After treatment

I was just wondering, do you need to avoid the sum after treatment for a port wine stain, we have a holiday booked to Spain a week after my 1 year old daughter receives her second treatment. I dont want to mention it to the doctors as here in Ireland it is so difficult to recieve a date for laser i do not want to jepodise it. As i am sure you mothers would all agree, i would rather cancel the treatment. Alanna has a port wine stain covering one whole leg and half of her abdomen.

Thanks for listening,

Nadia

Nadia,
Hi. You aren't suppose to get a tan on the pws while having laser treatments because the laser can't penetrate the tan. After, a laser treatment it is very sensetive to heat, kind of like a sun burn. I am sure that some other people will chime in and explain it better.
Jinny

[hankbartenbach]

Hi Nadia,

I agree with Jinny, while going and having laser treatments sun exposures is not recommended. My Derm always said it would make the lasers less effective. It is before the treatment as well as after.

So I suggest keeping the appointment and for now on while she continues to do treatments keep the sunscreen on when ever she is outside. 45 block is what I use.

Hope this helps,

Hank

Hi Nadia. I agree with Hank and Jinny. They reccommend that you avoid sun exposure to the best of your ability. There are a few reasons why infants tend to respond so well to laser tx for a few reasons. One reason is that the skin has not yet been toughened up by the elements yet.So the laser response tends to be better. ANother reason is their skin is thinner.
I would definately ask your Doctors opinion about after tx sun exposure, sunscreen and swimming. SOme docs are okay with chlorine after a tx, some are not. If you are afraid of the doc cancelling your tx, just ask hypothetically. Say that you are planning a possible trip for the future and you want to plan accordingly. It is better safe than sorry....
FYI, if you have a tan, you can not nornally receive a laser tx. The laser cannot penetrate through the tan, and it is unable to reach the vessels. The tanned skin absorbs the laser and does not allow it to penetrate through the skin to reach the vessels.
Good luck...
ELena

[juliemn]

Every doctor will have a different recommendation about sun exposure after treatment.* Both doctors that have treated my son say no exposure for 10 days...and minimal exposure for 3 weeks.* The laser is essentially already giving them a "sunburn".

We try not to stop life of course.* We spend our summer at a campground, and keeping Ben out of the sun is hard.* We've taken to using a 45 spf sunscreen that uses zinc as the sunblock (instead of chemicals), and keeping a bucket hat or wide brimmed hat on his head. His birthmark is on his face though.* In your situation it's easier, I would just keep her in light weight long pants if she'll tolerate it.*

Good advice with the previous posts too.

Julie
(mom to Ben)
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