sun rash?

[umami_mommy]

for the last few days (it's been very hot here. abnormally so) my 3 year old DD has come in from outside with blotchy red rashes on her face, arms and legs. even though i am covering her in sun screen (she is very fair skinned like me) and making her wear a big brimmed hat, she is still getting really red .

i looked up sun rashes online and everything i have read says it's an allergy (autoimmune reaction) and can be related to lupus (which my MIL has).

should i be concerned about this? i've only ever seen this sun rash thing in my MIL and another friend with autoimmune disease. it freaks me out a bit.

[kjbrown92]

is it possible that she's allergic to the sunscreen?

[umami_mommy]

nope, cause it's happened without sunscreen too. (i tend to not use it early in the AM or late PM...)

[2rubies]

This happened to me once. I was on a cruise ship in the springtime, and I got such an itchy, blotchy rash everywhere that was exposed to the sun. The ship's doctor told me he sees that reaction all the time in fair-skinned people who are in full sun early in the season. He said it was a reaction to the UV rays.

Fast-forward 12 years, and my 3 year-old has the same thing!! We don't use sunscreen often (we tend to avoid the hottest parts of the day), but this past weekend we went to an air show, and I covered him with sunscreen and a shirt and hat. It was hot and very sunny, and by that night, he was scratching at the back of his neck miserably. He had red, blotchy spots on his face, neck, and arms. Some of them looked like pimples at first, but those faded quickly. I can still see the redness, but it doesn't seem to be bothering him today. I've been giving him cool baths and some (generic) benadryl for the itch.

I was tempted to blame the sunscreen, but we've been using the same brand for his whole life, and it's free of his allergens. I do think we'll stick to earlier morning or early evening for outdoor time now, though. I'm thinking a more gradual build-up to sun exposure wouldn't have caused the same problem.

[CarrieMF]

My 8yo gets rashes from the sun. It was the worst when she was 3. Anywhere the sun touched her she was 1 big hive. Where the sun didn't she was fine. It would fade at night & by noon be back, whether she was outside or not as the heat alone will increase a histimine reaction. Now it's mostly her cheeks that turn red & look sunburned alot(even in the winter months now that she's in school).

[writteninkursive]

It's really, really, really not likely to be Lupus at her age. Lupus is waaaaaaay more common in women in their child-bearing years, and almost nonexistent in children as young as 3. She could have heat rash or prickly heat. I would keep the sunscreen off the skin (as that can irritate a rash more, even if it's not causing it) and use UV-proof, long-sleeved clothing when she is outside.

[umami_mommy]

i know what heat rash and prickly heat rash look like. (and it wasn't from the heat, it was from the sun) lupus is not an obscure disease in children. and my MIL has it. it has a familial link. treating it early is the key to controlling it.

the doctor was not not concerned. he wants to see the rash and run some blood tests.

and the rash on her face looked just like the photos of "discoid" rash online.

[umami_mommy]

Originally Posted by CarrieMF

My 8yo gets rashes from the sun. It was the worst when she was 3. Anywhere the sun touched her she was 1 big hive. Where the sun didn't she was fine. It would fade at night & by noon be back, whether she was outside or not as the heat alone will increase a histimine reaction. Now it's mostly her cheeks that turn red & look sunburned alot(even in the winter months now that she's in school).

you might want to consider an ANA blood test if the rash is in the shape of a butterfly.

[paintedfire]

I don't want to freak you out, but I got the same kind of rashes (I'm a red-haired Irish girl who sometimes can't distinguish between her legs and the white bed sheets) when I was your daughter's age. I was "officially" diagnosed with lupus when I was eleven. It, too, runs in my family.

While it's entirely possible that it's just a reaction to large amounts of UV rays early in the season (as a PP said), I would suggest having an ANA test run, as well.

I sincerely hope that your daughter is fine. All of my best wishes to the both of you.

[Mosaic]

There are several kinds of photosensitivity; and without any other symptoms of lupus, that certainly wouldn't be my first guess. It sounds like photodermatitis orPLE to me. It's not a true allergy but does tend to be found in people who already have overreactive immune systems and responds similarly to gradually increased exposure. It's common and not dangerous, though it can be annoying. No relaxing beach vacations for me!

[AFWife]

I got this a few random times as a kid...usually if I spent too much time in the sun (actually, it happened once again in high school). I burn really easily but this was different. It was irritating and itchy. My mom said that it happened to her in her 20s and the doc she saw called it Sun Poisoning...? I've NEVER been able to really find anything to back that up...

[Bea]

Originally Posted by Mosaic

There are several kinds of photosensitivity; and without any other symptoms of lupus, that certainly wouldn't be my first guess. It sounds like photodermatitis orPLE to me. It's not a true allergy but does tend to be found in people who already have overreactive immune systems and responds similarly to gradually increased exposure. It's common and not dangerous, though it can be annoying. No relaxing beach vacations for me!

Sounds like PLE to me too. I was going to post this earlier but got caught up making borscht (as you do).

This is the first spring my 3 year old hasn't broken out in a rash. I think he got some good desensitising light build up with the early and mild spring here rather than the usual, winter one day, blazing sunshine the next he's been exposed to in the past.

It's fairly common and although there is a rare link to auto immune disorders, far more usually, it's just 'one of those things'.

I've seen really extreme cases when I worked in dermatology in-patients, people who required special plastic window treatments and permanent sun block otherwise they were living in the dark to avoid a horrendous rash but that's very unusual and interestingly, none of them had auto immune disorders, just extreme PLE.

Sun block and gradual sun exposure helps. Hopefully she'll grow out of it.

[CarrieMF]

Originally Posted by umami_mommy

you might want to consider an ANA blood test if the rash is in the shape of a butterfly.

it's just her cheeks.