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Solar urticaria is an uncommon disorder that can cause anaphylaxis and death. The idiopathic form of solar urticaria is diagnosed when endogenous (e.g., porphyrins) or exogenous (e.g., pitch/drugs) phototoxic agents have been excluded. Previous reports of solar urticaria have focussed on single or few cases.
In this Japanese study of 40 cases collected over 25 years, the age of onset ranged from 13 to 76 years; 45% of patients were in their thirties when solar urticaria first occurred. The majority of patients (24) were sensitive to visible light only. In 31 cases, an autologous circulating factor was detected in the serum, which when irradiated with responsible wavelengths and then injected into the dermis produced a wheal with an unirradia…