I haven't officially been diagnosed but I think that it's only a matter of time, before I am. Anyway, my question is this: Over the last, good Lord, I don't know how many years, but it's been along time, when I'm out in the sun, I notice that my chest and arms itch like crazy!! We were recently at my grand-daughters 2nd birthday party and I made sure I was in the shade, but I still ended up itchy. I am assuming this is one of the symptoms of Lupus?
We are planning a trip to the Wisconsin Dells the end of the month and will probably rent a boat to go fishing with my sons and daughter-in-law, I don't want to end up an itchy wreck.
In addition, I have RA, Sjogrens Syndrome, Underactive thyroid, Lymphedema in my lower legs, sleep apnea and other stuff.
Try a really good sunblock, also some of the meds used to treat RA will make you more sensitive to the sun. The dells is really beautiful hope you have a great trip.
The sun still affects you when you are in the shade. I found this out first hand. We have a pool and me & my husband decide we would try to out smart lupus.... We bought a huge swinging umbrella and bolted to the concrete. We thought I could be in the shade and still enjoy the pool, especially when we had company over. We had a bunch of people over and I stayed out during the hottest part of the day, plenty of sun block, under my umbrella. Then later that night I had such a bad flare. My skin had brown blotches all over, and then I had red swollen blotches on my face. I had cold & hot chills. I sweat the bed so bad we had to keep changing the covers. I was exhausted & stayed in bed for a couple of days. It took me a week to get over it. I did call the doctor and even with 20 mg of predisone it took a while to recover. I can do a hour after 3. My advise to you is apply sunblock from head to toe. Then get your self a sun protected long shirt and cotton pants all in white, a big floppy hat, sunglasses, and do not go out between 11 to 3. Good luck I hope you have a great vacation.
this is my life. i have become a vampire. its how i was finally diagnosed. sunscreen at least spf 70 every day. plaquenil helped to knock it back a bit.
the ONLY thing to stop the itching for more than a second is Sarna lotion. Not the sensitive skin, the regular.
my life sounds a lot like zippy"s...my dermatologist diagnosed me with PMLS...polymorphic light sensitivity...i'm basically allergic to the sun...i also have small white scars or depigmented patches wherever i get the rash, mostly my legs, arms, chest, and back...it's an autoimmune disorder, just another one that goes along with lupus..
coolibar.com has SPF 50 clothing. I have worn it since April this year and love it! Right now they have season-end sales. It is not cheap, but really has protected me all summer so far. Just a thought...
Hi Lisa, Please go to my profile and look up my prior profile photo...make sure you enlarge it so you can see the puffy burning red from the sun. This happened in late October one year...with grey sky and rain. This flare lasted 6 weeks.The UV rays go through the clouds so it makes you think you are safe when not!
I always use a sun screen (like you put in the windows) now in the car so no sun gets on my body. I also put sun screen
lotion on. I avoid situations where I am exposed to too much sun or light. It is not worth it. Also, avoid compounding situations. In other words if you are under stress, drink alcohol, and are also in the sun...you have a recipe for
disaster. If you fish make sure you are under a tree in the shade. The water can reflect the sun off it and it bounces back up to you even if wearing a sun hat. You can still have fun you just have to night fish! Good luck
oh dear Lord wingwalker!!! the sun did a job on your face that day...wow....nice to see how lovely your face is when you protect it...i always have sunscreen on now...and a big floppy spf 50 hat!!