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My new job requires me to spend a half hour outside collecting shopping carts 2 or 3 times per shift. After work yesterday, I noticed a rash on both my arms.
What can I do for the itch? I looked and we don't have any calamine lotion. Does this mean I'm a vampire? Posts: 4569 | Registered: Dec 2003
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It is possible to be allergic to the sun, but to my knowledge the symptoms occur during early childhood. I have hypersenstivity to heat (not an allergy to the sun) but the heat from being exposed to the sun causes my skin to break out into a rash. This condition I developed pretty recent, actually, and first discovered it when I was taking a hot shower.
Edit: For my situation there's really no cure, but using anti-hystamine creams like lanacort helps relieve the itching and inflammation of the rash.
Posts: 326 | Registered: Aug 2004
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I used to be extremely allergic to the sun when I was a kid. Now it's mostly gone, I only get some rash the first few days I go out in a T-shirt.
Posts: 5700 | Registered: Feb 2002
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Yes, my father is, and i am a few. There is some little red spots on skins. But i think there is other form.
Posts: 1189 | Registered: Dec 2004
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Some meds can cause a photodermatitis. That could explain it, I know you take medications. There could be a lot of other causes for itchy arms too.
Anyway, buy benadryl cream and try that. Oral benadryl can help too.
Posts: 1014 | Registered: Jul 2005
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My father is, and it started late in his life - he was more than 30 I think. Beta-carotene pills helped, if I remember well, and acupuncture too.
Posts: 3526 | Registered: Oct 2001
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I am sensitive to the sun. I get not only rashes, but also fevers, aches, mouth sores, and generally feeling sick.
But then again, I've been diagnosed with lupus, and sun sensitivity goes along with that.
If you need to be out in the sun for your job, you have got to wear sun screen, at least SPF 45, and reapply through the day. Long sleeves are preferable to short.
Sun sensitivity alone is not diagnostic of vampirism. Do you react badly to garlic? Can you see yourself in the mirror?
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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My mother has a sun allergy/sensitivity also. She gets a rash (usually on her forearms and chest) after being out in the sun. When she has to be in the sun for longer than just a few minutes, she tries to wear long sleeves. Because of her many other allergies, medication (in pill or cream form) isn't really an option for her.
Since it'll be cooling down soon, you'll be able to wear long sleeves without roasting to death. Wearing sunscreen and trying anti-hystamine creams also sound like good ideas.
Posts: 5879 | Registered: Apr 2001
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My mother is definitely allergic to the sun, and has actually noticed that she has a stronger reaction when she goes to visit her mother than when she works in her own yard. Personally I suspect an alternate influence there, either a contact allergy with something at Grandma's place or increased stress levels or something like that. We got together this past weekend and she still had small scabbed bumps as well as generalized redness up both arms from a visit 10 days prior.
Her doctor's recommendation (which she often "forgets") - SF 30 or more, long sleeves and pants whenever possible, even if they're semi-sheer fabrics, and minimal exposure 10a-2p even if covered and anointed.
I'm so glad the only allergies I inherited are hayfever, pets and molds...
Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004
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Must you avoid the rays of the sun? Well, yes. They make me sneeze. Do you have an aversion to garlic? I put it in everything I eat, including ice cream. When you look in a mirror, can you not see yourself? I love making faces in mirrors, so I can see myself. Would you rather sleep in a coffin that has the soil of your native land in it than on a Sealy Posturpedic? I've noticed mattresses are never as comfortable as earth. I'll say coffin. Would you rather drink fresh blood than a nice cool lemonade? Lemonade--yech. I'll go for the blood.
Oops.
Erm, no staking allowed.
Posts: 1735 | Registered: Oct 2004
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May I recommend using Bullfrog or similar waterproof sunscreen. Or wearing a long-sleeve*shirt. And as Anna suggested, a diet (including supplements) high in beta carotene over the long term has been shown to decrease photosensitivity in many sufferers.
Okay guys, I'm working from a lack of knowlege here, but...
