Most of us love the sun. However, the skin of some people can be very sensitive to sunlight, especially in spring and summer. Most often, sun dermatitis occurs in people with fair skin.
Symptoms of Solar Dermatitis
Photodermatosis manifests itself in the form of small reddish blisters or large spots in places where rays hit the skin. Typically, these skin lesions occur a few seconds or minutes after exposure to the sun.
Basically, the disease manifests itself in children and women, however, men are prone to it. Solar dermatitis usually occurs in the spring and persists until late summer. In most cases, the disease ceases to bother people when they reach 40 or 50 years, but this is not necessary.
What can be done to prevent solar dermatitis?
The surest way to prevent photodermatosis is to avoid sunlight at the time of its greatest activity (from 10-11 to 16-17 hours). It is important to stay in the shade and wear hats or baseball caps, sunglasses and outerwear that do not let the sun in.
It is very disappointing to return from the beach not with a beautiful tan, but with a skin rash. Unfortunately, medicine is not able to accurately answer why some of us have such sensitive skin. Therefore, the surest ways of how to treat solar dermatitis thoroughly have not yet been found. However, there are various creams that can protect the skin from sunlight.
You must choose those products that have a high sun protection factor SPF (abbreviation for English sun protection factor). The SPF value shows how effective the cream is in resisting the
ultraviolet rays emitted by the sun. For example, a tool with an SPF of 10, in theory, means that the person who used it can be in the sun 10 times longer than usual, without the risk of solar dermatitis (photo on the left).
Thus, people in whom the disease manifests itself after 10 minutes can be exposed to direct sunlight for 100 minutes. Some experts recommend that people suffering from photodermatosis start with the use of sunscreens with an SPF of 15 to 25.
Before undertaking any actions aimed at combating photodermatosis in general, you need to consult a doctor. Frequent manifestation of this disease can contribute to the development of skin cancer, which is very serious. In addition, photodermatosis leads to premature aging.
Ailments similar to solar dermatitis
Some people experience symptoms similar to those seen with photodermatosis. Solar dermatitis is somewhat reminiscent of photosensitivity.
Photosensitization manifests itself at a time when the sun's rays falling on the skin begin to react with some chemical elements. For example, for many, this ailment manifests itself after using cosmetics or perfume.
Solar dermatitis is also confused with photoallergy. It also manifests itself a few minutes after contact with the skin of ultraviolet rays and extends even to those areas where sunlight did not get.