Dr Philippa Kaye Nicolette was new to the surgery when she made contact with us. She had completed an e-consultation after a weekend where the weather had turned warm and sunny. She wrote that she had developed an incredibly itchy rash on her chest after sitting out in the sun.
She also told us that she had got a similar rash whenever she had gone on a summer holiday and that sometimes it happened in the UK as well; often on her hands. She was planning a holiday and wanted to know what the rash was and what could be done about it. She attached photos of the rash, and the combination of the history Nicolette gave, and the appearance of the rash led me to diagnose her with polymorphic light eruption (PMLE), which we then treated.
Rest assured she still booked her holiday! What is PMLE? PMLE is a rash which is related to exposure to sunlight, just as Nicolette described in her consultation. It is more common in women between 20 and 40 years old, and it tends to improve after the menopause. The rash of PMLE is thought to be triggered by exposure to UVA light from the sun, which leads to an immune system reaction.
PMLE can affect people of all skin types. The word polymorphic means lots of shapes. PMLE is so called because the rash can look different in different people.
In general, though, your rash will look the same on you each time. Often it looks like a rash made of small red spots, or tiny clear fluid-filled blisters on a background of red skin. Just as Nicolette mentioned, .