Sun can affect medication, FDA reports.
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Michael Gardiner | Oct 2, 2015

Sun can affect medication, FDA reports

According to a report by the Food & Drug Administration, some medicines may contain ingredients that cause photosensitivity -- photosensitivity is what makes a person sensitive to sunlight and cause rashes or other unwanted effects like sunburn-like symptoms -- and a range of products, including those applied to the skin or any medicines taken by the mouth or injected, can cause these side effects.

However, photosensitivity breaks down into two categories: photoallergy and phototoxicity. Photoallergy is when the skin breaks out in an allergic reaction and could happen days after the initial exposure. The more common one, phototoxicity, occurs within a few hours of the initial exposure and is an irritation of the skin.

All types of photosensitivity occur due to exposure to ultraviolet light.

The types of medicines that can cause photosensitivity are: Antifungals (flucytosine, griseofulvin, voricanozole); Antihistamines (cetirizine, diphenhydramine, loratadine, promethazine, cyproheptadine); Cholesterol lowering drugs (simvastatin, atorvastatin, lovastatin, pravastatin); Diuretics (thiazide diuretics: hydrochlorothiazide, chlorthalidone, chlorothiazide.; other diuretics: furosemide and triamterene); Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, naproxen, celecoxib, piroxicam, ketoprofen); Oral contraceptives and estrogens; Phenothiazines (tranquilizers, anti-emetics: examples, chlorpromazine, fluphenazine, promethazine, thioridazine, prochloroperazine)Psoralens (methoxsalen, trioxsalen)Retinoids (acitretin, isotretinoin); Sulfonamides (acetazolamide, sulfadiazine, sulfamethizole, sulfamethoxazole, sulfapyridine, sulfasalazine, sulfasoxazole); Sulfonylureas for type 2 diabetes (glipizide, glyburide); and Alpha-hydroxy acids in cosmetics.

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