Sunburn and Medications

Contributed by: John Kollhoff, Pharm.D. Candidate

KU School of Pharmacy

Text Box: Did my medicine cause that sunburn? As summer approaches, many of us will be spending more time outside, often in the sun. To keep our skin healthy, it is important to use sunscreen when spending a significant amount of time in the sun. Sometimes, though, medications can make us more sensitive to the sun’s rays, necessitating the use of higher SPF sunscreens and limited sun exposure. Which medicines can cause sensitivity to the sun? There are several different groups of drugs that can make sunburns occur more easily. This phenomenon is also referred to as photosensitivity, and it should be taken seriously. The following is a list of medications that have caused sun sensitivity in some patients: Antibiotics like tetracycline (Sumycin), doxycycline (Vibramycin), ciprofloxacin (Cipro), ofloxacin (Floxin), and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (Bactrim) Acne medicines such as tretinoin (Retin-A) and isotretinoin (Accutane)

Text Box: Diuretics (“water pills”) like hydrochlorothiazide (Hydrodiuril) and furosemide (Lasix) NSAIDS such as ibuprofen (Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve or Naprosyn) Diabetes medicines like glyburide (Diabeta) and glipizide (Glucotrol) Keep in mind that this is only a partial list of medicines that can cause sun sensitivity. Because a drug will affect each person a little differently, drug-induced photosensitivity can occur even if it is not a common side effect of a particular drug. Therefore, one should use caution when taking any medication for the first time. What should I do if I think one of my medications is causing sun sensitivity? The best way to avoid sunburns is to minimize your exposure to the sun. When you can’t avoid the sun, wear a wide-brimmed hat, sunglasses, and protective clothing that will cover as much of your skin as possible. Use a high SPF sun block (SPF 30 or higher) on any skin that is still exposed to the sun. If the drug you think is causing

Text Box: your sunburns doesn’t fall into one of the groups listed above, or if there is anything unusual about the burn, you might want to contact your doctor or pharmacist. Sometimes more serious conditions like allergic reactions, inflammatory skin disorders, and other illnesses can cause the skin to appear to be burned when it is not. If in doubt, don’t hesitate to ask a medical professional for advice. The following websites provide more information about drug-induced photosensitivity: www.emedicine.com www.fda.gov

Continued on Next Page

Chiggers, What are They and How Do We Treat Their Bites?

Contributed by: Abby Mackie, Pharm.D. Candidate

KU School of Pharmacy

Text Box: What is a Chigger? The worst thing about a Midwest summer is not humidity, heat or sunburns. It’s those pesky insect bites, especially those from chiggers. Chiggers become most active in May - June, and live in moist though well-drained areas of the outdoors until about September. Temperatures between 77°F and 86°F provide the chiggers’ favorite atmosphere and the most likely time that we can be bit. When the temperature falls below 40°, they can’t survive. Most people think that chiggers are bugs that latch on to us and burrow under our skin. Most people have also been told that the only way to kill a chigger is to suffocate it with fingernail polish or exterminate it with some toxic chemical such as bleach or alcohol. All of these remedies are false and won’t work!

Text Box: Chiggers are not bugs or any other type of insect. Chiggers are the juvenile (or larval) form of a specific family of mites. Mites are in the arachnid family, with spiders and scorpions, and are closely related to ticks. They are bright red and have six legs. Chiggers are only harmful to humans (and other animals) when they are in the larval stage. Adult females will lay up to 400 chigger larvae at a time. A chigger will stay on a blade of grass or leaf until it can latch on to an unlucky host that passes by. It will crawl on the skin for several hours before it gets stopped at a snug area such as elastic in underwear, sock, waistband, bra or the snug area in the armpit. The larva will then pierce the skin (not burrow in), release digestive enzymes (melting our cells) and drink the resulting flesh slurry. Chiggers are not bloodsuckers like once believed. The digestive enzyme also hardens the surrounding skin tissue,

Text Box: forming a “straw” for the chigger to suck out the skin cell fluids. The whole process irritates the skin, causing an itchy red bump that continues to cause discomfort for several days. The chigger will feed on its host for four days and then fall off; humans usually scratch it off before then. As it ages, the adult chigger will become a vegetarian and never eat