Dawaa Reference

acute

Photodermatitis

Treatment options, dosing, cautions and Egyptian brands from the shipped Dawaa Reference card.

Evidence status

Checked against the sources named below

Sources3 sources

DailyMed SetID 8274ca80-e7d3-4f4f-9901-cc5c589b4fef sections 1 and 2.2, https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=8274ca80-e7d3-4f4f-9901-cc5c589b4fef · Levocetirizine dihydrochloride tablets US prescribing information, sections 1 and 2 Dosage and Administration (DailyMed SetID 8274ca80-e7d3-4f4f-9901-cc5c589b4fef) · Sathe NC, Gillespie E. Photosensitivity and Photodermatoses. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2026 Jan-. Updated 2026 Jan 31. Bookshelf ID: NBK431072; PMID: 28613726.

Verified against1 document
  • DailyMed SetID 8274ca80-e7d3-4f4f-9901-cc5c589b4fef sections 1 and 2.2, https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=8274ca80-e7d3-4f4f-9901-cc5c589b4fef

Verified date2026-08

Presentation reference

Is it this?

Reference only, to read alongside your own examination.

Symptoms — what the patient reports (7)

  • Ask how soon after light the rash comes, whether it repeats, how it swings with season, and how long it lasts once exposure stops [rash]
  • A reaction within minutes suggests solar urticaria; one appearing hours to days later suggests polymorphic light eruption or photoallergy [rash · urticaria]
  • A long-standing rash with little seasonal swing points to lupus of the skin or chronic actinic dermatitis [rash]
  • Review prescriptions, over-the-counter drugs, herbal remedies, topicals, fragrances, and plant or chemical contact at work or play
  • Thiazide diuretics and doxycycline are the usual drug culprits
  • Joint pains, mouth ulcers, Raynaud or tiredness suggest connective tissue disease; belly pain, nerve symptoms or dark urine suggest acute porphyria [abdominal pain · fatigue · mouth ulcers]
  • In a child, poor growth, neurological problems or early cancers raise an inherited photosensitivity syndrome [failure to thrive]

Signs — what you find (8)

  • The rash sits on face, neck, V of the chest, backs of forearms and hands, sparing skin under clothing [rash]
  • Sharp cut-offs at collar, jewellery, watch strap or hairline strongly support a light-driven rash [rash]
  • Skin usually in the sun, like the face in polymorphic light eruption, may be spared through hardening [rash]
  • Papules, plaques, vesicles and prurigo nodules fit the idiopathic group; wheals fit solar urticaria; eczematous plaques fit photoallergy or chronic actinic dermatitis [blisters · papules · plaques · urticaria · vesicles]
  • Ring-shaped plaques that worsen in the sun fit subacute cutaneous lupus [plaques]
  • Blisters, fragile skin and scarring on exposed sites raise porphyria, above all porphyria cutanea tarda [blisters · scarring]
  • Examine beyond the skin - scalp, nails, mucous membranes and for systemic disease
  • Abnormal nailfold capillaries support dermatomyositis; poikiloderma and sun damage suggest long-standing photosensitivity or a genodermatosis

Tests (12)

  • Testing follows the clinical suspicion and is tailored to the likeliest diagnosis
  • Start with history and examination, then targeted lab, photobiologic and histology testing
  • Phototesting, in specialist centres only, defines the action spectrum and reproduces the disease
  • Minimal erythema dose testing finds abnormal sensitivity to UVA or UVB and separates true photodermatoses from normal skin
  • Provocative phototesting over several days may reproduce the rash, but misses a high proportion of cases
  • Photopatch testing, alongside ordinary patch testing, is for suspected photoallergic contact dermatitis
  • ANA and ENA panels are for suspected connective tissue disease, not for routine screening
  • Blistering or painful photosensitivity means porphyrins in blood, urine and stool
  • Biopsy with histology and direct immunofluorescence helps where autoimmune, chronic actinic and idiopathic pictures overlap
  • Biopsy results are frequently non-specific and need the clinical context to read
  • Suspected inherited syndromes need specialist testing - cell survival after UV, DNA repair studies, gene sequencing
  • Finding these early matters - skin cancer risk is much raised and surveillance has to be close

