The Healthy Blogger

Sun allergies prohibit my enjoyment of summer

Why is it that I always seem to “forget” the real reason I don’t like summer?  My favourite season has always been fall, followed by spring.  Though I don’t like extremes of weather, I always preferred winter to summer.  Snow is fun, and of course, there are the holidays.  But, beyond that, I always find it easier to dress in lots of layers, than to remove down to your birthday suit.  After all, once you are down to that, you have no further to go, unless you have air conditioning.

I hate it when it is hot.  I always associate it with being sweaty, sleepy, and just plain lethargic.  I have never understood the mentality of lying out in the sun until you are baking.  Of course, when it is so hot, there’s little you can do except lie down.  But I’d prefer to do it in the shade.

But it’s not the frustrations I feel when the temperature rises that make me wish I could rush through summer.  I love good weather and summer is ripe with it.  As long as it is not too hot.  Over the last two decades (after this long a time, how can I always forget?) I have developed a “sun allergy”.  There’s some medical terminology that a dermatologist gave me once, but I forget what it is.  I get a rash, even after brief (15 minutes) exposure in the sun.  It does not seem to affect me in the winter, which perhaps explains why I keep forgetting.  But it makes me also think that it’s not just the sun, but the heat.  My theory behind this sun allergy is that the sun is more direct in the summer.  It’s rays are more powerful, more intense, more hot.  Even on cloud-filled hot days, I can develop the rash.  Conversely, I have had, on occasion, rashes in the spring when we’ve had sunny but cooler, even cold and breezy, days.  Unlike heat rash, which is found on sweaty areas of the body in hot weather, the sun rash mostly occurs on exposed areas.  For example, you can see the tan lines on my feet from the sandals I wear, and in those areas, there is not a single rash.  The most affected areas, obviously, are the hands and feet, because they are the least protected (or most exposed) in the summer.  But, there was a time, when many joint areas were affected as well, regardless of protection, such as the shoulders and hips.  It made suspect other problems, but in recent years, it has concentrated only on exposed areas.

One year, I was in Mexico and was so badly affected, I could only come out in the evenings.  Even that wasn’t good enough.  I was practically covered in a rash and the persistent heat did not help, even though I stayed indoors.  The evening sun, though deemed safe for melanoma risk, exacerbated the rash in exposed areas.

The rash, like hives, poison ivy and heat rash, is extremely itchy.  Unless someone has experienced any of these, they cannot understand how maddening it can be.  It makes you curse the cause of the condition.  I cannot afford to buy expensive steroid creams to help with the rash and itch, and have resorted to over-the-counter itch creams and allergy pills.  They are not always helpful, but I have to give them a try sometimes.  Another trick I’ve learned is to cool down the heat of the itch with ice or cold water.

I envy those who can tolerate the heat.  It’s difficult to go around in long sleeves and pants all the time.  So, I either have to choose to sweat or itch.  Not an easy choice sometimes.  And sun screens do not help, though I do use them to protect my skin.  Even though they make me feel sticky.  Every summer, I am reminded of my condition, when a brief encounter turns prickly, as it has in the last few days.  And we’re not even officially in summer.

Debunking the tan myth

I’ve written many times about the dangers of tanning, so I’ve probably done it to death.  Many readers probably don’t care too much about the dangers that may not manifest for many years.  But, it was reported today that the recession will push more people into tanning salons.  This is because they cannot afford to holiday in warm climates, where they can lay out in the sun.

I’m not going to pick on tanning salons, because I believe tanning is bad, regardless of method.  I don’t know what problem people have with the “fake tans”.  Allergic reactions are uncommon, though it does exist.  Yet, it seems the easiest and safest method for those addicted to having a tan.  So, why bother with the tanning salons or the sun and dangerous rays?

Now, sunlight is important, especially for Vitamin D.  However, you can get vitamin D even if you apply sunscreen.  And you should use sunscreen to protect against harmful rays when you plan to be out in the sun for a long time.  But, sunbathers will not do so because they fear it will prevent them from tanning.  That is not necessarily the case.  Believe me on that point.  Sunscreen does not prevent you from tanning.

There is this misconception that a tan look is “healthy”.  This is because it is associated with being outdoors and invalids are not well-known for being out of doors.  No one wants to appear sickly pale, but there are many people unfortunate enough to be quite fair-skinned.  These people are the ones most in danger of getting skin damage from tanning.  They are the most likely to burn, even with the use of sunscreens.

