Introduction: Solar urticaria is an infrequent disorder, but is probably underdiagnosed. It is characterized by the sudden appearance of weals in areas that are not usually photoexposed after exposure to the sun or to artificial sources of visible or ultraviolet light. Few cases have been published in literature, so the information available about this disorder and its natural evolution is limited.
Material and methods: We have compiled data from 20 patients diagnosed with solar urticaria in our department in the last 12 years (1990-2002) in order to try to obtain information about the characteristics of this condition.
Results: As the most relevant characteristics of our series, we can mention the fact that 60 % of the patients were women, and the average duration of the condition before consulting a dermatologist was 3 years. In 55 % of the patients, areas that are usually photoexposed, such as the face and hands, were less severely affected (due to acclimatization or hardening). The spectra responsible for the SU were visible light, UVA and UVB, in that order. With regard to treatment, we obtained a partial response with antihistamines and photoprotectors, and good results using progressive desensitization with UVA/sunlight.
Conclusion: Solar urticaria is probably an underdiagnosed condition in our milieu. There are few series in literature that provide any information about the most significant characteristics of this disorder. We have compiled the most relevant data from our patients and we have compared it with the other published series in an attempt to learn more about this photodermatosis.