Sunlight

[karadan]

Hello,

I was wondering how you deal with sunlight. I am pretty sure that it is one of my biggest triggers, but then again I stress about it mostly and so maybe the stress itself is the trigger!

Right now I tend to avoid it as much as possible. I wear a daily moisturizer that has SPF in it, either 15 or 40, and when outside I always try to wear a big hat. But I am constantly stressed about avoiding the sun! It's really not fun...I find that I dread certain activities with people because I don't want to be outside. Same thing with riding buses, in cars, etc, I freak out if the sun is on my face!

How do you deal with the sun? Is wearing a sunblock enough and should I relax about being outside? If I keep reapplying sunblock, my skins gets all goopy and shiny and irritated! Aahhhh :)

Thanks!

Kara

[JacobGalvan]

Sunlight isnt as bad for you as you think. I made a thread on this page asking about tanning with rosacea and most of the replys said that it was absolutely horrible to go in the sun. But for the past few days, i have been going on my deck and laying in the sun for atleast 15-20 minutes a day and its been having a good affect on my skin. I havnt gotten any darker, but it seems like my skin is getting used to the heat. This helps me alot during the day because i hardly flush at all. I used to get hot really really easily and this would usually lead to flushing, and then eventually my face would be red for the whole day. But its like my skins internal temperature has gone down because its used to the heat from the sun and theirfore my skin stays nice and cool all day. I do not plan on ever gettting a sunburn because i know for a fact this would really trigger my rosacea, but laying in the sun for a few minutes a day with some light sunscreen on your trouble areas does a world of good if you ask me. Try it out, and if anything you are helping your body out by letting it get the VIT D it needs.

[Driven]

Sunlight isnt as bad for you as you think.

Agreed. If you can't go out in the sun for even a few minutes without a terrible reaction, sunlight is not your problem - it's just aggravating an existing condition. Get the condition under control and you'll be able to go outside without a reaction.

(For most people. Some really do have a disease that makes it impossible to go out in the sun, but that is extremely rare.)

[claudia]

Mid-day sun is the worst for me...however very early morning and later in the day seems to be ok. But I usually wear a hat anyway...your skin will thank you years later cause you'll have fewer wrinkles!!! I can't wear sunscreen because it's too irritating but wearing hats is fun hi:

[phlika29]

Seb derm can get better with sunlight and many rosaceans have this as a coexisting condition.

[GJ]

I would like to join this sun love in!
Those of us who, daily, slap on sunblock regardless of the season or the weather do perhaps miss out on the benefits that sensible exposure can provide.

[JacobGalvan]

Seb derm can get better with sunlight and many rosaceans have this as a coexisting condition.

Wow, is this really true?? my derm seems to think i have rosacea but i always had the sneeking suspicioun that it was infact only seb derm....interesting.

[abraham51]

Sunlight isnt as bad for you as you think. I made a thread on this page asking about tanning with rosacea and most of the replys said that it was absolutely horrible to go in the sun. But for the past few days, i have been going on my deck and laying in the sun for atleast 15-20 minutes a day and its been having a good affect on my skin. I havnt gotten any darker, but it seems like my skin is getting used to the heat. This helps me alot during the day because i hardly flush at all. I used to get hot really really easily and this would usually lead to flushing, and then eventually my face would be red for the whole day. But its like my skins internal temperature has gone down because its used to the heat from the sun and theirfore my skin stays nice and cool all day. I do not plan on ever gettting a sunburn because i know for a fact this would really trigger my rosacea, but laying in the sun for a few minutes a day with some light sunscreen on your trouble areas does a world of good if you ask me. Try it out, and if anything you are helping your body out by letting it get the VIT D it needs.


If you have vascular rosacea, even small doses of UVs are terrible. In fact, the shorter wavelengths of the sun light causes vasodilatation AND causes the release of VEGF and other angiogenic factors. It also depletes TSP-1 which further accelerates the angiogenic process.

[boyandhisdog]

Try it out, and if anything you are helping your body out by letting it get the VIT D it needs.

And the skin cancer, sun damage, and telenagiectasia you don't need.

I would agree with Abraham on his points.

I am glad that you feel it is helping you, but as a rule, IMO any possible benefits of unprotected sun exposure are far outweighed by the downsides. Long term exposure to "at least 15-20 minutes" per day will have dire cumulative consequences if done over a long period of time.

At 40, with years of sun damage behind me and now suffering the consequences, I would strongly urge caution.

[Driven]

If you have vascular rosacea, even small doses of UVs are terrible. In fact, the shorter wavelengths of the sun light causes vasodilatation AND causes the release of VEGF and other angiogenic factors. It also depletes TSP-1 which further accelerates the angiogenic process.

Of course caution is warranted, and you're probably not going to get worse by avoiding the sun, but again, small doses really are good for you and do minimal damage. When you see someone with visible sun damage, you can bet that they have been getting a lot more than 15 minutes/day.

