Sudden Sun Intolerance and Skin Care Advice

skuabird

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I'm of northern European ancestry with dark hair and eyes. I've always loved being outdoors- I had landscaping jobs a couple of summers. I'm from Canada so it's been very seasonal. Most springs I would sunburn a bit but the red would turn to a tan and wouldn't peel much if at all. I moved to the US a few years ago and have had no problems, even as a dog walker in a much hotter climate.

Travelling the last few days I spent some time on the beach in the sun and noticed I've become sun intolerant. The arm that was getting the most sun in the car just ACHED and I felt a strong instinct to cover it like I had never experienced (usually I realize I'm sunburned hours afterwards). It ached to the bone. I brought some aloe "sun care" gel just in case and applied it the next couple days. My skin peeled instantly (though it wasn't itchy) and I became incredibly chilled and feverish. I was sick the last two days with extreme digestive discomfort that I won't get in to >.>

I looked up supplements and meds that could make someone photosensitive and none of them fit the bill (no history of acne meds, antihistamines, etc.) The only real difference is I really mega-dosed vitmain d over the winter (10,000 IU/day, first just D3 then a D3 with K2) and started eating dairy for the first time in a decade. (I never supplemented calcium even though I wasn't eating dairy). My arthritis/back pain issues have been getting better since reintroducing dairy and carbs coming from a carnivore diet. I have admittedly been going hog on dairy, I get a gallon of raw milk per week and eat lots of cheese and ice cream (probably too much). I've stopped vitamin d supplementation since the start of spring.

I have also been experimenting with pregnenolone, progest-E, desiccated bovine thyroid and low dose dhea for help with weight loss and hormonal issues. I also take magnesium citrate pretty regularly. I love gelatiny soup and supplement with collagen and glycine, though not consistently.

So I am wondering why the sudden sensitivity?

Beyond that, what do you recommend for skin care? I have read some people like using coconut oil. Anything I can use to help skin heal/prevent sun damage?

Thanks!
 

Tim Lundeen

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Topical Vitamin E treats sunburn.

Sun sensitivity is a sign of too-high vitamin A in the skin. Sunlight converts retinol (Vitamin A) stored in the skin to retinoic acid, which causes sunburn.
 
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skuabird

skuabird

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Thanks for your input Tim.

I was wondering about vitamin A, a lot of symptoms match up. However, I'm not supplementing with vit A at all. Can food sources do this? I'm just eating dairy products, a carrot, some fruit everyday. Sometimes I eat liver- once a month maybe.
 

mostlylurking

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Polyunsaturated fatty acids make you sun sensitive, cause sunburn, and skin cancer; they are best avoided. Highly saturated coconut oil is protective, so is vitamin E.

Are you using any skin care products? Do they contain polyunsaturated fatty acids? Switching to coconut oil (topical application and eating it) would be helpful.
 

InChristAlone

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Interesting, this same scenario happened to me the other day. I live in the south and can usually tell when I need to get out of the sun but this time I had no idea I was badly burning and I have felt feverish and some digestive problems ever since. Temp got up to 99.5 today. Still at 99.3 before bed. Don't have much advice unfortunately! I don't use vitamin E typically because I get low estrogen symptoms.
 

BeefAndRice

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It could be the orange juice. The psoralens in oj make your skin more sensitive to light.
 

equipoise

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Yeah PUFA is the biggest culprit, I noticed last year when I consumed more PUFA than usual (deliveries, covid) I burned. Back to sat fat, no burns, can stay in the sun all day
 

InChristAlone

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Update: I put vitamin E on the worst part of the burns last night and took a baby aspirin and even though I had very broken sleep because of my kids I feel way better today. It could be all the eating out I've been doing lately. Caught up with me.
 

OccamzRazer

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Beyond that, what do you recommend for skin care? I have read some people like using coconut oil. Anything I can use to help skin heal/prevent sun damage?

Thanks!
No idea why this is being caused - sorry!

As far as potential solutions, tho...have you tried AM sunlight? AM red light? AM topical caffeine? Astaxanthin? Any and all of those might help.
 

Beastmode

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I'm of northern European ancestry with dark hair and eyes. I've always loved being outdoors- I had landscaping jobs a couple of summers. I'm from Canada so it's been very seasonal. Most springs I would sunburn a bit but the red would turn to a tan and wouldn't peel much if at all. I moved to the US a few years ago and have had no problems, even as a dog walker in a much hotter climate.

