A woman has a very rare condition which causes her to be allergic to all light including sunlight. She avoids places with florescent lighting which is almost everywhere like buses, trains, supermarkets, and the doctor’s office. Read more on the interesting story after the jump!
Anna Lyndsey, 43, has a very rare condition called photosensitive seborrhoeic dermatitis which makes her allergic to all light. In her new memoir called “Girl in the Dark,” she talks about how her condition has changed her life. When Anna Lyndsey has a reaction to the light, a burning sensation hits her face as if someone is holding a lighter to her skin. To survive Lyndsey has her windows taped up in her house in rural England in layers of foil to keep light away from her skin.
She was tested for autoimmune conditions, like lupus, and hosts of skin diseases from porphyria to xeroderma pigmentosum, but they all came back negative. Those who have photosensitive seborrhoeic dermatitis report having itchy, patchy, burning skin when exposed to UVB and UVA lights. It takes only 30 seconds of exposure for a reaction. She also takes 20 pills a day and her skin turns a light orange hue.
Lyndsey also uses electric fans to deflect the heat and she covers herself in a straw hat and a scarf as a mask. She even buys protective clothing and layers herself in long-sleeved, high-necked shirts and ankle-length skirts over leggings, even in the summer. The disease is believed to be caused by malfunctioning sebaceous glands and a fungal infection of the skin. Elderly men and young babies are most commonly affected by the condition.
Wow!
