Who Is Sun Sensitive?

Your doctor may let you know the possibility of sun sensitivity, but cannot predict which patients will feel it. People can take the same amount of the same medicine. Some people may be fine in the sun, while others will explode and burn.
Vicky Zhen Ren, MD, assistant professor of dermatology at Baylor College of medicine in Houston, said: “the photosensitivity caused by drugs affects everyone, regardless of skin color, but in people with darker skin color, the skin may be milder.”. For example, if your skin is darker, the red seen on lighter skin may be more purple.
The darker your skin, the higher the amount of melanin, a substance that absorbs harmful ultraviolet rays.
Elizabeth Messenger, MD, said: “patients with darker skin color are less likely to have phototoxic side effects, because the more melanin in their skin, the stronger their protection, but there are still risks. Even if the risk is small, everyone should take the same precautions.”, Assistant professor of clinical dermatology, Perelman School of medicine, University of Pennsylvania.