Dermatology - Photocontact or contact allergy

This guide has been written to help answer some of your questions about sunscreen allergies. You have been given this guide because we think you may have a sunscreen allergy.

What is a contact or photocontact allergy?

• A contact allergy is an allergic reaction to something that comes into contact with your skin
• A photocontact allergy is an allergic reaction to something in contact with your skin that is activated by light.

One of the most common things that causes photocontact allergies are the active ingredients in sunscreen. Some people can be allergic to sun creams or their ingredients as they come out of the bottle (contact allergy), other people are only allergic once the cream, or its ingredients, has been activated by light (photocontact allergy).

The tests we have carried out this week have included tests for sunscreen allergies. We tested how your skin reacted to active ingredient on its own and active ingredient after it had been exposed to light.

We also carried out tests to see if you were allergic to the sunscreen products that are available on prescription and that you currently use.

A sunscreen contact allergy means that you reacted to one of these tests. The reaction will have looked like anything from a slight redness right the way through to a swollen patch with blisters.

A sunscreen photocontact allergy means that you react to the sunscreen or sunscreen ingredient only once it has been activated by exposure to light.

Which of the sunscreen ingredients am I allergic to?

The list further down shows the names of the ingredients that you were tested to.

The way in which chemicals used in sunscreens are named is quite complicated. Every ingredient has a long cosmetic industry name and then a shorter trade name.

Unfortunately, there are also several versions of each name. We have tried to include several versions of each name to help you as much as possible.

The trade names can look quite similar to each other so they need to be read very carefully.

If you find it quite hard to work out what these names are, you can take this leaflet with you when you buy suncreens and show both the bottle and this leaflet to the pharmacist and he/she will help you.

The doctor will put a mark (X) next to the ones that you should avoid.

International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient (INCI)

INCI Name: Butyl methoxydibenzoyl methane
Trade/other names: Avobenzone, Parsol 1789, Eusolex 9020
Avoid ☐

INCI Name: 4-methyl-benzylidene camphor
Trade/other names: Eusolex 6300, Parsol 5000, 4MBC
Avoid ☐

INCI Name: Benzophenone-3
Trade/other names: 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone, Eusolex 4360, Escalol 567, Oxybenzone
Avoid ☐

INCI Name: Octyl methoxycinnamate
Trade/other names: 1. Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, Parsol MCX, Escalol 557 Also called Octinoxate in the USA
Avoid ☐

INCI Name: Benzophenone-4
Trade/other names: 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone-5- sulfonic acid, Sulisobenzone, Univul MS40
Avoid ☐

INCI Name: Drometrizole trisiloxane
Trade/other names: Mexoryl XL
Avoid ☐
 
INCI Name: Octocrylene
Trade/other names: 2-ethylhexyl, 2-cyano-3, 3-diphenyl-2- propenoate
Avoid ☐

INCI Name: Octyl triazone
Trade/other names: Ethyl hexyl triazone, Univul T150
Avoid ☐

INCI Name: Isoamyl-p-methoxycinnamate
Trade/other names: Neo-Heliopan E 1000
Avoid ☐

INCI Name: Bis-ethylhexyloxyphenol methoxyphenol triazine
Trade/other names: Tinosorb S
Avoid ☐

INCI Name: Diethylamino hydroxybenzoyl hexyl benzoate
Trade/other names: Univul A+
Avoid ☐

INCI Name: Diethyl hexyl butamido triazone
Trade/other names: UVasorb HEB
Avoid ☐

INCI Name: PABA (para-amino benzoic acid)
Trade/other names: Aminobenzoic acid
Avoid ☐
 
INCI Name: Phenylbenzimidazole sulfonic acid
Trade/other names: Eusolex 232, Novantisol
Avoid ☐

INCI Name: Methylene bis-benzotriazolyl tetramethyl butylphenol
Trade/other names: Tinosorb M
Avoid ☐

INCI Name: Homosalate
Trade/other names: Homomenthylsalicylate, 3,3,5- trimethylcyclohexyl 2-hydroxybenzoate
Avoid ☐

INCI Name: Octyl salicylate
Trade/other names: Ethylhexylsalicylate, Octisalate
Avoid ☐

INCI Name: Disodium phenyl dibenzimidazole tetrasulfonate
Trade/other names: Neo-heliopan AP, Bisdisulizole sodium
Avoid ☐

Sun creams you should be SAFE to use:

Sun creams and other substances you should AVOID:

Are these ingredients found only in sun creams?

Unfortunately, sunscreen ingredients aren’t only found in sun creams. Sometimes they are added to other products such as bubble baths or perfume. You should take care to check the ingredients in all the products you use if you suspect you are having a reaction to them.

What should I do if I develop a reaction?

If you develop a reaction to a sun cream or other product you should stop using it straight away. Your skin should calm down and return to normal.

If the reaction is very severe, your doctor may prescribe you a short course of steroid cream to calm the reaction down.

What do I do if I don’t know the ingredients in a sun cream?

It is best to stick to the sun creams we have shown are safe for you to use. If this is not possible, you can carry out a simple test at home. This will not be as accurate as tests carried out in the Photobiology Unit, but may give you an idea about how safe it is to use a new cream.

• Put a tiny sample of the new sun cream on an exposed place such as the side of your face or your arm
• Cover with a plaster overnight
• After 24 hours wipe off any excess cream
• Keep an eye on the place where you put the sample for at least 5 days
• If you are allergic to the cream the patch may turn red and swollen

Remember: The reaction can take a few days so you should check for at least five days before deciding to use the sun cream more generally.

What happens if I am allergic to lots of the sun creams?

If we suspect that you have a lot of allergies to sun creams, we may recommend that you are referred to a hospital for full patch testing.

This will test whether you are also allergic to a much greater range of ingredients including preservatives, perfumes etc.

We may advise that you do not use suncreams to protect your skin from sunlight. We may recommend you only use physical measures such as:

• Avoid the sun between 11am and 3pm
• Seek natural shade
• Wear protective clothing
• Use protective window film

Contact us

The Photobiology Unit can be contacted on: 0161 206 4081
Photobiology.Salford@nca.nhs.uk

Further Information

The British Association of Dermatologists produces a series of patient information leaflets.
The British Association of Dermatologists, 4 Fitzroy Square, London or if you have access to the internet on their web site:
www.bad.org.uk

The National Eczema Society provides advice and support for all types of eczema. They can be contacted at:
The National Eczema Society, Hill House, Highgate Hill, London, N19 5NA - via their helpline:helpline@eczema.org or visit www.eczema.org