BC and the sun
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BC and the sun
| Wed, 05-12-2004 - 10:35am |
Is it possible for your BC to affect your skin while tanning? I went to las vegas about a month ago and i got a sun rash and i figured it was because i haven't been in the sun since the past summer my skin was sensitive at the time to the strength of the sun. Yesterday i went out to tan and i got a sun rash again. not as severe as when i was in vegas but i was also out for a shorter amount of time. I was thinking it could be from my BC but if it is is there anything i can do about it? I can't go through the summer being pale! Thanks!

Melasma is sometimes a side effect of oral contraceptives and is made worse by exposure to direct sunlight . It usually shows up as patches of darker pigmentation on the face and arms and sometimes persists after stopping hormones. I don’t know about a rash but if you are taking other photosensitizing medications or supplements they might also be a cause. You could ask your Gyn about using a lower dose method like NuvaRing which might help or perhaps a progestin only method. If your BC is causing your skin problem and a lower dose doesn’t help then the only thing you can do is stay out of the sun. If you do decide to go off OCs for the summer be sure to use an effective method of contraception. If I were you I’d have a talk with my Gyn about the problem. Let us know what s/he says, ok?
Good luck
Jill
And on the sun note--if you can't bear to be pale this summer, please make sure you get checked every year or so for skin cancer. It's a very real issue and can affect people in their teens and 20's, it's not just for old and tired skin! I know a 17 year old that had a positive biopsy. And it's the most preventable cancer there is.
Good luck!
Co-cl for Birth Control
If you are dry, and then you have sex (without additional lubrication, or not enough), you are putting yourself at risk for bacterial and yeast infections because the friction can tear the tissue in your vagina and make hiding places for bacteria and yeast. You also don't have the benefit of normal (acidic) vaginal secretions to keep the bad stuff under control, which might be why you're dry and itchy at the same time. The solution for many women is a pill with less progestin or more estrogen--progestin tends to counteract the estrogen, and estrogen is what keeps vaginal (and urinary tract) cells healthy.
So at your next appointment, make sure you bring this up, or if you can't wait that long, please don't hesitate to call the doctor's office and talk to someone about it.
Good luck!
Co-cl for Birth Control