Tag Archives: sun sensitivity

Things Unsaid

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We just recently returned from a little vacation in Lake Tahoe. It’s always wonderful to get away for a while, but traveling can be so difficult.

Between the altitude, the bad air quality, and the amount of sun, my wife had a really hard time on the trip. I don’t think I dealt with it very well, either. I try and stay positive, but I don’t think I did a very good job on this trip. It’s so frustrating to see someone you love be miserable.

We were at the lake, and I was out in the very very cold water while the kids were playing on the beach, and Jenny had to stay covered up in the quickly fading shade. I knew she would much rather be out in the lake, and it just made me sad to see her all alone with her big hat, reading a book. She shouldn’t really have been out there at all, but she knew how much it meant to the kids to go to the beach. I just don’t know what to say in times like that, and so I don’t say anything.

Honey, I’m so sorry that you have a really stupid disease.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said that to her. I don’t know what else to say.

Sun Sensitivity and Lupus

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My wife has had a rough time this summer for a number of reasons, but I know that one of the contributing factors was sun exposure. I was wondering how some other lupus patients deal with sun sensitivity? My wife is not only extremely sun sensitive, but she is also very sensitive to some artificial light sources, like the kind that are found in large department stores or office buildings.

According to the Arthritis Pain Cure Center,

Scientists think that ultraviolet light (which is in sunlight, fluorescent lights, photocopiers, and VDUs) create antigens (protein molecules) on the skin surface which react with antibodies. The antibodies cause white blood cells to be drawn to the skin and attack it and a rash appears. Continue reading →