Sunscreen

I was sitting here in my comfy chair, in the breeze, feeling good, and thinking about what to write when “what’s good about lupus?” sprang into my mind. There is only one answer to that question: sunscreen. That might seem strange, but it’s true.

I use Coatz 58 spf sunscreen because it has no chemicals to give me dinosaur breath or to sting my face and possibly my eyes. It only has titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. The chemicals are not what I need anyway, so it’s perfect. I said sunscreen was the one thing, but it’s what the sunscreen has given me that is the one good thing: beautiful skin with no wrinkles on my face. I look ten years younger than I am if you ignore the champagne mixed in with my brown hair.

Okay, that’s the minor gift. Along with sun-protective clothing, sunscreen has given me a life. Without it and the Plaquenil, I would be stuck at home during daylight hours. With sunscreen, which gets reapplied every hour or so, I can go places and not wilt within minutes of being there. I can get through my grocery shopping without a panic attack, most of the time. I can go on walks with my spouse.

In summer, of course, all that goes out the window. I have to be much more careful in summer and I do spend most of my days inside. Here in Cleveland, the sun goes down at 9 pm and so I don’t get out much. Since I have been symptomatic for over 20 years, I’m used to that. Sometimes it still bugs me, but that happens less often nowadays. I’m just grateful for a cool, dark house in which I can feel safe.

I realize that everyone with lupus is not so lucky. Sunscreen is a good idea for anyone, but I am lucky that it works so well for me. It may seem strange to hear “lupus” and “lucky” in the same sentence, but it’s true. My life could be so much worse. I’m as grateful for that as I am for sunscreen.