Through the Window

I couldn’t believe that I got a blistering sunburn through the car window. The car window is tinted. It never happened before. What could have caused it? Perhaps a drug interaction? The only drug I was taking that I hadn’t been taking for years was doxycycline - an antibiotic to help me get rid of a bit of bronchitis. 

I went in to a pharmacy to ask. The pharmacist looked at my "cooked until it was red and blistered" arm and said “Wow”. But yes, apparently all the “cycline” drugs can cause hypersensitivity to sun. 

I brought that drug with me from Texas, where I live. Texas. Sunshine. Ridiculous Heat. You would have thought someone would have mentioned that when I picked up the prescription. I just wasn't sure. I usually pay attention to whatever the pharmacist tells me. What I did remember for sure is that when the doctor’s office told me they were prescribing it, they told me to be sure to take it with food. When I picked it up at the pharmacy, they told me to take it on an empty stomach. Maybe I was so confused by whether or not I should eat that I didn’t hear them tell me I could end up with a blistering burn if I was exposed to the sun for any length of time. Then again, what are the odds that someone is going to sit in a car for eight hours straight two days in a row? (Pretty good, if you're me.) 

I bought some SPF 85 for babies and some aloe gel and asked how long it would take the cycline to get out of my system. (A day or two.) I avoided making it worse, although I still have a few red splotches on my arm over a week later. AND I looked up the drug information sheet when I got home. It was there - number 5 on the list of 8. Right after "take it with plenty of water" and just before "don't lie down for at least 10 minutes after you take it." Of course I took all the doses with just enough water to swallow them and I often took the evening dose while sitting in bed and laid down almost immediately. Who knows what damage I've caused? I guess I'd better start reading this stuff before I end up with a really serious problem.