Can menopause cause sun sensitivity?

Today's topic:

Today on A.Vogel Talks Menopause, I answer the question 'Can menopause cause sun sensitivity', explaining why you can react more and quicker when exposed to the sun during menopause

This is some question that I tend to get asked every summer. A lot of women find that during peri-menopause, menopause, and post-menopause, they suddenly start to burn when in the sunshine. They can also find that they can't take a tan, come out in itchy rashes or they just don't enjoy being out in the sun so much.

So what I thought I'd do today is look at why this may happen and what you can do to protect yourself, but also ways to take advantage of the sun which is important for you, too.

Can menopause cause sun sensitivity?

Becoming more sensitive to the sun is very common during menopause. Skin can become thinner and more reactive during menopause and produces less melanin when oestrogen levels drop, making menopausal women more vulnerable to sun damage such as sunburn and sunspots, as well as prickly heat type rashes.

Why can you become more sensitive to the sun during menopause

Sun exposure is the major cause of damage to your skin and during menopause, it can be even more troublesome. So, let's take a closer look at how the sun can affect you during menopause and what you can do to lessen the negative effects of the sun, whilst still enjoying its benefits.

Thinning skin

It is well-known that falling oestrogen can affect the skin in lots of different ways. It not only makes the skin drier, but your skin tends to get that little bit thinner, so it's going to be much more sensitive to sunlight. This means it's going to burn quicker, it's going to be more reactive, and it's also going to take longer to heal if you do get sunburned.

Also, thinning skin means that it's going to react more generally to sunlight. So, you only need to be out when the sun's lower, when the sun's not as hot, to get the same reaction that maybe you would have done if you were going abroad on holiday.

Less melanin

Melanin, which is responsible for producing the pigmentation in our hair, skin, and eyes, plays an important role in protecting against damage from the sun by protecting skin from the sun's ultraviolet rays.

During menopause, the skin produces less melanin, which creates the colour of the skin that you get when you tan. So, if you go out in the sun, your skin goes a bit darker, and it's that pigmentation that then helps to protect your skin from getting burned further. So, if you produce less of this, you are going to burn much quicker, in a shorter space of time.

Women also find that they get more sunspots. They may find they start to get blotchy marks on their skin, and sometimes called liver spots. And again, these can be very dark, very often due just to too much sun exposure.

Prickly skin rashes

They can also get itchy skin, rashes, prickly heat, nettle rashes, all sorts of different names for this particular one. Again, this may be something that just suddenly appears. It's been fine beforehand but then, all of a sudden, you're getting very uncomfortable skin.

Sun protection tips for menopausal women

So, let's now look at how to protects yourself when out in the sunshine, whilst still enjoying all the benefits being out in the sunshine can bring:

Use natural sunscreens

Natural sunscreens are more suited to sensitive skin. This is really important because commercial sunscreens tend to have a huge number of chemicals in them. So, remember, if your skin is thinner, if it's drier, it's also going to be more sensitive to anything that you put on it.

Natural sunscreens in this day and age will work just as well as the commercial ones and obviously, are going to possibly cause less irritation to your skin.

TIP: Choose a broad-spectrum sunscreen that protects against both UVA and UVB radiation. Make sure it is water-resistant and has an SPF of 30 or higher. Reapply every 2 hours or every hour if you are sweating or swimming.

Remember to try and have some time out in the sun before you put your sunscreen on, to let you body naturally boost your vitamin D intake, which is important during menopause.
The only way our skin can produce vitamin D is to get direct sunlight. It can be very difficult, depending on where you are in the world as to how hot your sun is at any particular point in the day.

For me, living in Scotland, I can quite happily go out in the morning for two to three hours without sunscreen on, to get my little fix of vitamin D, and then I will put sunscreen on if the day starts to get hotter.

Avoid the sun at its hottest

Avoid the sun in the mid-day because that's when most damage is likely to occur in the shortest space of time.

A good tip is if your shadow is shorter than you, that's the point that you should be seeking shade.

Wear a sun hat

There are some gorgeous sun hats around now that look really nice and with a pair of sunglasses. This is really important. Your ears, and your nose, and your face are so sensitive. I know, for me, if I'm somewhere too hot, my nose will burn within about 15 minutes, so I'm very careful, especially at the hottest part of the day. And, if I'm going to be out and about or if I'm walking, I wear a hat and put plenty of sunscreen on my face.

Try nettle tea or tincture

If you find that if you're getting that little bit of prickly heat, rashes on the face, nettle is a lovely, natural antihistamine. In the summer, if you are prone to rashes, then a cup or two of nettle tea every day or nettle tincture in a little water can be quite a helpful thing to have.

Check your medications

Some medications may increase skin sensitivity. So that can be something like certain antibiotics, blood pressure medication, anti-inflammatory medication as well. So, if this is something that just suddenly appears and you've recently started a new course of medication, just check the patient information leaflet.

So, I hope you found this one helpful. You want to enjoy the sunshine with all the great benefits that it gives, not just for vitamin D but to help us relax and to help to make our mood feel better. Sunshine, I know, for me, is always a really great mood booster. But you still need to stay safe and realise that you may not be able to tolerate the sun in the same way you did before menopause.

If any of you have any other tips that you find really helpful, when you're on holiday or when you're out and about, please share them because we would love to hear about them.

Key points to take away from this blog:

• Menopause can cause women to become more reactive to the sun, burning more easily, getting more prickly heat type rashes and experiencing more sun damage such as sunspots.
• Thinning skin and less melanin during menopause and two of the main causes of increased sun sensitivity during peri-menopause, menopause and post-menopause.
• I recommend using natural sunscreens which are more suited to sensitive skin but try and spend some time in the sun before applying sunscreen if you can so you can top up your vitamin D intake.

Until next week, take care.