One of the possible side effects of Benydryl is photosensitivity: an immunological response to light with symptoms including rash and itching. I also believe that it is recommended that any area treated with Benedryl cream be loosely covered with either a bandage or dark-colored clothing* if you are intending to work in sunlight.
And while I don't remember photosensitivity being mentioned specificly as a possible side effect of hydrocorticosteroids such as Lanacort, I do remember that rashes, itching, and various other skin problems similar to those of photosensitivity are. Hydrocorticosteroids can cause increased susceptability to sunburn, again leading to symptoms of rashes, itching, etc.
* Light bounces through the fibers in white or light-colored cloth onto the skin, which is why traditional Mediterranean/NorthAfrican/Arabic summerwear is black to absorb that sunlight.
quote:Originally posted by Anna: it started late in his life - he was more than 30 I think.
I just meant he wasn't born that way! Don't take it bad, my Hubby will be 30 next month, I don't find this old.
Posts: 3526 | Registered: Oct 2001
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Sometimes, people with sun allergies/sun sensitivities are also allergic to high SPFs. I can't wear anything above an SPF 30.
I got this while sitting in the shade two summers ago, while using an SPF 30. I'm now convinced it was reflected UV rays from the house across the street.
I like the stuff you can buy here. Especially these, for obvious reasons.
Personally, I never go anywhere without my umbrella, sun screen and usually, long sleeves. I also have an incredibly dorky looking hat.
When I was a kid, I had a couple of bad burns, but was a competitive swimmer, so I didn't have a lot of problems with the sun. I mean, no more than the average red-head. When I was in high school things changed. When I'd go out in the sun, I'd get purple welts on my upper arms and chest, even if they weren't in the sun. And it hurt like hell. More like bruises than hives. Over time, that morphed into the blisters seen in the photos above.
And yes, I look like a dork when I go out anywhere with my umbrella, but the good news is, more and more people are starting to use them, so I'm not usually the only dork out there anymore, though I usually do get at least on kid who'll ask me why I have an umbrella and lots of kids asking their parents, who shush them. It's all cool. I don't go out that much and I'd rather get some strange looks than itch for a month.
Posts: 9871 | Registered: Aug 2001
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I have a sun allergy/sensitivity which developed in my late 20s. It has really killed my love of the beach -- now I enjoy the beach in the early mornings or in the evenings. I have never found any sunscreen that makes a difference. Antihistamines do seem to help w/ the rash. The rash, lasts about 2 weeks and depending on amount of exposure is incredibly, relentlessly itchy--about like I recall chicken pox being.
The parts of my body that are often exposed to the sun --face, lower arms and below the knee -- don't tend to get the rash from ordinary exposure. But if I'm out in the sun in a swimsuit for long enough for the rash to develop (and "long enough" can be 10 minutes in the midsummer sun), it will spread to those "ordinary exposure" places.
Not fun. High incentive to avoid it. I cover up in the sun, although luckily I seem to be able to wear capris and short sleeves OK.
Derrell, I hope this is not what you have. Wear long sleeves anyway. Calamine does seem to help me somewhat. But I don't think it works for vampirism! ;-)
Posts: 3149 | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote: And Dragonee knows what a dunpeal is! Vampire Hunter D! Yesss!
D is one of the coolest characters ever IMO, as well as Alucard from the Castlevania series...
As far as being allergic to the sun, most anyone can get sun poisoning if in the sun for too long. I like Benadryl orally, but the cream is less than effective to relieve itching. Just do not use both, pick one or the other, and watch out for drowsiness with oral form.
Better ideas would be the sunblock as described above and long sleeves. Farmers riding their tractors with long sleeves in the blistering sun...desert nomads riding camels with robes covering everything but their eyes...This manner of dress exists for a reason...
Lastly, there is some (mis)information that exists concerning Vlad the Impaler. Such accounts list him as an overproducer of melatonin, a hormone secreted by the pineal gland of the brain. The pineal gland itself is quite mysterious, and melatonin is used medicinally to treat insomnia. But higher (unsafe ones in my opinion) have been given all sorts of legendary powers, including long life.
Some believe that Vlad's overproduction of melatonin and resultant photosensitivity is why Vlad avoided the sun and that he may have also consumed blood as in the disgusting starfire ritual to aid in his legendary status as a vampire.
