I have been busy with family issues both my Mom & Dad have been in the hospital. Dad was in the hospital 2 weeks ago, Mom was in the hospital last week so, I've been tied up. As of now they are both at home! YEA!
I would not recommend this to everyone with Lupus, but I have noticed that being out in the sun in the garden and fishing with sunscreen, I have gotten a very dark tan. I am caucasian with a lot of Native American Indian blood. It appears that the darker I have gotten the less rashes I am getting?
I am wondering if the darker my tan gets, if it blocks out UV rays? Just a thought. Does anyone else have any thoughts?
On the lighter side I have some friend here in the U.S. that are black some of them tell me and it is true, I am darker than they are! We all agree that underneath the skin we are all the same!
I hope everyone has a GOOD WEEKEND!
👣👣👣👣👣👣Tiras👣👣👣👣👣👣
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Tiras
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About sunshine... there is nothing that makes me feel as good as being in the sun! For 19 years, I couldn't be out more than 30 minutes without getting a terrible burn, followed by a rash and a day or two of fever. But for the past year, I've been feeling a little stronger. This year I planted a TINY garden from seed. I was out every day tending it and keeping track of what the bunnies had enjoyed eating the night before!
But gradually, I started to pick up a little color. Instead of getting tan, my skin is a conglmeration of overlapping freckles!! But at 55, all the sun damage I sustained before I had lupus has to show up somehow!!
In July, I went into a flare. My rheumatologist took one look at me and said I had caused the flare by being in the sun too much! 😟 Now I try, I really try, not to go outside between 10 am and 4 pm.
So that's my love-hate relationship with the sun... I love it, but it isn't very nice to me in return. But I do enjoy being in the warm sunshine, so I'll never give up trying to find a way that we can be compatible!
Have a lovely and blessed Sunday with your family, Tiras! I'm so thankful that your mom and dad are doing better!!
I am 56 and yes I love being outside in the sun also. I had a discussion with my rheumatologist a couple months ago, I knew what the consequences could be but, I was going to do the things I enjoy. So out in the garden and on the lake I went. I said and thus far I have done what I said 👣I will not let lupus control my life👣! I have managed to do that thus far. I was diagnosed with SLE about 4 1/2 years ago. I'm not gonna stop living now!
Interesting thoughts about the tan. Maybe your type of Lupus is less sensitive to the sun and the tan is allowing you to be out more ,which would be wonderful ,but I would be pretty careful just incase.
Let us know if this improvement continues.The rash on your foot doesn't look quite so bad, so is it helping that too?
I used to love the sun, have a skin that doesn't burn much and even in Scotland used to have a good tan most summers. I felt great, as if it gave me more energy too. But ten years ago I realised my tolerance of it was going and even a half hour out and I suffered with headaches and nausea.
Now even with sunblock a few minutes and I will have a bad flare the next day. I have to be so careful. I also though have a type of Addisons, early adrenal insufficiency, and that actually makes you quite dark if you are in the sun just for a short time. So even with sunblock I am always darker in summer!!
We are indeed all the same underneath and we all came originally from central Africa!!!
I find it fascinating that we were all black originally and then our skin lightened to help us survive as we ventured further north and had to cope with less sunlight.
Have a good time just now with all your family together Tiras.
I still use sunscreen when I am out but, it seems as if I still get a little darker each time. It is odd, it's like I get darker all over and not just in areas that are exposed to the sun. I don't have much of a tan line, and I don't do nude tanning. There is a very little difference where shorts cover up. Even my back side is dark and it has not seen nor has it been exposed to the sun?
I've said this before and I'll say it again.
It doesn't make sense but, then neither does lupus?
Glad your parents are home. I'm a newly diagnosed African American. I didn't know why, but I got rashes the last 3 years on vacation; even when using sun screen.
My version of infant onset lupus reactivity means I must stay out of the sun & avoid warmer & colder ambient temperatures. My skin is very pale...when I was younger I freckled lots, and burned lots. I'm better able to cope living here in the uk for 40+ years, than in Philadelphia where I was born (the heat, cold & humidity made me miserable)
I do vvv much wish I could bask in the sun 😂 but I've learned to enjoy watching others bask from my position in the shade 😉
I have also noticed as I told Cutty, I get darker all over, even in places that are not exposed to the sun. I do not do nude tanning but, I have very little tan line. Even my backside that gets no exposure is dark. I still use sunscreen and I seem to get a little darker each time I am out in the sun?
I guess it is just one of the many mysteries of lupus and medication?
If I figure this out I may find a cure for Lupus? It seems as if the sun effects us all but, in different ways. I am now not getting as many rashes/blisters but now getting dark.
People with darker skin and those that tan more easily do have more natural protection against UV. It is reported that a 'base tan' offers a sun protection factor (SPF) of about 4, so it is not amazing protection and exposure will still increase the risk of damage to your skin which could potentially trigger a lupus flare, or skin cancer.
As I told Cutty and Coco, i use sunscreen, I get darker all over and not just exposed areas. I have a very little tan line, and I don't do nude tanning! Even backside gets darker. It seems as if I get a little darker each time out in the sun, all over?
Lupus can sometimes cause "post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation". This occurs more in dark-skinned individuals and is a response of the skin to the inflammation caused by an increase of melanin (dark pigmentation of the skin) within the cells of the skin.
In addition, one of the potential long-term side effects of using anti-malarial medications such as hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine, and quinacrine is the development of dark-coloured patches on the skin. They often appear brown, black, or black and blue and tend to develop on the legs, especially around the shins. However, they can happen anywhere on the body; involvement of the neck is especially common. The colouration may decrease when the dose of medication decreases.
Thanks Paul for this post. I have what I thought were bruises on my left shin that never go away. I have done tons of research on Lupus but have never come across this information. We learn something new everyday.
I wear factor 50 on my face every day and on exposed parts of my body during the summer.
They only part of me that seems particularly sun sensitive is my face and the tops of my feet. Even withheld factor 50 I get quite brown, because I spent time in the garden, and try to at least take a short walk every day, (depending on levels of pain)
Maybe your theory is correct, I never sit in the sun if I can avoid it and would not advise anyone to, but I now believe that you just have to listen to your body and do what seems best for you.
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I don't know which group this falls under....
Negative ANA, Positive DS-DNA, Elevated CRP-HS and low white blood cells
Discoid lupus?
Feeling scared
