Gabriela Pocoví, Ph.D.: "If you get hives or itchy rashes when you're exposed to the sun or high temperatures, it's not an allergy."

Spain is a country that loves summer. During the summer, a large part of the population prefers to spend time outdoors , with the beach being one of the most popular options. However, It involves exposure to the sun, which requires caution, giving more importance than ever to good sun protection and choosing the best products on the market to avoid the risk of skin damage.

Overexposure can cause problems such as melasma, burns, and, in the most extreme cases, skin cancer . It can also lead to other symptoms that appear on the outer layer of the skin, such as dermatitis, itching, or redness . Some people associate these symptoms with a possible sun allergy . However, according to one doctor, such a condition does not exist. What happens is that the body reacts through inflammatory symptoms.

Never do this after sunbathing in summer or your skin will regret it.

Gabriela Pocoví: "It reacts by releasing histamine"

Gabriela Pocoví is a physician and nutritionist with degrees from the University of Granada and the Central University of Venezuela. On Instagram, she is known for her account @nutrigaby, where she has over two hundred thousand followers. In one of her videos, she explained what causes symptoms such as itching, redness, and dermatitis after sun exposure .

"Neither sun nor cold allergies exist. If, when you're exposed to extreme temperatures, you get hives, your body itches, or you develop red patches (different from a typical tan)... I want to tell you that it's not an allergy, it's an inflammatory process driven by histamine ," he points out.

Histamine is a substance released when the body is in a state of alert. "It is a biogenic amine derived from the amino acid histidine. It is released by certain cells in the body in response to specific stimuli, including allergens, infections, and injuries . Its main function is to act as a chemical mediator in processes such as inflammation, vasodilation, and stomach acid secretion," explains the University of Navarra Clinic .

According to the doctor, a "histamine-driven inflammatory process" translates to " a hypersensitive, hyperreactive, and intolerant immune system that reacts by releasing histamine (responsible for itching) and inflammatory mediators to any possible change in climate, temperature, or unknown substance."

How to combat these symptoms

To combat these symptoms, the doctor recommends several methods. For one, eating a diet composed of anti-inflammatory foods . "It's also important to evaluate possible intestinal imbalances, such as dysbiosis or intestinal parasitosis ," the expert points out.

She also recommends testing for vitamin D deficiency , as it is essential for controlling the immune system. Finally, she advises getting your body used to temperature changes . That is, in the case of summer , exposing yourself to the sun without sunscreen for 15 minutes during the least dangerous hours, which are early morning and late afternoon. Afterwards, of course, you should apply sunscreen .

For those who experience these symptoms in the cold , the expert recommends taking three-minute cold showers and gradually increasing their duration. The key is to gradually accustom your body to the temperatures.