Twelve years ago, on a lovely Saturday morning in Tampa, Florida, I parked my rented Ford Focus next to a baseball field. A group of my friends and I had been invited to come to watch a Little League game that afternoon, starting at 1pm.
One friend’s 9-year-old son, Frank, was a pitcher on one of the teams playing that day, and since we were in town, we decided it would be fun to visit while watching the game. The weather was perfect: high, wispy clouds, not too humid, with a temperature in the mid-70s.
We could see Frank warming up in the infield as we climbed up to our seats near the top row of the open bleachers, the better to see him when he pitched. At precisely 1pm, the away team ran out onto the field, and the game began.
Frank was pitching every other inning and doing well. At the end of the third inning, the score was 4 to 2 in favor of the home team. As Frank’s team took the field for the top of the fourth inning, I started feeling hot.
I turned to Susan, sitting to my left, and asked her, “Do I look okay? I feel hot.”
She turned to me and gasped, “Good heavens, your face is BEET RED! You need to get out of the sun RIGHT NOW!”
“I hardly ever burn, so how could this happen to me?” went through my head as I headed for the nearest shady spot, which was a long way away from where I could see the rest of the game. I pulled a bottle of water out of my pack, puzzled over how I could have gotten so red so fast.
Well, there was one thing different: I had just started taking a new medicine for an inflammatory condition. When I checked the bottle later, it had a sticker on it that warned about exposure to the sun.
Exposing our skin to sunshine causes our skin to react, either by “tanning” or “burning.” Sunlight contains ultraviolet radiation; there are wavelengths called UVA and UVB that can trigger skin reactions like rash, itching, and even exaggerated sunburn. These effects are called photosensitivity reactions.
Regular sunlight has approximately 20 times as much UVA radiation as UVB. Sunburn, skin cancer, and accelerated skin changes, such as wrinkles and spots called photoaging, are caused mostly from UVB radiation exposure.
UVB rays are most intense between 10 in the morning and 4 pm. They help our skin produce Vitamin D. UVA radiation triggers photosensitivity reactions in people taking certain medicines, like me.
Although I rarely burn, my new medicine increased my skin sensitivity to the UVA wavelengths in the sunshine that afternoon in Tampa. I could have avoided that if I had used sunscreen to protect me against both UVA and UVB radiation.
The effectiveness of a particular sunscreen is measured by how much protection it gives against UV radiation, called its SPF, or Sun Protection Factor. The bigger the SPF number, the better the protection. For example, if you properly apply a sunscreen with an SPF of 15, you could stay out in the sun 15 times without burning as you could without it.
Sunscreens come in two main types: chemical and physical. Chemical sunscreens work by absorbing specific wavelengths of UV radiation before they penetrate your skin. In contrast, physical sunscreens reflect and scatter UVA and UVB radiation.
Here Are 5 Tips for Avoiding Sunburn or Sun Sensitivity to a Medicine:
- AVOID tanning beds or direct sunlight until you finish the medicine.
When going outside during the day, cover up with long sleeves and a hat with a brim at least 4 inches wide, or apply sunscreen with UVA and UVB protection. Wait for at least 24 hours after your last dose of medicine before stopping these precautions.
- Choose a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30.
Sunscreens with higher SPFs don’t last long on your skin, so you still need to reapply them every 2-3 hours while in the sun.
- Think ahead.
Apply sunscreen at least 15 minutes before you are in the sun. Sunscreens need adequate time to bind to your skin for the best results.
- Don’t skimp when applying sunscreen.
The FDA estimates an adult in a swimsuit should use about 4 and 1/2 teaspoonfuls when applying sunscreen to their bodies.
- Reapply your sunscreen frequently.
Sunscreen can wash off, especially after swimming, playing in the water or sweating. And be sure to always reapply sunscreen every time you dry yourself off with a towel.
