Unable to sunburn/tan

3868 Views 5 Replies 4 Participants Last post by staceyshoe, Aug 16, 2006

staceyshoe

Discussion Starter · Aug 16, 2006

I am curious whether anyone else has experienced this and what caused it. I still haven't talked with a dr who has treated someone else with this symptom. A few yrs ago, I seemed to lose my ability to either suntan or sunburn. I have a very fair Irish complexion and could spend all day in the sun without any coloring of my skin (this was not true as a child/teen/early 20 something). When we went to Hawaii on vacation and spent all day in the sun, I didn't even get pink while everyone else in our group was a lobster. After spending a great deal of time in the sun, I would develop a splotchy rash that disappeared after a few days which almost seemed like an allergic reaction. At the time, I had a severe case of adrenal fatigue, and I think it was somehow related, but I've never read of anyone else having a similar experience. This has improved, but for the most part the sun basically reflects off me instead of sinking in. Any thoughts?

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EBG

· #2 · Aug 16, 2006

It could be a severe case of tinea versicilor, a fungus that lives on the skin.
I have white spots that don't tan because of it, they block the pigments somehow. Some people get white spots, or splotchy skin, some dark or reddish spots, some other colors. It usually occurs in people with an impaired immune system, that could explain your adrenal fatigue.... And that is usually due to candida albicans (systemic yeast/fungus). It's wise to get a doc's opinion, maybe a scaping, a culture to make sure... I'm also new to this stuff, so I could be very wrong.
even a dermatologist could diagnose fungal infections on the skin, but they won't know anything about candida.

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tireesix

· #3 · Aug 16, 2006

Just wanted to say I have never heard of this but found the PPs post really interesting............... Must find out more....... I don't think I have it, just interested lol.

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staceyshoe

Discussion Starter · #4 · Aug 16, 2006

Edina, thanks for the quick reply! That is interesting. I actually never saw a dr while I had the rash since it went away quickly and wasn't my primary concern. Could be though. I haven't had a lot of sun exposure this yr and haven't had any rash for a couple of yrs. Though I'm able to get a pink or tan from the sun now, it is just a touch after several hrs in the sun--quite different from before all this started. I will have to do a search for tinea versicilor and see what I can find out. Thank you!

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Charles Baudelaire

· #5 · Aug 16, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by staceyshoe
I am curious whether anyone else has experienced this and what caused it. I still haven't talked with a dr who has treated someone else with this symptom. A few yrs ago, I seemed to lose my ability to either suntan or sunburn. I have a very fair Irish complexion and could spend all day in the sun without any coloring of my skin (this was not true as a child/teen/early 20 something). When we went to Hawaii on vacation and spent all day in the sun, I didn't even get pink while everyone else in our group was a lobster. After spending a great deal of time in the sun, I would develop a splotchy rash that disappeared after a few days which almost seemed like an allergic reaction. At the time, I had a severe case of adrenal fatigue, and I think it was somehow related, but I've never read of anyone else having a similar experience. This has improved, but for the most part the sun basically reflects off me instead of sinking in. Any thoughts?

I don't burn or really tan. I have a very mild farmer's tan on my arms, but generally, I could stay out in the sun for hours without sunscreen and wouldn't have so much as a strap mark. Moreover, we live in a Southwestern state that gets a great deal of intense sunlight, so you'd figure I'd be an Irish lobster myself, but I'm not. I don't know why this is the case. About ten years ago, my DH and I both went to a beach. We sat side by side; he was wearing sunscreen and I was wearing mineral oil. He had sun poisoning and was badly burnt; I didn't even color up. Go figure. No rash, though.

The one time I did get a rash, I was taking Tetracycline and got an incredibly painful rash that went from my collarbone to my knees. It was raised and so incredibly itchy that even scrubbing alcohol across my skin until it stung felt infinitely better than the itch. The ONLY thing that helped was that zinc-based diaper cream that smells like codfish. I was a zinc-y codfish who stained everything white for a week, but I was at least a happy, non-itchy codfish. Could your rash be related to vitamins or medication you're taking?

Hope that helps.

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staceyshoe

Discussion Starter · #6 · Aug 16, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charles Baudelaire
Could your rash be related to vitamins or medication you're taking?

I am finding this thread fascinating already. I don't believe vitamins or meds were a cause. Part of the time, I was taking a variety of vitamins/herbs and part of the time I wasn't taking anything. This all happened before I became hypothyroid so I wasn't even taking my thyroid meds.

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