Allergy to sunlight

Is allergy to sunlight a common thing? I just heard about it for the first time and I found some information about it on the internet, but I couldn't find if it's common or rare.


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After reading some articles on the subject I understand that 10-15% of the population have sun allergy.

This is more common in the northern parts of the earth.

A few of the most common types of sun allergy are: Polymorphous light eruption (PMLE) — PMLE, which usually appears as an itchy rash on sun-exposed skin, is the second most common sun-related skin problem seen by doctors, after common sunburn. It occurs in an estimated 10% to 15% of the U.S. population, affecting people of all races and ethnic backgrounds. Women are affected by PMLE more often than men, and symptoms typically begin during young adult life. In temperate climates, PMLE is usually rare in the winter, but common during the spring and summer months.

In many cases, the PMLE rash returns every spring, immediately after the person begins spending more time outside. As spring turns into summer, repeated sun exposure may cause the person to become less sensitive to sunlight, and the PMLE rash either may disappear totally or gradually become less severe. Although the effects of this desensitization process, called "hardening," usually last through the end of the summer, the PMLE rash often returns at full intensity the following spring.

 About 10 to 15 per cent of people in Britain have this condition, which is not so much caused by warmth but by ultraviolet radiation. Like you, more women than men are affected often from adolescence or early adulthood although sometimes also later in life too.

 http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/9339/25934.html

http://dermnetnz.org/reactions/photosensitivity.html

http://www.ecureme.com/emyhealth/data/Sun_Allergy.asp

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/ate/asthmaandallergy/203474.html

 


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Thanks yoavdothan. 10-15% sounds a bit high to me, I guess the number in Israel is lower. Anyway it's a good indication of what the figure is, and it's good enough for me. Cheers!



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What kind of sunlight allergy are you talking about?  I've heard of people who are so sensitive to the sunlight that they can't go out in it at all.  They basically have to live at night and sleep during the day.  However, I don't know if that's an allergy.  I also don't think that condition is very common. 

I do know that some people (myself included) have a sneeze reflex when they go out into the sunlight (or any sudden light).  But, again, this isn't an allergy, just a case of some crossed wires in the nervous system.  I think this is fairly common, but probably not often diagnosed since it's usually just a sneeze and does not involve some of the less pleasant allergy symptoms.


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Yeah, I heard about from a friend that answered my phone call with a very strange voice and said she's been sneezing all day because she spent too much time in the sun. But she said the sneezing stayed after she got home, I think.


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