Medications And The Sun Winter Or Summer can give you some ideas of how to change how you have fun in the sun. Change that can help you stay well, and control sun damage.
We all love to have fun in the sun. And we love being out in the sun all year long. hiking, winter skiing, swimming, or just simply enjoying the warmth of the sun. There really is a comforting feeling when the sun hits you and shares those warm rays.
However, If you are taking certain medicines, you may need to rethink how you have fun in the sun. This fun can come with some problems.
I think about this when some one says that they forget to protect their skin with sun blocking clothing. This is such a simple thing but does require some changes in your habits.
It is easier to keep your skin protected from the sun when you don’t have to keep adding sunscreen all day to your whole body!
Understanding What Has Changed When You Take These Medications.
Lets start with the fact that some medicines that you may take contain ingredients that may cause photosensitivity.
(Photosensitivity is a chemically induced change in your skin. This change in your skin (photosensitivity) makes you more sensitive to sunlight. This increased sensitivity causes your skin to have a sunburn type of symptoms.
Often even a few minutes in the sun can cause a rash, or other unwanted side effects. This reaction can also be triggered by products like a skincream applied to the skin or even medicines taken by mouth or injected.
Some medications when taken increase your reaction to anything. So, if you have a more immediate reaction to the sun, or if a skin care product suddenly seems to cause problems, think back to medications. Often this causes the reaction.
One that I remember was mircale working eye cream. It made the issues I was working with look like a big marshmallow under each eye. I had just started some new sinus medication. So if your skin reacts, think about what you are taking. That could be a cause.
Two Kinds Of Photosensitivity
The two types of photosensitivity are photoallergy and phototoxicity.
Photoallergy is an allergic reaction of your skin and may not occur for several days after your sun exposure.
Phototoxicity, the more common, is an irritation of the skin and can occur within a few hours of sun exposure.
Both types of photosensitivity occur after exposure to ultraviolet light, either natural sunlight or artificial light, such as a tanning booth.
The types of medicines that could cause you to have increased sensitivity to the sun include:
- Antibiotics (ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, levofloxacin, ofloxacin, tetracycline, trimethoprim)
- Antifungals (flucytosine, griseofulvin, voricanozole)
- Antihistamines (cetirizine, diphenhydramine, loratadine, promethazine, cyproheptadine)
- Cholesterol lowering drugs (simvastatin, atorvastatin, lovastatin, pravastatin)
- Diuretics (thiazide diuretics: hydrochlorothiazide, chlorthalidone, chlorothiazide.; other diuretics: furosemide and triamterene)
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, naproxen, celecoxib, piroxicam, ketoprofen)
- Oral contraceptives and estrogens
- Phenothiazines (tranquilizers, anti-emetics: examples, chlorpromazine, fluphenazine, promethazine, thioridazine, prochloroperazine)
- Psoralens (methoxsalen, trioxsalen)
- Retinoids (acitretin, isotretinoin)
- Sulfonamides (acetazolamide, sulfadiazine, sulfamethizole, sulfamethoxazole, sulfapyridine, sulfasalazine, sulfasoxazole)
- Sulfonylureas for type 2 diabetes (glipizide, glyburide)
- Alpha-hydroxy acids in cosmetics
Suggestions For You If Your Medication Is On The List
This is just an overall list of what people react to. Not all people who take or use the medicines mentioned will have a reaction.
Also, if you experience a reaction on one occasion, it does not mean that you are guaranteed to have a reaction if you use the product again.
This is just to warn you about what to consider should you have a really bad reaction to the sun and feel that you had an unusually strong reaction, to either take extra precaution when planning a day out in the sun.
Remember that your may react more in the winter than the summer. Or maybe the summer causes a stronger reaction for you.
This information is shared to help you give some thought to how to better protect your skin. Often we are blindsided with skin reactions. With why you got a sunburn today, when your usually don’t.
This information may explain what is happening with your family and why they have occasional flare-ups on their skin.
Suggestions For Keeping You And Your Family Safe And Their Skin Protected, Winter and Summer
We seem to have more concern for the sun in the summer, this is probably because it is warmer and we associate heat and sun.
This leaves our skin vernable to winter abuse. While the winter sun may not act as quickly as a hot summer sun, it will still affect us if we are don’t pay attention. Remember all the reflecting rays as well.