A good proportion of people feel that a tan makes them look healthier.  The emphasis is on looks, not on actuality.  It does not make them feel healthier, nor are they in fact healthier, but many feel it makes them feel more attractive.  Let’s step back a bit.  Do people in general find Hispanics, Asians, and Blacks more attractive than Whites?  Is that why all the Caucasians try to pass themselves off as of a different race?  I find it funny then that amongst the Blacks, they like the light-skinned ones.

Never mind that tanning damages your skin, so that in the long run, you will have less healthy skin.  Let’s just look at the way that leathery skin clings on you.  Do you find that attractive?  I wish I could find and paste some images of women with that ugly leathery skin from too much sunbathing or tanning salons.  What about those with the tell-tale red-brown look that suggests they just came out of the salon?  You call that attractive?  Premature aging attractive?

I understand the need to be attractive.  I have ugly, wrinkly hands and feet.  This is due to dry skin and exposure to wind, heat, water, etc.  I tend to forget to apply lotions.  But I get very embarrassed to show my wrinkly, peeling skin.  I would definitely not tan and make it worse.  Tanning does not make a person more attractive!  In fact, it can make them much less attractive.

Tanning salons need regulations

Another case of a minor being burned in an unmanned tanning salon made news today.  This time, the child was 10 years old.  Yes, there was a sign on the door saying “Strictly over 16s, only”.  Whoever thought that would keep out younger kids have no understanding of a child’s mind.

A case earlier in the year involving a 14 year old highlighted the importance of supervision at these salons.  However, the owners there had insisted that the salons were manned.  This new case goes to show that either these people are paying lip service or they are completely unaware of what their employees do.

Children may hear horror stories, but they don’t listen until it’s happened to them.  Sometimes, even that is not enough to change their behaviour.  The same can be said of adults. 

How many more injuries of this nature must we tolerate before we decide that enough is enough?  If the tanning industry cannot ensure safety to children, then the government needs to step in and act.  Salons should be manned and young children will need to prove that they are old enough to enter.  Simply taking their word for it is not adequate.  In addition, the employee needs to supervise use to prevent any burns to anyone.

It is a sad state of this society that we’ve created an image of tan as beautiful, to the extent that even a 10-year old wants a tan.  Haven’t we learned from the stories of anorexic and bulimic children who try to be skinny as a result of the super-thin models?  Now we’ll have horror stories of children being badly burned and developing serious skin problems.

Eczema – on the rise and here again

The weather is getting warmer. Although I still shiver every morning and every evening, my skin knows it is getting warmer. My skin is getting drier. So dry, in fact, that it is starting to crack. All winter, I can wash my hands, do dishes, and take baths as frequently as I like and my skin could handle it. As it gets warmer, I get dry skin. So I know it is now getting warmer.

What always follows the dry, cracked skin is eczema. Growing up, I did not have much of a problem with eczema, though I did have a brother who broke out in rashes (determined to be eczema) behind his knees and elbows. He has since outgrown that condition, but I eventually developed a different form of eczema. I have the type called dishydrotic eczema. This type does not have the raised red spots usually found in the common form of eczema. I have little fluid-filled bumps under the skin – sometimes they do become raised – that are extremely itchy. Many times I am tempted to pop these bubbles and it helps temporarily, but they return and sometimes I am convinced that they are worse. So I try to avoid popping them. Sometimes I am able to control the eczema by treating the dry skin as best I can. This means using tons of lotions, treating cracks with medicated lip balm (I like Carmex), and using itch creams when the bumps appear.

Doctors have found that the incidence of eczema has risen over the years. I wonder if it may be due to environmental problems that are causing drier skin. I’m sure global warming experts will say it is. Eczema is lined to asthma and allergies. All of these conditions involve some type of inflammatory response to triggers. With the rise in eczema, doctors are concerned that there will be a rise in asthma and allergies. Some doctors theorise that eczema causes breaks in the natural skin barrier, which protects the body from infections, which can lead to conditions like asthma and allergies. They hope that if eczema can be controlled, asthma and allergies can be prevented.

But the association between the three is not so easily defined as that theory suggests. I had problems with asthma and allergy before I even developed eczema. In some families, one may have asthma, another allergic rhinitis, and another eczema. So it does not necessarily follow that an eczema sufferer will develop the other two conditions; however, they may be prone to it. And vice versa.

Over the years, my asthma and allergy have improved – I have never had to take medication for them, except an occasional allergy pill over-the-counter. But every year, I know I will have to deal with eczema. Though the three conditions can be found in me, the association between them are still not clearly defined. They do run in families – I saw that in my family growing up and I’m seeing it in my own family now. And our worst problem is eczema. There is no cure for eczema, but at least I have means to help control it.