Makes for a good story, at the very least...
Posts: 1870 | Registered: Mar 2003
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I sometimes get an allergic reaction to the sun. Sunscreen doesn't help, if anything it makes it worse. I recommend you get a long sleeve 100% cotton woven shirt.
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
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Just wondering, how many of you who have sun "allergies" eat a significant amount of cooked red meat?
They are finding out, more and more, that some foods, like red meat, when cooked, become toxic. WHen digested, the toxins get into your cells, including skin cells, and when the sun hits you, the toxins are released and totally fry your skin.
Other food does this, too, but red meat is a huge culprit. Don't let Big Beef know I'm saying this, though, or they might sue me (they know all the healt problems their meat causes, but spend millions to suppress it).
Posts: 263 | Registered: Aug 1999
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You could have contact dermatitis from the carts. Are they metal carts, or plastic ones? I've noticed that plastic carts 'shed' little particles of plastic and over a day's work, you could get tiny bits of itchies all over.
My feeling is that it could be hives, and you can treat that with an oatmeal poultice, very soothing. Aveeno has a great line of oatmeal-based skin products, if you want to buy a soothing cream.
And yes, you *could* be allergic to the sun.
Posts: 1545 | Registered: May 2002
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Baking soda seems to relieve the itch. I just mix it with water to make a paste. I always thought of hives as being fairly large, red splotches. What I have are small bumps that cover my forearms.
We have both metal and plastic carts.
Could it be an allergy to the plastic, or the dye in the plastic?
Thanks for all the input and advice.
Posts: 4569 | Registered: Dec 2003
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Oh, also, if you move a lot of boxes, and the inside of your arms rub up against the cardboard, that could be an irritant. My husband's auntie used to get a rash that sounds similar to yours every time she moved or helped someone else move.
The baking soda paste is an excellent idea. You smarty, you!
I think that hives have several different forms, but whatever it is, it *sounds* like a contact allergy of some sort.
Of course, disclaimer disclaimer, I am not a healthcare professional. Posts: 1545 | Registered: May 2002
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I still suspect medications, if you are on any. Some diabetic medicines and some antibiotics can do rashes on exposed surfaces. Probably lots of other drugs can too. Contact dermatitis is a nice possibility, consider also any new soaps, clothing, or lotions you could be allergic to. Get new clothing for work?
Posts: 1014 | Registered: Jul 2005
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I had a friend with a profound, life-threatening sun allergy. She used to get hounded by BYU Security because she parked in handicapped stalls and seemed to be a perfectly healthy young woman. She had a letter from the administration explaining her condition - but got tired of having to stand IN THE SUN to explain it to a cop. So, as I recall, she finally went to BYU Security headquarters with a stack of pictures of her and copies of the letter and demanded that they inform all their officers and LEAVE HER ALONE so she could rush from car to buildings quickly.
always wore big floppy hats. they looked great on her.
But now that I think about it, I wonder if she DID the pictures-to-BYU-Security thing or merely talked about how she ought to.
Kathy Blackham. She played the female lead in my production of Plaza Suite and was brilliantly funny.
Posts: 2005 | Registered: Jul 1999
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I was told as a kid that I was allergic to heat. I don't know how meaningful that is medically, but I do have dermatitis, and will break out in rashes from the slightest bit of heat. And from other stuff. Like too much humidity. Or too little humidity. Or calomine. Or lanolin. Or jewelry.
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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I bought a couple of new shirts for the new job and a new pair of shoes. The only other thing is the apron I have to wear. I also have to wear a safety vest and use a cart strap. Can a person be allergic to velcro?
On a positive note, I may soon be getting a full time job that will make this a moot point.
Then there's the fact that OSC posted in my thread. Posts: 4569 | Registered: Dec 2003
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Here is something I have tried, with some good results. It is used for sun allergies, according to the doctor.
Posts: 3354 | Registered: May 2005
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Does this mean I'm a vampire? ![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
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Wearing sunscreen and trying anti-hystamine creams also sound like good ideas.
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