Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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Hi all,

I'm on vacation this week and soaking up some rays at the beach. this is the only time of the year that I wear sunscreen, since my skin is on the fair side (and slow to tan) and i'm easily getting 3+ hours of sun daily on the parts that haven't seen much sun all year. i've made it a point to only wear broad-spectrum, and the only sunblock in the house is SPF 15 or greater, most of it 30 or greater, so so far the sunburns I've gotten have been minor, not nearly the full lobster-back.

However, last night I woke up with nausea, a fever, and chills; that is to say, I had sun poisoning, and it kept me up for an hour or two. I feel fine this morning, but it's always annoying when this happens. I've been getting progressively more sun sensitive over the years, in terms of getting these symptoms at the slightest sunburn, so I thought I'd throw it out there for the PH community to see if anyone has helped mitigate the occurrence of sun poisoning and had tips to share.

I'm a VLC/IF lacto-Paleo. yesterday was not a fast day. i take a multi daily, plus 500mg C, 10K IU D3 (scaled it down to 8K this week), and 100mcg K2. I drink at least 60oz of water every day, even more this week due to sun and sweat.

flag	asked Aug 10 2011 at 14:31 air_hadoken 3,671●1●3●14

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why do you think it was sun poisoning? – being Aug 10 2011 at 15:08

family history, and a noticeable trend of getting these (or similar, milder) symptoms whenever i get sunburned – air_hadoken Aug 10 2011 at 15:18

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Stay out of the sun? – Annie Aug 10 2011 at 15:42

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Why take any D3 at all while your body is manufacturing it with the sunlight? – Melinda Aug 10 2011 at 16:44

It's due to the assumption that having high serum D3 will help alleviate sunburn faster (seems to help), and the skin finds equilibrium at about 10K IU generated daily. – air_hadoken Aug 10 2011 at 22:33

Ed · Answer 1 · 2011-08-10 23:52:40Z UTC

"Sun poisoning" is an imprecise term that can refer to more than one condition.

You have described your condition as sunburn plus nausea, fever and chills. This is actually a combination of sunburn with dehydration. The treatment for this condition is rest and fluids. Also, drinking lots of fluids during the day will prevent the dehydration, but not the sunburn. As the above link suggests, if this is accompanied by a rapid heart rate, rapid breathing, and/or excessive sleepiness, these are symptoms of impending shock, which should be treated immediately in the emergency room.

"Sun poisoning" can also refer to someone who has an abnormal reaction to sunlight, i.e. photosensitivity. An example of this is a type of porphyria that affects the skin, known as porphyria cutanea tarda. This is not what you have, but it's interesting nevertheless.

Prevention of sun poisoning?

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