My rosacea is entirely vascular, but I (mostly) have my symptoms under control, so I hardly react at all to sunlight. I get 10-15 minutes/day without sunscreen, I've gotten at least that much my entire life, I'm about to turn 40, and I can easily pass for 30. When I know I'm going to be outside for a while, I use a high SPF sunscreen. Get the condition under control and sun/heat won't be so much of a trigger.

I guess all we're saying is that fearing sunlight is no way to live. Moderation (with your own skin type in mind) is key.

[hozer2k]

Well, I had avoided the sun like the plague for years. And it sucked, I hated the feeling of being a slave. So I decided to get some sun and see what happens, I did about 45 min and then got REAL red. Nothing new here.

But then I decided to give it another try in a tanning bed, but with a very limited amount of time. I was able to tolerate a few minutes no prob. Then at about 9-10 minutes I get real red for a few days. Sounds crazy right? Well, what I found was that at about 7 min the bed...no problem whatsover. So maybe that is about 20-30 min of direct sunlight or so. If the light is indirect, maybe an hour..depending on the day. Within this threshold, I have no problem..but if I exceed it...red for a couple days and it sucks.

Point being is that now I can at least take a short walk, walk to the parking lot in full sun, etc. without feeling like a slave. But I have to know my limits and be very careful. To say "NO SUN", well it makes you feel horrible to think you have to live like this the rest of your life. You probably can tolerate some sun so find out just how much and try not to exceed this.

At these small levels of sun..say 20 min a day during the summer (and very little in the winter), there should not be any real negative effect such as cancer, aging, etc. It's when you abuse the sun and exceed your limits that you have a problem.

Just my opinion, but it works for me, and I don't feel like a slave anymore so I consider this an important realization.

P.S. I know this is highly contraversial, but the reason I tried the tanning bed was to find out my tolerance level in a very controlled manner. I do not use it for tanning, unless for my body during the summer. Once you have found the level you tolerate, you should not continue use. It only serves the purpose of testing your limitations. I really doubt that its anything that could cause a long lasting problem.

[boyandhisdog]

Good opinions one and all, just be careful as sun damage is cumulative over one's life which means the effects worsen with repeated, unprotected exposure to the sun.

Whether you are walking to your car, driving to work or simply sitting near a window, you are exposed to harmful UV rays. This type of daily exposure is known as incidental UV exposure.

Incidental exposure occurs where you least expect it-in the shade, on cloudy days, even while indoors. It is estimated that the average person is exposed to more than 10 hours of indoor UV rays every week. Add that to more than seven hours of outdoor UV rays a week and without proper protection, your weekly UV-radiation exposure could total nearly 20 hours.

So, do what you feel is the most appropriate for you personally. Like everyone said, you can't just go hide in the closet- that's no way to live.

Yours,
Rob

[travellingpete]

Of course caution is warranted, and you're probably not going to get worse by avoiding the sun, but again, small doses really are good for you and do minimal damage. When you see someone with visible sun damage, you can bet that they have been getting a lot more than 15 minutes/day.

My rosacea is entirely vascular, but I (mostly) have my symptoms under control, so I hardly react at all to sunlight. I get 10-15 minutes/day without sunscreen, I've gotten at least that much my entire life, I'm about to turn 40, and I can easily pass for 30. When I know I'm going to be outside for a while, I use a high SPF sunscreen. Get the condition under control and sun/heat won't be so much of a trigger.

I guess all we're saying is that fearing sunlight is no way to live. Moderation (with your own skin type in mind) is key.

Hi Drivenhi:

I was just wondering how you got vascular rosacea mianly under control?

Cheerssmile:

Pete

[mattdog323]

The sun is enjoyable for some people,

I love being out side just every one make sure u constanly have sun block on and where a big hat,

Its nothing to be scared of yes it does make me go redder but i like going out side,

[Lookout]

Hello,

I was wondering how you deal with sunlight. I am pretty sure that it is one of my biggest triggers, but then again I stress about it mostly and so maybe the stress itself is the trigger!

Right now I tend to avoid it as much as possible. I wear a daily moisturizer that has SPF in it, either 15 or 40, and when outside I always try to wear a big hat. But I am constantly stressed about avoiding the sun! It's really not fun...I find that I dread certain activities with people because I don't want to be outside. Same thing with riding buses, in cars, etc, I freak out if the sun is on my face!

How do you deal with the sun? Is wearing a sunblock enough and should I relax about being outside? If I keep reapplying sunblock, my skins gets all goopy and shiny and irritated! Aahhhh :)

Thanks!

Kara

Having direct sunlight on your face will be a trigger for sure....the "heat" alone after awhile will cause a reaction.....If you have to hold up a magazine to block it then that's what I do.....I adj my visor constantly while driving and so on....of course wear spf but it's the heat from direct sunlight that will cause you grief.