Brief Answer:
Strict and complete sun protection; Vit A

Detailed Answer:
Hello XXXXXXX

Welcome and thanks for posting your query to the forum.

I can understand your concern for the photo-dermatitis ans present problems associated with it.

After reviewing the pictures with diligence and analyzing the prescription, I agree with your doctor's diagnosis of "Polymorphous light eruptions" aka "PMLE".

I can see the that the doctor has tried to provide you the best and safest treatment for the condition.

Let me explain you the complete situation- Our human skin is a multilayered structure and it has tendency to wear and tear repeatedly on exposure to environmental factors.

In certain situation when the exposure of the environmental factor is too high then the skin has the tendency to get red and itchy. These red areas appear as mild to moderate eruptions on exposed areas of body which are known as PMLE. simply saying sun burns.

You can get that if the sun light is too harsh then the skin can get burned and accordingly the tendency can develop later on. You must be wondering that how the repair process to sun light got weakened. Actually speaking it is not weakend but it is also a normal tendency of our skin to get burned easily, specially in people with bit fairer side.

The doctor has provided the best treatment but additionally I would like to suggest you some more of remedies:

- SUN PROTECTION: It is the most important part for getting rid of the condition of PMLE. It is very important to know that the sole most important factor in preventing PMLE is by sun protection in form of proper covering and clothing. You must wear full sleeves clothes and gloves along with a hat every time you move out in sun. If you do this judiciously, all your problems will be solved without any medication. I guide all my patients with PMLE to do strict and complete sun protection in all the cases whenever they are moving out. Even 2 minutes of exposure is sufficient to cause the problem.

- Sunscreens: These do help but not as completely as covering body by clothes. Even then whenever the sunscreen is used- it should be used half an hour before going out as it requires 30 minutes to get activated. A reapplication is required every 3 hourly to get an active protection. Therefore you can get that we might not be able to apply the sunscreen judiciously eery three hourly as well sunscreen are not the actual means of sun protection. None hte less it can be applied as often as possible.

- A LOT OF VITAMIN A and LYCOPENE IN DIET: Vitamin A plays a very important n role in sun protection. It along with certain antioxidants in our diet of fruits helps us best in reducing the damage of sun light. SO I suggest you to have lot vitamin A and lycopene in diet. You should eat all fruits as well papaya, tomatoes and beat root containing these things in plenty.

You can continue the antioxidant capsule written by the doctor as it is very good source of all the above nutrients. But follow a good diet as the main part.

Stop if any substance abuse like smoking or alcoholA as it also causes damage to the skin.

Rest of treatment can be followed as per your dermatologist's suggestion which in my opinion is best.

Your tendency of sun burn will decrease slowly and might take multiple of months to get better form internally, so have patience as well best of measure as suggested above.

I hope these informations will help you. I will be glad to answer any further of your queries.

Regards,
Dr Sanjay Kumar Kanodia
(MD- Dermatology)

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