ok....it is nic to stumble onto this site. i am 26 and just got SU last spirng. out of nowhere. I have alsways spent time int he sun tanning...went to HA every other year, laid out on every sunny weekend in CA, occational tanning bed. A part of me feels like i brought this on myself but i am now understanding that it is an immune disorder. I have done some research and have found that there are the following medical proceedures that have worked for some patients in the past:
plasma exchange (plasmapherisis)
immunologic pathogenesis
cyclosporin
has anyone heard of these treatments?
Doctors have given me steriods and special antihistimes, all of whcih DO NOT work.
I have hound it is easier in the summer months due to decentiztion. Living in CA makes it easy to expose my face, neck and arms every other day for 5 minutes and i do not get the hives, nausea, etc. Hoever, in the winter ith weeks of rain, i am reminded how aggrivating this is when my face, neck, etc gets hives. i feel so dirty. not only is it a physical burden, it has serious psycological affects.
we need to put our resources toghether to learn more about this disease.
RE: solar urticaria
ok....it is nic to stumble onto this site. i am 26 and just got SU last spirng. out of nowhere.
I have always spent time in the sun tanning...went to HA every other year, laid out on every sunny weekend in CA, occational tanning bed. A part of me feels like i brought this on myself but i am now understanding that it is an immune disorder.
I have done some research and have found that there are the following medical proceedures that have worked for some patients in the past:
plasma exchange (plasmapherisis)
immunologic pathogenesis
cyclosporin
has anyone heard of these treatments?
Doctors have given me steriods and special antihistimes, all of whcih DO NOT work.
I have found it is easier in the summer months due to decentiztion. Living in CA makes it easy to expose my face, neck and arms every other day for 5 minutes and i do not get the hives, nausea, etc. Hoever, in the winter with weeks of rain, i am reminded how aggrivating this is when my face, neck, etc gets hives. i feel so dirty. not only is it a physical burden, it has serious psycological affects.
we need to put our resources toghether to learn more about this disease.
RE: solar urticaria
Hi,
I too have solar urticaria. I have created a support group for sun sensitive people on yahoo. To join, you need to become a member of yahoo, and then join our group. Please come by and say hi!
[link= http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sun1/ ]http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sun1/[/link]
AB,
The fact that you don't get it in the summer and only in the winter reminds me of what some people with heat hives ([link= http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Cholinergicurticaria/ ]Cholinergic urticaria[/link])are doing. They don't sweat during the winter, then in summer, they get hives when they first sweat, and hives go down after they start sweating on a regular basis. Some of them have tried sweating on a regular basis and that has seemed to help. Another thing is that instead of solar urticaria, it might be polymorphous light eruption (PMLE)which does get better by hardening. PMLE is common in cold places where people dont' get sun, then suddenly gets exposed in the summer.
Angelheart,
I have a file on the website with a list of photosensitizing drugs which includes oral contraceptives. Someone in our group is also wondering if contraceptives could be to blame for her solar urticaria.
Accents
PS I would take the NAET folks with a grain of salt.
RE: solar urticaria
Funny this, my 5 year old daughter has broken out in a rash after being out in the sun this weekend. I thought that it was because we used last years suncream, and she had some sort of reaction between the sun and the cream. She did break out last summer too, but had been ok this year so far. I thought she would be fine with a high SPF, but now am worried about her vitamin intake.
It's interesting about SU being an immune disease as my husband has crohn's and another daughter has morphea...both auto immune diseases. Maybe there is some connection?
Poor little love spent all night scratching and has gone to school covered in calamine lotion!!
kx