Who doesn’t love a good beach day? For people with Lupus what’s supposed to be a fun beach day can turn into a complicated and symptomatic day drained of the fun. Due to the sun being a trigger of Lupus symptoms and flares people with lupus can experience a list of different symptoms like painful hot spots, itchiness, fatigue, and exhaustion from the sun. In today’s post, I’m going to cover how I beat the heat with my favorite products, tips, and best practices for spending time in the sun with Lupus that allow me to enjoy the beach.
I didn’t think spending 15 minutes let alone a whole day out in the sun was in the cards for me after being diagnosed with Lupus. A 10-minute car ride would leave me with a painful butterfly rash, hot spots on my knees, and a weird itchiness all over. Until
Best practices for Lupus and the beach
My “best practices” before planning on spending time in the sun all come down to taking care of myself. With the sun being a known trigger of Lupus and having a sun sensitivity due to Lupus I want to have a healthy terrain before throwing myself into a known trigger. To have a healthy terrain I had to figure out what it would take to get me there. That entailed tracking my diet, emotions, element exposure, etc. To pinpoint what my biggest triggers were and what helped vs healed my disease. I have the medical binder printables I made and use on our free Resource Library page if you want to grab a copy.
Eating a paleo diet (“Why I chose a Paleo diet to heal my Autoimmune diseases”), regulating my emotions (“Stress and Autoimmunity”), reducing toxin exposure (“Why I went non-toxic”), and dehydration are my main triggers. So I know I need to be hitting my water intake goal, meal prepping so I’ll eat clean, and managing my emotions to have a healthy terrain. I will link the post’s below that go more in-depth on all the topics I have covered. Let’s look into hydration and diet concerning Lupus and how they can aid in a smooth beach day.
Dehydration
Dehydration can be harmful for anyone but for people with Lupus, the symptoms and effects can be more severe. Make sure to keep an eye out for any of these symptoms while spending time in the sun.
- Dark colored urine
- Dry eyes
- Dry mouth
- Headaches
- Confusion
- fatigue/ sleepiness
- Dizziness/lightheadedness
Being properly hydrated can reduce inflammation, regulate immune responses, protects your kidneys, and aid in tooth/ overall oral health. Lupus patients deal with tooth decay, are predisposed to kidney issues, and increased inflammation levels. So staying hydrated to keep symptoms at bay is a top priority. Especially when planning on going directly into a trigger. Speak with your doctor to create a water goal.
How to hydrate
All water does not hydrate you the same for example purified water is stripped of all the minerals and electrolytes during the purification process. Electrolytes are responsible for directing water and nutrients throughout the body where it is needed and aids in maintaining optimal fluid balance inside cells. Unlike purified water, spring water retains it’s natural minerals and electrolytes. No matter the water you choose to drink It’s important to know what’s in your water so you can supplement electrolytes as needed with either a drink mix, supplements, or adding foods that are rich in electrolytes into your diet.
After switching to drinking spring water all I can say is; once you switch to spring water you won’t go back…..or at least in my experience. I tried drinking purified water because it was all I had and after drinking over my daily goal I was experiencing headaches, dizziness, and dry mouth. I never feel this way drinking spring water and don’t plan on giving purified water another try. I still add extra electrolytes into my water here and there but I don’t have to rely on them like I did when drinking purified water only.
Hydrating foods
Most fruits are considered hydrating because of their high water content. This makes them and refreshing treat for the beach. I thought this would be a fun add on to the post because you can pack a refreshing piece of fruit that also will hydrate you a little bit! This is a great way to get more water in if you don’t like drinking your water – eat it! Below is the list of fruits with high water content!
- Watermelon
- Berries
- Peach
- Mango
- Pineapple
- Cantaloupe
Diet and Lupus
Diet directly affects the state, severity, and progression of Lupus (SLE) so before going into a known trigger. I keep this fact in the back of my mind. A Mediterranean diet is thought to be optimal for lupus but you should talk with your doctor to find out what is best for you.1 I Follow a paleo diet which is pretty similar to a Mediterranean diet. Check out our post on “Why I chose a Paleo diet to heal my Autoimmune diseases” to read more into that. But diet directly affects the state of lupus so creating a healthy terrain before exposing oneself to a known trigger is a best practice and one I follow religiously.
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Lupus Beach Products
Before we get into the featured products I swear by I wanted to throw in a list of basics that are important and I didn’t want to leave out.
- 100% UVA and UVB protective sunglasses
- Wide-brimmed hat
- SPF swimsuit
- UV umbrella
- Stainless steel water bottle
- Electrolyte drink mixes
Spf
A sensitive skin-friendly, SPF 30 or higher sunscreen is a must to protect lupus skin. My all-time favorite is the Elta MD sunscreen. It’s one of the top sunscreens recommended by dermatologists and rightfully so. It is gentle, sensitive skin-friendly, and effective. It leans on the pricey side for facial sunscreen so a drugstore option I also like is the CeraVe AM moisturizer. The Elta MD sits better on my skin but the $32 price tag is hefty.
Mini fan
Spf clothing
SPF clothing can help protect your skin from harmful UV rays and for people with lupus can aid in lessening the severity of sun sensitivity by protecting your skin. To the left is the shirt I use for the beach, while gardening, and to the pool. It’s a great buy that has come in handy more times than not.
Portable outdoor fan
An outdoor fan will change your beach day/time outside from sweaty and symptomatic to cool and fun (hopefully)! Keeping your body temperature regulated by staying in the shade and having a breeze flow on you should aid in avoiding symptoms. I started with a mini fan which is still a must without a doubt but now I’ve upgraded to this guy. My mom and I can both get cooled off using this portable outdoor fan. It’s not heavy, actually cools your body temperature down, and is affordable. I would look into it if you plan on spending hours in the sun! I still carry my mini-fan it’s just nice to have this option available.
Tent
I never thought I would be the person to bring a mini tent to the beach but that was pre-lupus me. There is no shame in the mini-tent game! A tent provides UV protection from harmful UVB and UVA rays. Although some may think this is a little extra, don’t knock it until you try it. Having an area that is shaded where you can recharge or hide from the sun for a moment allows me to stay on the beach longer without overdoing it. Lupus causes sun sensitivity as well as triggering symptoms so having a shaded area is a must for long days on the beach.
Frog tog
Frog togs bring me back to my band camp days. I still have and use my frog tog from when I was in high school. They are reliable and a great way to quickly cool your overall body temperature which can aid in preventing symptoms. I linked the one I’ve had for several years if you want to check it out.
Spending time in the sun with lupus is possible and an awesome beach day awaits you. It just takes a little extra planning and precautions to prepare for time in the sun with Lupus. Leave a comment with your favorite products, tips, or tricks for beach days with Lupus!
Citations:
- NAGARKAR, AKANKSHA. “Does the Food We Eat Impact Lupus?” UMass Chan Medical School, 28 May 2023, www.umassmed.edu/lupus/blog/blog-posts/2023/05/food-for-thought-does-the-food-we-eat-impact-lupus/. Accessed 18 July 2023.
