Sun allergy?

[Hapi72]

Hi, the photo is not very good but I get this rash when I go in the sun, mainly on my ankles and legs. I do get hives from the sun but this is different, I also get swelling and stiffnes with it.

Tia

Sarah

[Secondchance]

I once got prickly heat rash the moment I got of the plane on my holidays- it looks a bit like that. Is it painful/itchy?

[Lindylanka]

Yes, I did, but several years before I was first suspected of b12 issues. I had achy heavy numb legs too. It looks like you have tiny red dots in your rash if so these are called petechiae and are an early sign of of deficiency, sometimes also with pale brownish yellow stains on legs. They are both the result of macrocytes causing tiny capillaries to burst. I used to feel this as sharp pin prick sensations, and actually had some on my hands too, on the web between my thumb and index finger. I learned about the b12connection to this through a dermatology site! My GP is still none the wiser, she just said at the time that nobody knew why these things happened..... I sometimes think if we got all of the specialisms together a better picture of PA/b12d would emerge, many seem to hold part of the puzzle, but nobody carries an overall picture of the ways in which it can be identified and tested for, and none have a clue how poor the diagnostics actually are for anything more than basic dietary deficiency.

[Hapi72 in reply to Lindylanka]

Thank Lindylanka, yes they do have red dots in them that don't fade when pressed. I got these quite badly when I went to Egypt just before I was diagnosed with B12d/PA and prior to loading doses. Shame I didn't get a picture of those, I'm seeing an endocrinologist in 2 weeks so with definitely mention it him.

[Lindylanka in reply to Hapi72]

If your macrocytes have reverted to normal size, which they will do on treatment with b12 and folate then you should not get these again. Specifically taking folic acid for folate deficiency and/or to support b12 treatment will reverse the macrocytosis which is the clinical evidence of our 'anaemia' which as we know is not the whole picture of b12 deficiency!

On the other hand if you are not supplementing with folic acid and are under treated you may still be producing some macrocytes.

Good luck with your appointment. You've already got further through the medical system than I've managed to do!

[pvanderaa]

Once I started on B12 injections I got extremely photosensitive. Do you supplement with vitamin D also?