Photosensitivity- Which drug

[natgild]

My wife has had two episodes of severe sunburn with peeling lasting longer than the usual sunburn.  She used to be able to stay in the sun all she wanted.  She takes Simvastation( Lipitor) and Alprazolam (Xanex).  It looks like photosensitivity has been reported with both.  Any thought as to which is the most likely?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
If the rash that your wife has is photosensitivity rash then Lipitor can be responsible for this.I would suggest you to talk to your wife’s physician and get it changed to some other cholesterol lowering agent.Also ask your wife to apply a good sunscreen with minimum spf 30 atleast half an hour before going out in the sun.

I hope that helps.Take care and pls do keep me posted on how you are doing or if you have any additional queries. Kind regards.

[natgild]

Thanks for the suggestions.  She is already using sunscreen, but it is pretty easy to forget it or get caught in an unanticipated sunny situation so I would like to find the offending drug and change it.  I will try the Lipitor first.