Ask Dr Miriam

QI’ve just come back from a break in Spain where the weather was lovely. But it was nearly spoilt when I developed a rash within a few hours of arriving. The rash was only on the part of my skin that was exposed to the sun. What was it?

AIt sounds like a reaction to sunlight but a rather specific one.

I’m wondering if you were taking medication when you went to Spain because some drugs can make you hypersensitive to sunlight. A common drug that causes such photosensitivity is an antibiotic belonging to the family of tetracyclines, the most modern of which, doxycycline, is taken twice a day for various infections. It’s often used as first-line treatment for infection because it has a broad spectrum of action. If you get a rash on this pill, stop the tetracycline, have your skin treated by a dermatologist, and take painkillers to dampen down the soreness.