Sun allergy and a natural solution
Scientist suggest: sun allergy can be prevented
PLE is an overreaction of the immune system, triggered by exposure to ultraviolet light.
This "sun sensitivity or sun allergy" can be prevented, suggest scientists.
As the allergic reaction is the result of a sudden step up of sun exposure after several months of sun abstinence", a slow exposure increase is the way to go.
When the skin is able to get used to the sunlight in small incremental steps, the normal reaction (natural pigmentation of the skin) will appear and an overreaction (like PLE) can be avoided.
In fact the immune system and the skin simply get the time to adapt to the sunrays.
Early spring or Mid-Summer
PLE often appears in early spring, which is logically since the skin has been banned from UV-light for months and the immune system lost its summer ability to handle UV sensibly. But even in Mid-summer, when the skin is already tanned, sun allergy can still occur.
For example when the skin is only exposed to a low intensity Northern Europe sun and suddenly on a holiday in the South of Spain is fully exposed, overwhelmed, to the more powerful sunrays there.
Epidemiology and pathologic mechanisms of polymorphic light eruption
Soe Janssens University of Leiden 2008
Über Sunlight Research Forum
The Sunlight Research Forum (SRF) is a non-profit organization based in the Netherlands. Its aim is to make the latest medical and scientific evidence on the effects of exposure to moderate UV radiation available to the general public.