Day 17 (Recovery Day 3)

Today I rode our bike club's 200K. This was the same route that I rode as a checkout last weekend when I wasn't sure if I'd be able to wear a helmet this weekend. But it turns out that my scalp is not too sensitive compared to my face, so I decided to ride again. The main problem was applying sunscreen. Last weekend that felt OK, but this weekend - Ouch! I first tried applying Coppertone Sport SPF 50 to my forehead and suddenly felt like a dozen bees had just stung my forehead. So I then tried Neutrogena Ultrasheer Dry-Touch SPF 55 on the lower part of my face. The Neutrogena is an "Ultra Light - Clean Feel" sunblock that I use on week days since it isn't as slimy as the Coppertone Sport. Perhaps it is more gentle as well? Wrong! It stung just as badly as the Coppertone. After walking around for a few minutes waiting for the burning to subside, I finally applied vaseline over the whole mess, resulting in this very attractive look:

Face coated with two different sunscreens and vaseline before all-day bike ride

The ride itself actually felt pretty good on my face because I had nice cool 40-55 degree air blowing over it all day. Before the inside pizza party at the end of the ride, I washed off the worst of the sunscreen and reapplied a layer of vaseline. The next few hours at the party felt OK as long as I periodically reapplied vaseline to the "hot spots" that developed on my cheeks and temples.

Day 11

I did the bike ride yesterday. In the morning, before the ride, I applied the Efudex and then a coating of Coppertone Sport SPF50 sunscreen over the Efudex. I felt like a slimy mess. I was also worried about how much it would hurt to wear a helmet, but with a soft winter skull cap between me and the helmet it wasn't bad at all.

It seems that a bunch of smaller spots popped out on my face and nose during the ride:

New spots appeared across my cheeks and nose, and the red is getting darker

Other people have said that wetness accelerates the effect of the Edudex, so maybe the sweat and sunscreen during the bike ride moved things along a little quicker.

The initial tube of Efudex (actually generic 5-Flourouracil) is almost empty. I might be able to stretch it out until the next appointment with my dermatologist in three days, but will need another tube if she wants me to continue the applications.

I definitely want to continue the Efudex long enough for it to do the job. But the whole business is starting to be a little painful and irritating. I probably should have been more careful to avoid getting Efudex into the folds at the sides of my nose, because that area is now the most irritated of all. But I wanted to be sure to coat the red skin just above the moustache and it was hard to get that area without some getting into the nasal fold.

Day 9 - Starting to Feel the Burn

Here's how things are looking on Day 9:

Looking like a bad rash

Worst damage is on upper forehead and temples

I think I missed putting suncreen right over the moustache

I think there's less damage on top because of the previous Efudex treatment

The extent of sun damage on my forehead is a bit of a surprise. I originally mentioned Efudex to my dermatologist because of the AK on my left cheek, and she thought it would also be good for all of the noiticeable pink AKs on top of my head. But my forehead didn't look bad. I suggested using it there because I had seen a couple of keratin pillars growing out, and she just said "OK, if you want to." I think she'll be surprised by how much it "lit up" when I go back in 5 days.

I thought the "rash" was getting noticeable enough that I spoke up at a group meeting at work to say that 1) It's not an infectious disease; it's just a creme to remove sun damage and 2) It's probably going to look worse before it looks better.

Although I felt some tenderness on previous days, it's getting more noticeable now. Pulling a t-shirt over my head did not feel good! Tomorrow I'm doing a 200K bike ride and hoping that the helmet doesn't hurt too much. I'm actually doing the ride a week early partly because I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to stand the helmet in another week.