Learning about Treatment for Solar Urticaria.
You must have heard about ultraviolet radiation and its severe effect on humans skin. However, it is quite possible that you may not have heard about solar urticaria, a disease that can be caused by UV radiation. This disease is one example of how severely UVs can affect humans!
Luckily solar urticaria treatment is not as bad as many people think it is.
Solar urticaria is a uncommon subtype of physical urticaria, caused by exposure to sunlight, ultraviolet radiations or sometimes even visible light. For complete details about solar urticaria treatment read this detailed article.
First identified by P. Merklen at the start of the 20th century, solar urticaria is a type of physical urticaria caused by exposure to the sun. Before explaining the details of solar urticaria treatment, let us find out what it actually is and which symptoms characterize solar urticaria.
Solar Urticaria
Solar urticaria has many different names, including solar rash, sun rash, and sun allergy, etc. It is an uncommon skin problem in which exposure to ultraviolet radiation or sometimes even visible light causes urticaria. Solar urticaria can appear on both covered as well as uncovered areas of the skin.
The agent in the human body that is responsible for the reaction to ultraviolet radiation is known as the photoallergen. Owing to its similarity to other dermatological disorders, such as polymorphic light eruption or PMLE, solar urticaria can be difficult to diagnose.
Solar Urticaria Symptoms
The skin areas that are constantly exposed to the sun have a lesser chance of experiencing an outbreak of solar urticaria than do parts of the body that are thinly covered. The most obvious symptom of solar urticaria is a rash that appears within a few minutes after exposure to ultraviolet radiation. The patient may suffer from constant itching and pain. The urticarial reaction instigates in the form of pruritus, later progressing to erythema and edema in the exposed areas of the skin. In more severe cases, the patient may be subject to light-headedness, headache, nausea, and vomiting. Though it has been reported in only a few cases, patients have experienced bronchospasm.
Treatment of Solar Urticaria
Ultraviolet radiation causes mast cells to release histamines and blood enters the vessels, which causes inflammation. Taking antihistamines can suppress the activity of histamines. Fexofenadine is quite useful for patients with a low potency solar urticaria. However, Terfenadine, an H1 receptor antagonist, or medicine that combats the H1 receptor has been reported to be the most potent antihistamines for solar urticaria.
Some simple remedies include avoiding sun/ultraviolet exposure, washing the affected area with cool water, and using corticosteroid cream.