First of all, are you taking any of the medications described? Remember, over the counter meds are included as well. Those we often forget we take! .
If you are a parent, you should think about any medications your family take, and who might be at risk for a sun related problem. In case you have forgotten, if your child has blue eyes, red or blonde hair or very fair skin, they are at a higher risk already. Add any medication, and the risk is higher.
So as living in a cave and never getting out is not an reasonable option for you or your family, what should we be doing?
Easy Adjustments For You To Make
If you have realized that you should havesome concerns about developing a reaction, try to reduce your risk. This can be done by making a few common sense changes to your lifestyle:
- When you are outside, spending some time in the shade can give your body a chance to cool down. “Hot spots” like your head, face shoulders or back can cool a bit. This is especially true between 10 AM and 4 PM in my part of the world for summertime.
- In the cooler months of the year, you can do better job of staying safe by avoiding the sun from 11AM until 3 PM. This may seem to be over reacting, but if you find yourself in the sun during these hours, use extra sunscreen, wear a sun hat, and your sunglasses. Do what you can to protect your skin and eyes.
- Just keep in mind that the sun’s rays may be stronger when reflected off water, sand and snow. This is especially true of winter rays as they are trickers and you don’t notice them because of the absence of heat.
- Wear long-sleeved, tighyly woven but loose fitting shirts and pants. Yoursunglasses, and wider-brimmed hats to limit you sun exposure.
- Use a broad spectrum sunscreen regularly and as directed. Broad-spectrum sunscreens provide protection against UVA and UVB radiation. An SPF 15 is the minimum number needed to provide measurable protection; however, a sunscreen with an SPF value of 30 or higher is recommended.
Other Thoughts About Medications and Sun Exposure
- Rarely, some sunscreen ingredients can cause photosensitivity themselves. This is unfortunately, just one more thing to be aware of.
- In this crazy world we live in where everyone seems to want a sun tan, you must remain alert. Know when you have had enough sun. Winter time sun can fool you.
- If there are questions about your medications and the possibility of a photo-sensitivity occurance, contact your Doctor
Get out of the sun, and limit sun exposures until all is well.
Taking a few precautions can help limit your risk of photosensitivity and keep the sun shining on your fun, summer or winter.
Sun Blocking Clothing Can Be An Easy Answer
As you are considering easy ways to manage you sensitive skin, the world of sun blocking clothing should help.
There are so many improvements in the styles and fabric content that will help you stay protected from the sun. With the added dangers of some sunscreen products causing more problems, having a hat with a 3 inch brim, your sunglasses and a longsleeve loose fitting shirt give you the basics.
Young kids need to be out of the direct sun until they are 12 months old. Dress them in a broad brimmed hat with sunglasses held on with a safety strap. Getting them into longsleeved coverups to protect them from the sun. This is so much easier that trying to keep sunscreen reapplied several times during a days outing.
When shopping for your sun blocking clothing, read labels and hang tags. Know what you are buying and how to launder it for maximum life and protection for your kids.
Plan Your Outings With The Sun In Mind
The simple things you can do like play tennis at 8 AM instead of 11. Or take the earlier tee times at the golf course. Choose an earlier play group time for your kids. If there are issues with this, just explain your concerns and see if maybe the Moms had considered the risks of sun exposure.
These are very simple things you can do to improve your game of skin protection from the sun. These can help you avoid skin cancer. So many of us have just ignored the results that science is finding. The information is there. It is up to you and me to do something with it.
Sun protection combined with the awareness of sun exposure on our skin when we are taking medications, even Tyloneol can help us be healthier and keep ourselves away from skin cancer.
Sami’s Take On Medications And The Sun Winter Or Summer
As we are learning more about the dangers of the sun for our skin and eyes, adding the medication findings should change some habits.
We have disreguarded the sun dangers too long. Wanted to tan, not realizing what we were doing to our skin. How we were damaging and changing our very DNA so that our skin could not grow back as it was.
This is pretty serious business, and needs to be given some thought. We are responsible people. We know that taking care of our skin will keep us healthier as we age.
Were you awear that more people die from skin cancer every year than from smoking?
Protecting our skin really is something we can learn to do. Teaching our family the importance of covering up when out in the sun will help them be healthier.