What does lupus photosensitivity feel like?

Photosensitive people may develop a skin rash, known as a butterfly rash, which appears over the nose and cheeks after sun exposure. Other rashes might look like hives. Sunlight may also cause a lupus flare, resulting in fever, joint pain, or even organ inflammation.

What does a photosensitivity rash look like?

The eruption appears as multiple red bumps and irregular, red, raised areas (called plaques) and, rarely, as blisters on sun-exposed skin. These plaques, which are itchy, typically appear 30 minutes to several hours after sun exposure. However, new patches may develop many hours or several days later.

Why does sunlight affect lupus?

UV light is invisible to the naked eye. It is the radiation in sunlight. Lupus is similar to cancer in the way that it comes and goes in periods of high activity and low activity in what some call “remission.”. Direct exposure to UV rays, particularly sunlight, can cause lupus symptoms to arise after a long period of dormancy or inactivity.

What causes photosensitivity rash?

Photosensitivity refers to various symptoms, diseases and conditions caused or aggravated by exposure to sunlight. A rash due to photosensitivity is a photodermatosis (plural photodermatoses). If the rash is eczematous, it is a photodermatitis. A chemical or drug that causes photosensitivity is a photosensitiser.

Does lupus sometimes cause Itchy hives?

Some people with lupus may develop a condition known as cutaneous vasculitis, in which the blood vessels near the skin experience inflammation that ultimately restricts blood flow. This condition can cause hive-like lesions on the skin that may itch and do not turn white when depressed.

What causes lupus rash on the face?

This type of lupus face rash can occur when immune-related cells in a lupus patient’s skin react to damage from UV light exposure (from, for example, spending too much time in the sun) by releasing inflammatory chemicals, Amit Saxena, MD, a rheumatologist at NYU Langone’s Lupus Center, tells Health.