I know summer is here with the hundred plus degree days and bright sunlight into the twilight evenings. Typically, psoriasis improves in the summer with the greater exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light. My skin does fine in the summer, but not as well as it used to. Depending on my skin’s condition, I need to determine whether to engage in two time honored summer traditions: sunbathing and swimming.
In the past the sunlight helped my skin a lot. I started sunbathing and going to artificial UV treatments when I was nine years old. More recently I’m not sure how much the sunlight helps. My dermatologist thought I could get a few minutes of sunlight every couple days just to try it out. The UV index is very high in the summer here in Los Angeles, so a short exposure time should be sufficient. After a few minutes, I could then put sunscreen on if I wanted to stay out. It’s hard for me to stay consistent in my sunlight exposure, though. It’s easier to gauge how much UV I am getting when I sunbathe at the same time each day. However, with my work schedule I can’t always get out in the sun when I would like.
My family loves to swim, no question. The other day we went to Huntington Beach here in Southern California for the day. My thirteen-year-old son and twelve year old daughter played in the ocean for hours. Then after going back to my parents’ house they swam at the pool in the condo complex. Every day they happily put on their swim gear, pull their towels on the rack, and head to the small pool we have at the end of our complex. If we don’t give them a time limit they will swim and swim.
I, on the other hand, have mixed feelings about swimming. I I felt self-conscious about swimming, especially in public pools. Even as I grew older I feared others’ comments and questions. Those of us with psoriasis often hesitate before going to the pool for fear of being pointed out or misunderstood. When my wife wanted me to join the YMCA I categorically said no. She couldn’t understand that I didn’t want to go to the gym or pool for fear of others seeing my skin. The other day I went into the pool with one of my children’s friends. As soon as I took off my shirt and entered the pool they asked, “Can you swim with your skin like that?” I couldn’t decide how to answer so I just let it go. I wrote about swimming in my blog a few years ago where I was much more positive, but now I’m not as sure.
Later I thought about the questions some more. The chemicals at the pool in our Orlando hotel strongly irritated my skin. It seems that a day or two after I go to the pool my psoriasis becomes redder and thicker. Is it because of the pool water or something else? In general it’s not a problem to swim with psoriasis. I am wondering, though, if it is not working out for me.
For now I will continue to experiment with the sunbathing and swimming to gather more data how it is affecting my skin.
Do you enjoy these two time honored summer traditions? Do you take any special care or precautions in doing so?