Zesha Saleem

We hope you love the products we recommend! All of them were independently selected by our editors. Just so you know, HuffPost UK may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page if you decide to shop from them. Oh, and FYI – prices are accurate and items in stock as of time of publication.

For most people, summer means sunbathing, tans and getting that sunkissed look after two weeks in Europe.

But for me, the summer months come with a yearly dread, constantly checking ultraviolet (UV) levels and hiding indoors — because it wreaks havoc on my skin.

I have a condition called polymorphic light eruption, also known as PLE. This is different to heat rashes or sunburns in that I am more sensitive to higher UV levels than most people. Unless I take extra steps to look after the sun exposed skin on my hands, forearms, face or even feet, the sunny and clear skies lead to angry, burning and itchy rashes.

PLE as a condition is not as well known in the general public. For years, I had no idea what was going on with my skin – I used to think I was the unlucky person who got heat rashes and sunburns at the same time every year. It was only a few years ago, when I coincidentally brought up the condition with my GP, did I finally get a name for my yearly suffering. When I searched it up on Google, I remember reading a few news articles calling it a ‘vampire skin condition’ which left me feeling rather unnerved. But it turned out that as long as I prepared for high UV days in advance I could still go out in the sun to some extent.

The actual cause behind PLE is still somewhat unclear, but experts say it’s to do with the body’s heightened immune response to UV light. According to Dr Derrick Phillips, Consultant Dermatologist and official spokesperson for the British Skin Foundation, PLE is thought to be an “over-reaction of the immune system in the skin.”

As someone with a history of hypersensitivities and allergies, this makes sense. He told HuffPost UK: “When the skin is exposed to UV light, an unknown substance or........

© HuffPost