Why does my eczema improve in the summer months?

Often eczema improves in the summer due to the sunshine and this is for a few reasons.

• Ultraviolet (UV) light dampens down the body's immune response and reduces inflammation in your skin.

• Vitamin D is more abundant and vitamin D helps to modulate the immune system.

• UV light can also kill bacterial overgrowth on the skin. Essentially the bacteria can be inactivated by sunlight by direct and indirect mechanisms.

Ultra Violet (UV) light is often used as Light Therapy (it's called Phototherapy) for skin conditions including eczema. 
This uses controlled artificial UV light and light therapy machines produce carefully measured levels of UV light made up of different wavelengths.

There are 3 forms of phototherapy used in the treatment of eczema. Broadband UVB, narrowband UVB and UVA. UVB is usually used first line in eczema treatment. Narrow-band UVB therapy avoids some of the more harmful wavelengths.

Treatment is under dermatologist care in a hospital and usually phototherapy sessions start at around 15-30 seconds of UV exposure! 

There is a huge difference between light therapy (phototherapy) and high-street sun beds which are just not a suitable or safe alternative. 

Although some people find that their eczema improves with exposure to sunlight others experience a worsening of their eczema. Rarely, eczema is directly caused by exposure to ultraviolet light (sunlight). The term for this is photosensitive eczema.

Polymorphic Light Eruption (PMLE) is another skin condition with a similar presentation to eczema caused by a sensitivity to sunlight.

Certain drugs (yes, I’m looking at you Protopic/Elidel!), chemicals and even plants can cause the skin to become sensitive to sunlight. If your eczema becomes a lot worse after sun exposure, check with your healthcare professional to see if this could be due to your medication or some other cause.

Eczematous skin is sensitive skin so it is recommended that everyone should protect their skin from the sun all year round. UV rays can still penetrate in winter, but in the UK they are more harmful between March and October.

Today is a classic example of British Weather! It’s Spring (12th April) and it snowed this morning, it’s now 3pm and only 8C but the UV index is a medium at 3, so if you are photosensitive then you’d more than likely require sun protection.

The Met Office have a full weather forecast including UV levels which can help you plan your sun care. https://www.metoffice.gov.uk