Health + Wellness — sunlight

What is Photosensitivity? Photosensitivity is when an individual has an extreme sensitivity to the sun (ultraviolet rays) and other sources of light. This sensitivity can lead to frequent and intense skin rashes and burns. Photosensitivity is also known as sun allergy, or simply as sun sensitivity or sensitivity to the sun. People who have photosensitivity are ultimately more prone to developing skin cancer and other types of skin damage. Photosensitivity treatment is possible, as is avoiding the symptoms of photosensitivity in the first place. Types of photosensitivity: Photoallergic photosensitivity: This is when an individual develops side effects from various medications...

Polymorphous Light Eruption Polymorphous light eruption, or PLE, is the most common skin disease caused by sunlight. It is also called polymorphic light eruption (PMLE). Other variants include juvenile spring eruption and benign summer light eruption. PLE is not the same as sunburn, but may appear as something like a sunburn rash. PLE arises spontaneously in people who are sensitive to ultraviolet light and is characterized as one type of photodermatosis. It usually manifests as an itchy rash—little red bumps or slightly raised patches of skin—after sun exposure in people who are photosensitive. While the rash can take different forms...

There’s a lot of confusion surrounding sunlight and the production of Vitamin D. People commonly think that if the sun is up and they are outside in the sun, they are going to produce Vitamin D. This is not the case! There are many reasons why you won’t make Vitamin D in the sun—even during the middle of the day. But most significantly, the sun cannot stimulate your production of Vitamin D if the sun isn’t high enough in the sky. UVB Rays And Vitamin D The reason is that UVB rays—and only UVB rays—catalyze the production of Vitamin D....

There are many complicated implications of climate change, but one consequence that has been indisputably measured is the depletion of the ozone layer: the part of the atmosphere that protects us from cosmic radiation. You can argue about what exactly caused it, but not that it has happened. The depletion of the ozone layer has multiple effects on your health, primarily negative. Since exposure to sunlight causes damage to human tissue, less ozone layer leads to a higher incidence of skin and eye conditions, including skin cancer and eye lesions such as cataracts. Of course, there are numerous other consequences...

The sun emits radiation—in the form of electromagnetic rays—which reaches you here on earth. While the visible part of this spectrum lights up your world, other parts of the spectrum including ultraviolet B (UVB) and ultraviolet A (UVA) have varying effects. UVB rays cause you to tan and burn, and also stimulate the production of Vitamin D. UVA rays are longer in wavelength than UVB and penetrate deeper into your skin; while not burning you or tanning you, UVA may just be responsible for a greater share of the blame in the aging of your skin than UVB. Since there...