Sunburn

[otherplaces]

For some reason I ended up walking around for about 3 hours today.  I wasn't really expecting to walk so much, but I just kept going and didn't think to stop and buy sunscreen. Anyway, my shoulders are red. It's probably going to hurt some, but hopefully not too bad.

I googled sunburn and hiv and one site said we're more photosensitive to UV rays.

Is this something an hiv+ person should be alot more careful about??

Just curious.

thanks,
brian

[edfu]

I'm too computer-stupid to figure out how to link to another thread here, but if you search for "What about tanning?," another thread here, there's lots of info about the sun and HIV.   

[Matty the Damned]

Brian,

I believe that some of the medications we take (including Bactrim) can leave us more sensitive to sunlight. Sunburn is never a good thing and I would imagine that skin cancers (particularly the loathesome melanoma) would be worse in people with compromised immune systems.

MtD
(Who comes from Sunny Australia and knows all about skin cancer)

[otherplaces]

Thanks, I found the other thread.

I guess the moral of the story is to not burn, but that's no different than pre-hiv.

brian (who usually stays in dark places)

[cflas]

Jesus, what an idiot I am!!!  Just got back from three weeks in Big Sur and SF, and did a bunch hiking. Since I am less inclined to remove my shirt, I found that my face got really burned. I blamed it on the sun and wind.  It was so bad that there were a couple of nights it hurt so bad I couldn't sleep.  We went out and bought some trillion dollar SPF 45 tanning lotion and another trillion dollars for a moisturizing cream.  And all this time I've been blaming the sun and wind, when, of course, it's related to the meds (Truvada, Reyataz, Norvir and, Holy Crap!, Bactrim).  Thanks for cluing me in on something I should have been aware of.

[jkinatl2]

The simple fact is that a suntan is an immune response to an injury, plain and simple. The body responds to the damage to the skin (the largest organ in the body) by producing melanin.

Depending on the condition of your overall immune system, and THAT's a debate for another day (is drug-assisted immune condition as robust or as capable as natural, or innate? Are numbers numbers, or does the QUALITY of the immune system change despite {or because of} HAART therapy??) the symptoms for sunburn might well be excascerbated in immune-impaired individuals.

Add to that, as people have mentioned, the adverse contraindications with the drugs (including the relatively inoffensive Bactrim) and it's easy to see how someone could experience a different reaction to the sun than they are used to. Add in anemia, caused by many drug combinations (as well as HIV itself) and other considerations, and, well, better to bring the zillion-proof sunblock than not.

One thing I have personally noticed (and having a Morticia Addams complexion, I tend to notice sun-related stuff anyhow) is that even when I use artificial bronzers or self-tanners, I STILL have flu-like symptoms as though I had sun poisoning. Because the chemicals in those products simply activate the melanin-producing process, which is an immunse response. For many of us, that is gonna equal pain of one sort or another.

Jonathan
(the delicate Gardenia)

[Matty the Damned]

Jonathan
(the delicate Gardenia)

Awwww JK! I've always thought of you as a steel magnolia!

MtD
(Who is running a terrible line in bad jokes today)

[bear60]

"One thing I have personally noticed (and having a Morticia Addams complexion, I tend to notice sun-related stuff anyhow) is that even when I use artificial bronzers or self-tanners, I STILL have flu-like symptoms as though I had sun poisoning. Because the chemicals in those products simply activate the melanin-producing process, which is an immunse response. For many of us, that is gonna equal pain of one sort or another."  jkinatl
..................................................................................................
I am very concerned about a good friend who continues to use tanning salons and has a lot of health "issues" with HIV/AIDS  problems.  Should I tell him that I think his skin  looks like and old suitcase?  Or just shut up and let him crinkle up like a 90 yr old. ( He is only 35 or so)