What Aggravates Lupus?

Sunlight:

The specific lesions of cutaneous lupus erythematosus occur on sun-exposed skin. In addition a significant proportion ( up to 70%) of patients report that their skin disease and possibly even systemic disease is aggravated by sunlight exposure. Ultraviolet light in both the sunburn (UVB) and long wave spectrum (so called black light or UVA) can cause lupus lesions to appear.

It is important to note that long wave ultraviolet light is not blocked by window glass, and a number of patients are so photosensitive that they will burn through window glass. Consequently, sun protection can do a lot to minimize the development of new lesions. Exposure to sunlight can be minimized by avoiding sunlight from 10 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon.

Further protective clothing that blocks sunlight and the wearing of wide brimmed hats can minimize exposure. The regular use of a sunscreen that blocks both UVA and UVB is recommended. These sunscreens should be applied even on cloudy days as UVA can easily penetrate clouds. An SPF (sun protection factor) of at least 15 and as high as 60 is recommended. A number of sunscreen preparations have been specifically tested for the prevention of the induction of skin lupus erythematosus lesions and these can be obtained from your dermatologist.

Smoking:

Recent studies have shown that smoking increases the risk of developing cutaneous lesions of lupus erythematosus. Furthermore, smoking decreases the effectiveness of standard drug treatment of cutaneous lupus erythematosus.

Trauma:

The specific skin lesions of lupus erythematosus can spread to areas of freshly damaged skin. In this way, lesions may spread to areas of previous sunburn or to areas that have undergone recent surgery. Likewise the picking or traumatizing of lesions can cause their spread.