A three-year-old boy is ‘forced’ to stay inside all summer due to an ultra-rare sun allergy.
Cole Pugsley suffers from polymorphic light eruption (PMLE) which causes his skin to break out in painful rashes and blisters — even after just a few minutes in the sun.
But the condition, which is thought to affect about 10 per cent to 15 per cent of the UK population, has no cure.
It’s meant the toddler is unable to go on holiday abroad or even sit in sunlight streaming in from the window without suffering a painful reaction.
During the summer, mum Hanna-May Pugsley, 32 and partner, Ryan 30, have to take Cole and his brother, Dray, eight, out at 8am and make sure they’re home before 11am.
The three-year-old, Cole Pugsley, is unable to go on holiday’s abroad or even sit in sunlight from the window without suffering a painful reaction
During the summer, mum Hanna-May Pugsley, 32 and partner, Ryan 30, have to take him and his brother, Dray, eight, out at 8am and make sure they’re home before 11am
Cole Pugsley suffers from polymorphic light eruption (PMLE) which causes his skin to break out in painful rashes and blisters — even after just a few minutes in the sun. Typically it affects the areas of skin most exposed to sunlight, such as the head, neck, chest and arms, according to the NHS
‘Every time he goes out, even for five minutes, he flares up on any part of his body that’s exposed,’ said Ms Pugsley, a night porter, from Arbertillery, Wales.
‘He’s in a lot of pain and discomfort and gets a nasty rash. It could scar.
‘I dread hot weather. My mum calls to tell me if it’s going to be hot and instead of being excited I say: “Oh god, no”. It’s a nightmare.
‘Even if he’s in the car or sat on the sofa and the sun is coming in through the window – I have to keep him covered up completely.
‘He has to wear long trousers and sleeves so he really struggles in the heat.
‘There’s no cure. He takes antihistamines every day.
‘I have to arrange days out when it’s raining.
‘He can’t enjoy anything. He’s not going to be able to experience the summer.
‘It’s changed the way we think about everything. We wanted to go to Spain in September, but that’s going to have to change.
‘Abroad holidays are completely off the cards until he’s older and he can make decisions for himself.
‘I won’t be putting him in an uncomfortable position.
‘Rather than going on holiday to a sunny place, we’ll have to go somewhere cold in the colder season.
‘It’s lucky we live in Wales. If we lived anywhere hot, he’d really suffer.’
The allergy is triggered by exposure to sunlight or artificial ultraviolet (UV) light. It’s thought this alters a substance in the skin, which the immune system reacts to, resulting in the skin becoming inflamed.
It causes an itchy burning rash that can appear within hours of exposure and lasts up to two weeks.
Some people get blisters that turn into larger, dry patches that look like eczema others get raised red spots.
Typically it affects the areas of skin most exposed to sunlight, such as the head, neck, chest and arms, according to the NHS.
Cole was diagnosed with PMLE in June 2024, when he developed hives after just ten minutes of playing in the garden.
Ms Pugsley said: ‘Every time he went in the garden or to the park, within ten minutes, he would come out in a nasty red rash and sometimes it would blister.
‘He’d get really hot and grizzly.
‘I had a suspicion it was something to do with the sun.
‘His dad didn’t believe it because he didn’t know it was a thing, [but] being his mother, I knew.
‘I took him to the doctor and they said it was PMLE.’
The allergy is triggered by exposure to sunlight or artificial ultraviolet (UV) light. It’s thought this alters a substance in the skin, which the immune system reacts to, resulting in the skin becoming inflamed
The family have decided to trade in their trip to the sunny Spanish coast for a getaway to Scotland instead
The family organise trips to the aquarium and avoid outdoor activities. They even arrange days out when it is raining
Cole’s grandad has built a summerhouse in the family’s garden so that he can play outdoors with his brother
Now, the family have decided to trade in their trip to the sunny Spanish coast for a getaway to Scotland instead.
Cole’s grandad has built a summerhouse in the family’s garden so that he can play outdoors with his brother.
Ms Pugsley added: ‘The difficulty is applying sun cream and keeping a hat on a three-year-old.
‘We have to bribe him with treats to get him to take his antihistamines.
‘We have to take him to indoor adventure parks, but I feel bad for Dray when the weather’s nice.
‘We have to do indoor activities like going to the aquarium.
‘They’ve got new electric scooters that we can’t take them out on.
‘He wants to be out playing. My dad built a summerhouse for him and they had a water fight but he had to stay in there.
‘We used to take Dray to the beach every couple of weeks, but Cole hasn’t really been.’
