Kitty
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
I've been getting increasing problems with UV rashes since I moved into a house with a south-west facing sitting room with a patio door. I've had PLE for decades, but I've now collected four or five different types of rash and they tend to be accompanied by 'flu symptoms and fevers.
Weirdly, being out in direct sun is easier than being indoors—the few bits of my skin that aren't covered with clothing are slathered in Factor 50+ sun block. The trouble is that it's designed not to come off, so if I don't want it all over my sheets, I have to wash the skin multiple times with shampoo for greasy hair. I don't want to have to do that when I'm not even well enough to leave the house, or sit here all summer in long sleeves, long trousers and a niqab.
So I've just had UV-blocking film applied to the patio door and sitting room windows. It's the type they use in museums and galleries, and blocks a high enough proportion of UVA and UVB that most people with severe light sensitivity don't need additional protection. Can't even tell it's there, it's clear enough that it can legally be applied to car windscreens.
It won't be of interest to most people here, but the guy told me he's been busy for a few days applying heat blocking film to south facing windows. I hadn't come across it before, and it can apparently reduce heat transmission through glass by up to 80%—lots of people put it in their conservatories, and it's effective enough that they consider it worth the cost. He said it wouldn't be expensive to cover the three-pane bedroom window that gets the sun all day, so I may try it.
I thought I'd mention it, in case anyone wants to look into it. I haven't yet, still recovering from chatting to a really nice young fella for an hour about optimising outdoor spaces for wildlife...
Weirdly, being out in direct sun is easier than being indoors—the few bits of my skin that aren't covered with clothing are slathered in Factor 50+ sun block. The trouble is that it's designed not to come off, so if I don't want it all over my sheets, I have to wash the skin multiple times with shampoo for greasy hair. I don't want to have to do that when I'm not even well enough to leave the house, or sit here all summer in long sleeves, long trousers and a niqab.
So I've just had UV-blocking film applied to the patio door and sitting room windows. It's the type they use in museums and galleries, and blocks a high enough proportion of UVA and UVB that most people with severe light sensitivity don't need additional protection. Can't even tell it's there, it's clear enough that it can legally be applied to car windscreens.
It won't be of interest to most people here, but the guy told me he's been busy for a few days applying heat blocking film to south facing windows. I hadn't come across it before, and it can apparently reduce heat transmission through glass by up to 80%—lots of people put it in their conservatories, and it's effective enough that they consider it worth the cost. He said it wouldn't be expensive to cover the three-pane bedroom window that gets the sun all day, so I may try it.
I thought I'd mention it, in case anyone wants to look into it. I haven't yet, still recovering from chatting to a really nice young fella for an hour about optimising outdoor spaces for wildlife...
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