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 w