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Dr Bollmann, Skin Care Specialist, Anti-Aging Expert
With our beautiful weather in Scottsdale, Arizona, and the influx of winter visitors, it is not difficult to imagine that very soon the weather will get much hotter. And since many of us are on medications for various illness, I felt it an appropriate time to broach the subject of medications and sun sensitivity.
Especially if you are on skin care products like our own Bare Skin Care, sun exposure without appropriate sun block can cause hyper pigmentation (melanoma or brown spots) on the skin.
Some medicines can make your skin more sensitive to the sun, so check medicines packaging for warnings to avoid excessive skin exposure to sunlight and sunlamps.
Many medicines can make skin sun-sensitive, even after only brief exposure to the sun. This is called photosensitivity and means that if you expose your skin to the sun while using one of these medicines, you could have an adverse skin reaction.
A phototoxic reaction often looks like a severe sunburn with skin redness, swelling and blistering on the sun-exposed areas and will usually develop 5 to 20 hours after exposure. The other reaction that people are at risk of is called a photoallergic reaction and that can cause an itchy, dry, bumpy or blistering rash which can also spread beyond sun-exposed areas. This kind of rash develops at around 24 to 48 hours after sun exposure.
Medicines that can cause phototoxic or photoallergic skin reactions include:
- Acne and psoriasis medicines (oral and topical)
- Some antibiotics
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines (NSAIDs) (oral and topical)
- Some antihistamines
- Some anti-nausea medicines
- Some chemotherapy medicines
- Some medicines for diabetes
- Diuretics
- Medicines to regulate heart rhythm
- Some antipsychotic medicines
- Some antidepressants
- St John's wort
Some medicines can cause changes in skin colour during sun exposure. For example, exposure to sunlight whilst taking amiodarone (a medicine to treat heart rhythm disturbances) can cause blue-grey discolouration of the skin over time.
"This photosensitivity risk doesn't mean you have to stay indoors and avoid summer holiday activities," says Dr Boyden. "But if the medicine's label, its enclosed consumer medicine information leaflet (CMI), your doctor or pharmacist says that you should avoid sunlight when taking a particular medicine, be particularly mindful of limiting your exposure. You can help protect yourself by using sunscreen, wearing protective clothing and a hat, and avoiding going out in peak UV times of the day as much as possible."
