Possible Solar Allergy...

[kjc1975]

I've had angioedema around the vermillion border of my lips for approximately 4 months now. I feel fine otherwise and my CBC, HIV and C1Q tests came back normal/healthy. I've also been treated with antibiotics, antihistimines and prednisone and it hasn't helped the swelling at all.  At this point, my doctor suspects that I might have a solar allergy and he and prescribed me Plaquenil (200mg BID).  I've been taking it for 5 days now and so far there have been no results. I agree that a solar allergy seems possible, but I have a few questions about this:

1) How long should I take this medicine before I might expect to see some results?
2) If I don't respond to this Plaquenil, does that mean this is not a solar allergy?

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated, there's not much information online about solar allergies.

Thank you,

Sara

[fuchsiashock]

i have had a sever reaction to the sun and certain bright lights for nearly twenty years. i also have a positive ana test. for many years i was treated for lupus with plaquenil . i have seen numerous derms and given up over the course of that journey. finally, i was correctly diagnosed with solar urticaria!
anti-histamines are the drug of choice but they are not applicable for me as i have a paradoxical reaction to them. i do know, however, that plaquenil was of no use though i tried it for many years. at one point in my research i read that plaquenil was in fact contra-indicated for this symptom. unfortunately i can not find the reference.
frankly, i have only been able to adjust my lifestyle to avoid going out in the day. good luck.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Plaquanil is not for solar allergy but it is an antimalarial drug which is used for skin inflammation and systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE). Solar allergy presents as red itchy rashes or urticaria which appears after going out in the sun. You can get Antinuclear antibody (ANA) testing and anti-extractable nuclear antigen (anti-ENA) tests done to rule out any SLE.
Hope it helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing or if you have any additional queries. Kind regards.