Sunburn permanent inflammation/allergy?

Hello,

I was wondering whether you would be able to assist me with an issue Ive had regarding inflammation on my face for the past couple of years. In June 2009 I accidentally got sunburned on consecutive days while away on holiday (fairly mild burns, slightly sore but no peeling etc) on my face while wearing a baseball cap and developed an inflamed rash on the parts of my face which were exposed following a few days of healing. I attempted a couple of things (antibiotics, aloe) to reduce this rash but nothing worked and it stayed as it was.

In May last year I went on holiday to Spain and exposed the right hand side of my face to fairly brief sun exposure without protection (around 15 minutes at 3pm) around 12 hours later I noticed a reaction which looked like an exaggerated sunburn reaction at the same area I had previously had the swelling and not only that I developed very itchy papules on the part of my neck which was exposed and the side of my forhead which was exposed has swollen and not got back to normal in the year which has passed (it feels like you can actually feel the area where the skin has swollen up). I have spoken to my GP about it but he has dismissed it but I know there is something wrong here. I also went to a dermatologist last year who said he had never seen a similar reaction previously which is very worrying. While I am aware that this will probably lead to serious health consequences later I was wondering if you could tell me:

1 - Have you heard of anything like this before and if so what would you recommend as a treatment?
2 - Should I stay out of the sun permanently in the summer even with suncream on as it would appear that there is a part of my face which burns very easily now?

Apologies if this seems relatively trivial but I have been out of my mind with worry about this since the reaction last year and have been frustrated that no one has offered any ideas as to what this could be.

Many thanks for your help!

[Jasmina Jankicevic, MD, MSc, CCRP]

Welcome to the Dermatology Expert Forum! Your questions are excellent. There is nothing trivial in trying to help yourself. You should know that there are quite a few skin diseases/conditions that can be triggered or worsened by exposure to sun.

Would it be possible for you to post several clear photos of affected areas (face, neck, etc.) on your MedHelp profile page for us to observe them before giving you our final answer? Just let us know.

Wishing You Optimal Health,
Dr. Jasmina Jankicevic