Sun and rosacea

[Guest guest]

I received this as an email, but it raises several interesting issues

discussed here in recent threads. I omitted the identity of the

poster, to respect his privacy if that was his intent:

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Dr. Lazoff

I have done my homework and on Dr. Nase's recommendation

(in his book), bought the Clinique City Block (SPF 25) for use as

protection against the sun. I used it for the first time last

weekend, and as it turned out (due to a cloudy day and me not

even being outside much) I didn't need to put any on. But I

reacted terribly to it, and I cannot figure out why. It is supposed

to be safe for rosacea skin, and while I am cognizant of the fact that

every person's skin type is different, I was just wondering if there

was anything in the ingredients (which you listed in a previous

posting) that I might be reacting to?

I haven't been able to find any sunscreens or moisturizers (the

ones recommended by Dr. Nase as being available at

supermarkets/pharmacies are not at any stores near me). Do

you know of any I might be able to purchase that are not sold via

the Internet?

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Last first: I've had good success ordering from www.drugstore.com; I

know others here frequent www.cvs.com, though I've never ordered from

them. I've also never ordered from www.dermstore.com, although they

carry a large number of specialty products that may include those of

interest to you. All three include product ingredients and

instructions.

I can't know what ingredient you reacted to. Even products advertised

as safe for rosaceans are at best only relatively safe; even those

that avoid the " usual suspects " aren't inert for all rosaceans. I'm

always cautious trying any new product.

I don't know an easy method for determining which ingredients a

particular person is sensitive to. I maintain a folder where I stuff

the list of ingredients of all products I've used -- those I've

reacted to, and those products that I use without apparent reaction.

Having them all in one place to review as a group has been helpful,

but I still have better success figuring out the Sunday NYTimes

crossword that I do figuring out exactly what my skin reacts and

doesn't react to.

Note that *City* Block is spf 15 and SuperCity Block is spf *25*;

their ingredient lists overlap but are not identical.

Related to this, I have two questions for the group: First, I've

noticed a few people forgo their sunscreen/sunblock in cloudy

weather. My understanding is that UV waves are not blocked by clouds.

When my skin is at it's most sensitive I find that I react to the

heat of the sun, which is much worse on sunny days. But protection

from the heat involves parumbrellas, large-brimmed hats and other

shadow-producing objects, not to my knowledge sunscreens/blocks.

Second, spf measure UVB waves only, which are important for tanning

and some forms of cancer. My understanding is that rosaceans should

be at least as concerned about UVA waves, which the spf doesn't

measure. Besides, isn't the majority of coverage (over 90%) for UVB

assured with an spf of 15, and certainly over 25-30? Wouldn't it

make more sense to re-apply a non-reactive sunscreen/block more

frequently rather use an irritating but higher spf product less

frequently, esp if their difference is only in UVB protection?

Thanks,

Marjorie

Marjorie Lazoff, MD