If not this — what else fits (12)

  • Idiopathic group: polymorphous light eruption, actinic prurigo
  • Autoimmune group: cutaneous lupus and dermatomyositis
  • Metabolic group: the porphyrias and pellagra
  • Drug-induced: methotrexate, doxycycline
  • Genetic group: xeroderma pigmentosum
  • Persistent light-pattern rash: think cutaneous lupus, told apart by systemic features, serology and histology
  • Dermatomyositis where there is proximal muscle weakness or Gottron papules
  • Suspect a drug where medication changed recently and the border is sharp
  • Porphyria where there is blistering, fragile skin and scarring on exposed sites
  • Inherited syndromes begin early in life, with multisystem findings and raised cancer risk
  • Toxic epidermal necrolysis and Stevens-Johnson syndrome can take a light distribution
  • Dose, delay and distribution separate phototoxic from photoallergic reactions

SourceStatPearls "Photosensitivity and Photodermatoses" - disease-level clinical article

Presentation findings are traced to the source above.

1

LEVOCETIRIZINE

1st line

Strength5 mg

Formoral.solid

Adult dose and duration

5 mg PO once daily in evening (2.5 mg once daily may suffice). - While symptoms persist; review at 4-6 weeks

Paediatric dose

Age 6-11y: 2.5 mg (1/2 scored tablet) PO once daily in evening; age <6y: use oral solution.

Dose source

DailyMed SetID 8274ca80-e7d3-4f4f-9901-cc5c589b4fef sections 1 and 2.2, https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=8274ca80-e7d3-4f4f-9901-cc5c589b4fef

Why

Standard second-generation antihistamine dose for the itch of photodermatitis/sunburn dermatitis; dosing does not change with the trigger for the itch.

Cautions
  • Severe blistering sunburn, signs of drug-induced phototoxicity, or suspicion of an underlying connective tissue disease.
  • Evening dosing suits itch that is often worse at night.
  • Do not combine with cetirizine - levocetirizine is cetirizine's active component, so together they double the dose.
  • Reduce to 2.5 mg in mild renal impairment.
  • Does not treat severe blistering sunburn or an underlying phototoxic/connective tissue disease - it is symptomatic itch relief only.
Egyptian brands
Egyptian brandManufacturerIndicative price
ZALKEVOR 5 MG 10 F.C.TABS.EL-OBOUR > REPHARMA5.50 EGP (0.55/unit)
RHIPGIC 5 MG 30 F.C. TABS.P & C LABS19.50 EGP (0.65/unit)
LERGOPAN 5 MG 10 F.C.TABS.PHAROPHARMA7.50 EGP (0.75/unit)
LEVOCITRONE 5 MG 10 F.C.TABS.EGYPHAR21.00 EGP (2.10/unit)
RAMATRIZINE 5 MG 30 F.C.TABS.EGPI > RAMAPHARMA96.00 EGP (3.20/unit)
LEVOHISTAM 5 MG 30 F.C.TABS.EGPI > UTOPIA117.00 EGP (3.90/unit)
ARAXILEVE 5 MG 30 ORO-DISPERSIBLE TABS.JEDCO INT. CO. FOR PHARMACEUTICALS > ARAX PHARM. IND.51.00 EGP
LEVCET 5MG 20 ORODISSOLVABLE TABS.MARCYRL PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES (MPI)85.00 EGP
MERVOZA 2.5MG/5ML SYRUP 120 ML? strength differs? different route - not oral solidGLOBAL NAPI PHARMACEUTICALS8.00 EGP
MODALLERGE 0.5MG/ML ORAL SOL.? strength differs? different route - not oral solidEGPI > MODERN PHARMA8.00 EGP

Prices are indicative (dataset snapshot 2026-06); verify with the pharmacy.