Travelling the last few days I spent some time on the beach in the sun and noticed I've become sun intolerant. The arm that was getting the most sun in the car just ACHED and I felt a strong instinct to cover it like I had never experienced (usually I realize I'm sunburned hours afterwards). It ached to the bone. I brought some aloe "sun care" gel just in case and applied it the next couple days. My skin peeled instantly (though it wasn't itchy) and I became incredibly chilled and feverish. I was sick the last two days with extreme digestive discomfort that I won't get in to >.>

I looked up supplements and meds that could make someone photosensitive and none of them fit the bill (no history of acne meds, antihistamines, etc.) The only real difference is I really mega-dosed vitmain d over the winter (10,000 IU/day, first just D3 then a D3 with K2) and started eating dairy for the first time in a decade. (I never supplemented calcium even though I wasn't eating dairy). My arthritis/back pain issues have been getting better since reintroducing dairy and carbs coming from a carnivore diet. I have admittedly been going hog on dairy, I get a gallon of raw milk per week and eat lots of cheese and ice cream (probably too much). I've stopped vitamin d supplementation since the start of spring.

I have also been experimenting with pregnenolone, progest-E, desiccated bovine thyroid and low dose dhea for help with weight loss and hormonal issues. I also take magnesium citrate pretty regularly. I love gelatiny soup and supplement with collagen and glycine, though not consistently.

So I am wondering why the sudden sensitivity?

Beyond that, what do you recommend for skin care? I have read some people like using coconut oil. Anything I can use to help skin heal/prevent sun damage?

Thanks!

Have your morning temps and pulse changed much lately? Do you know what they are in general?

Has your environment changed? (cold weather to hot with the change in seasons, etc)

I would start very general to specific as there's probably something that's possibly changed along that spectrum as well that points to stressors. Might seem a bit cumbersome, but it's always a great way to learn about ourselves.
 
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skuabird

skuabird

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Polyunsaturated fatty acids make you sun sensitive, cause sunburn, and skin cancer; they are best avoided. Highly saturated coconut oil is protective, so is vitamin E.

Are you using any skin care products? Do they contain polyunsaturated fatty acids? Switching to coconut oil (topical application and eating it) would be helpful.
I've been avoiding veg oils for a lonnng time, fish oils in the last four years because I started developing hives from taking fish oil supplements. I do get PUFA from egg yolks and have been eating a lot more eggs lately...I was on a high sat fat carnivore diet of mostly beef the past two years. I still use alba skin products that do have seed oils (and had put some on 24hr prior to the beach) but the weird thing is I have used the same stuff years prior without any issues. Definitely not counting it out as a problem though, they may have added something I was getting a bit of photo-dermatitis from (I am very reactive to celery juice on the skin + sun- I get blisters and scars- though this isn't happening right now, thankfully). I will try to use cocoa butter and coconut butter... but they are more of a pain in the butt (greasy and hard at room temp).

It could be the orange juice. The psoralens in oj make your skin more sensitive to light.
I stopped drinking orange juice the past month or so because I was getting blurred vision I was attributing to insulin resistance, along with energy ups and downs.

Here are some other foods 4 thought:

Caffeine is a Natural “Sun Screen”

The Toxic Effects of Sunscreen: Skin Aging, Cancer & More

* I am not affiliated with this brand and don't recommend that you buy their products or anything. It would be WAY cheaper to just dowse yourself with coffee. But they have some good, obviously-Peat-inspired info.
Thanks! I'll check these out. This is what I was looking for

Have your morning temps and pulse changed much lately? Do you know what they are in general?

Has your environment changed? (cold weather to hot with the change in seasons, etc)

I would start very general to specific as there's probably something that's possibly changed along that spectrum as well that points to stressors. Might seem a bit cumbersome, but it's always a great way to learn about ourselves.
I stopped tracking temp. I have felt my temp has been dropping a bit, as I am feeling cold even though it's pretty hot here. Environment changed as I was travelling and everywhere I've been is getting HOT, 30C/86F the day I started having symptoms. It may just be I wasn't ready for it, though I did have a bit of a base tan. The bone aching from the sun is definitely new.

Thanks for your replies, it gives me some food for thought.
 

mostlylurking

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I still use alba skin products that do have seed oils (and had put some on 24hr prior to the beach) but the weird thing is I have used the same stuff years prior without any issues.
I finally talked my husband into just using a home made concoction of 50% hydrogenated coconut oil and 50% lanolin and STOP using all store bought skin lotions. He loves it because when the two meld together the texture of both change to a goo that absorbs right in and is not rock hard at room temperature. He puts a blob of each in his hand, mushes them together, and rubs it in on his face, hands, and arms. He's been using this for about two years.

