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Sun as a trigger for herpes outbreaks


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I understand everyone has different triggers, but I am trying to find out how common it is for sun exposure to be a trigger. Do the ob's only happen after direct sun exposure to where the that individuals ob's occur, or is it caused by just being out in the sun in general fully dressed? As a guy, wearing swim shorts and boxer shorts underneath covering the entire area around my private parts, do I still run the risk of triggering an ob by going to the beach? What about being out playing golf or tennis?

 

I really like being outdoors and live in a fairly sunny place, I would hate to constantly having to worry about this by just being outside.

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This was one of my concerns too!! Especially since I was diagnosed at the end of summer and I live at the beach! So far I haven't had any issues with sun exposure. I have been much more diligent about using sunscreen and I monitor my time in the sun more than I did before. I think more so than the sun exposure, I think what might cause the OB is the body being stressed from sunburn.. Something like that.. And of course, dehydration and such. I would just start slow and see how your body reacts! If your body is used to being outdoors and exposed to the sun, it might not have an effect on you :-)

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For me i live inan area with hot summers. And the sun can be brutal!

cant avoid it out here. And i havnt had an o.b.

(g-hsv2)

One of my girl friends gets coldsores on her lip if she out in the sun too long tho..

i think @Chinup is right, its the stress factor on the body.

but i think its exposure to direct sunlight maybe..

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Thanks guys, sounds pretty promising so far. Please keep your personal experiences coming.

 

I tan quite easily and only burn after prolonged time in the sun if not wearing sun screen so at least my skin is used to sun exposure. I used to tan a lot some years ago due to bad skin at the time, but has since limited my time in the sun.

 

Now I am mostly worried about being out on the golf course for four hours or more at a time, but then my affected area will be well protected and I suppose I need to be better at using a spf lotion.

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I just found this little snippet. The part about the inflammatory reaction does make sense. Sun rays in a moderate dose seems ok, but a burn can definitely be a factor in triggering an ob.

 

"Avoid extreme environments that could cause irritation. Protect yourself from sunburn. UVA/UVB, PABA-free sun screen can be effective in protecting infected areas and body in general from sunburn which can aggravate and initiate HSV recurrences. In addition, sunburn causes an inflammatory reaction in the body, and the immune system gets diverted to deal with it rather than sustain and protect the body as a whole."

 

 

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The "sun exposure" is mostly in relationship to Oral herpes because that area gets a lot of sun exposure and thus (as you mention above) is more likely to get inflamed and break out.

 

I have both H1 and H2 ... spent a lot of time in the sun and only had oral OB's in relation to extended exposure .... most of my genital OB's are due to the stress of traveling (partially due, I believe, to extended sitting), rough sex (which I'm not that into so thankfully it's a rare occurrence) and for one short period, consuming nuts and chocolate together (I was peri-menopausal... as soon as I went into full menopause it stopped).

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  • 2 years later...

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