post ipl wobbles - whether to continue?

[thursday]

Hi there. I'm new and come with a question about ipl i'd love some advice on please.

I've had 2 ipl treatments so far. both on low settings (22 and 23 J on a Quantum)

after the first one, i was bruised, then red and swollen for 2 days, then looked good (well you know relatively!) for a week, then went red again for a week, then had a good week, then not so good again.

after the second treatment, the side-effects were much less - less bruising generally and less red and swollenness - great i thought. But, after a week, i noticed i went pimply again, then red and blotchy and now i'm generally red and also burning and flushing at the slightest provocation. yesterday it was too long in the wind, today it was too long in the sun (and yes i was wearing sunblock make-up and a big floppy sunhat). I have been out in the sun quite a lot since the last treatment but i have a small child to play with and we are having a heatwave (in the uk) so it's hard to avoid and i have worn suncream and sunblock makeup and a hat every day. I did also have some wine after a week - only one glass though. After the first treatment, i was feeling a abit hopeful but now I feel like i'm back to the same state as before i had any treatment at all and feeling really despondent about it. did the second treatment make it worse? am i having a bad reaction and should i maybe stop there before i do more damage on the next treatment? or is it the sun that's making it worse? i could wait until winter to have any more ipl but the central heating is as bad a trigger as the sun for me.

can anyone shed any advice on what is going on and whether i should carry on or not?

thanks a lot

[fut]

Has your symptoms gotten any worse since before you began?

An important rule of thumnb when going through IPL is to avoid all triggers for 2 weeks after the treatment. I know this might be hard for you but it is worth it when you consider money spent and having to deal with this disease.

Not avoiding your triggers could eradicate any results you were bound to see. I suggest you try again, this time playing with your kid indoors with AC and see how that works out.

[thursday]

symptoms are now as bad as they were before at their very worst if you see me today - skn is red and burning like hot irons.

i rang the makeup company this morning who said that the product i use contains titanium dioxide which completely reflects the sun so it is not possible to burn through it. but somehow bizarrely i seem to be. has anyone else expereinced this?

my ipl doc (patterson) says avoid triggers for one week - i asked him specifically on this at last treatment as i am due to go on holiday 10 days after my next treatment. so, as with this time, i can stay indoors for one week but two is much more difficult. do i cancel the next treatment or the holiday?

[cactus]

Hi
I think it is important to avoid triggers after IPL until you get your next IPL, not just for 1 week. It seems as though you exposed yourself to a bunch of triggers - alcohol, wind, heat from the sun, that could have caused the reaction you are having. I think your skin was still setting up the new microvascular environment during that time and exposure to triggers just sends signals to grow more blood vessels if you flush.