The skin doctor no longer finds spots to burn off of him. His forearms no longer look 25 years older than he is. He is out in the sun on the tractor a lot.

I get both the hydrogenated 92 degrees coconut oil and the lanolin from here:
and
 
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skuabird

skuabird

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Update/edit: I just remembered that I did eat a meal most likely with PUFA the night before (I was really tired, maybe why I forgot). We were eating out as we were travelling and I mistakenly remembered that the crap I ate was post-burn. However, the night before we found some Puerto Rican food and I had skirt steak and tostones. I bet they were fried in corn oil or something.

It mostly explains why I'm getting an autoimmune flare up now, but could explain the sun reaction too.
 
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skuabird

skuabird

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I finally talked my husband into just using a home made concoction of 50% hydrogenated coconut oil and 50% lanolin and STOP using all store bought skin lotions. He loves it because when the two meld together the texture of both change to a goo that absorbs right in and is not rock hard at room temperature. He puts a blob of each in his hand, mushes them together, and rubs it in on his face, hands, and arms. He's been using this for about two years.

The skin doctor no longer finds spots to burn off of him. His forearms no longer look 25 years older than he is. He is out in the sun on the tractor a lot.

I get both the hydrogenated 92 degrees coconut oil and the lanolin from here:
and
Thanks for this! I tried a cocoa butter/olive oil mix and it didn't work out as far as texture goes.
 

Beastmode

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Update/edit: I just remembered that I did eat a meal most likely with PUFA the night before (I was really tired, maybe why I forgot). We were eating out as we were travelling and I mistakenly remembered that the crap I ate was post-burn. However, the night before we found some Puerto Rican food and I had skirt steak and tostones. I bet they were fried in corn oil or something.

It mostly explains why I'm getting an autoimmune flare up now, but could explain the sun reaction too.

The sun obviously has many healing benefits, however, it still can be a "stressor" on anyone if the system is compromised.

I live in Florida where it's sunny year round. I can walk for an hour midday without getting burned now. However, I notice when I eat more pufas, lack some sleep, etc my desire to be in the sun is far less. Some may say I need the sun to regenerate, but my body knows better and it tells me to stay indoors more on those days than others.

The body doesn't lie, but the caveat is our ability to listen to what it needs....or doesn't.

Looks like you're looking in the right direction though, so good luck with the exploration. We're all on it.
 

InChristAlone

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Another update. Had to go outside to water my plants because heat index is near 100 today and it's dry. Some of the symptoms returned, higher heart rate, sweaty palms and feeling more faint. I wonder if this is heat intolerance not necessarily the UV radiation.
 

Tim Lundeen

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Feb 19, 2017
Messages
396
I was wondering about vitamin A, a lot of symptoms match up. However, I'm not supplementing with vit A at all. Can food sources do this? I'm just eating dairy products, a carrot, some fruit everyday. Sometimes I eat liver- once a month maybe.
You can get too much vit A from food, suggest using cronometer.com to check. Food/dairy is often supplemented with Vit A, so you might be getting a lot more than you think. Vitamin A kinetic studies suggest limiting total average intake to 5000IU/day. You liver stores it and should sequester all sources, but as it gets close to full it is no longer able to quickly clear unbound retinol and that causes it to accumulate in tissues.
 
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skuabird

skuabird

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You can get too much vit A from food, suggest using cronometer.com to check. Food/dairy is often supplemented with Vit A, so you might be getting a lot more than you think. Vitamin A kinetic studies suggest limiting total average intake to 5000IU/day. You liver stores it and should sequester all sources, but as it gets close to full it is no longer able to quickly clear unbound retinol and that causes it to accumulate in tissues.
2019 and most of 2020 I did have canned cod liver around once a month and when I was carnivore I kept trying to steer my sinking ship by adding more organs (even bought desiccated organ pills). I switched to more bioenergetics in Jan and still had milk intolerance so I built up very slowly. I felt really good for a couple months. It could be that was the problem- the accumulation of vit a over last year, and now my constant dairy consumption (though I do avoid the fortified milk) is enough to keep me on the edge. It makes a lot of sense, actually.

Found this when I did a search for future searchers reference:
 

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