MedDRA preferred term · skin reaction to sunlight

Photosensitivity reaction: adverse event reports recording this term

16,170 reports to FDA record it, 2004–2026; 0.1% of the database.

Read first · FDA's statement on these data

Adverse event reports submitted to FDA do not undergo extensive validation or verification. Therefore, a causal relationship cannot be established between product and reactions listed in a report. While a suspected relationship may exist, it is not medically validated and should not be the sole source of information for clinical decision making or other assumptions about the safety or efficacy of a product. Additionally, it is important to remember that adverse event reports represent a small percentage of total usage numbers of a product. Common products may have a higher number of adverse events due to the higher total number of people using the product. openFDA, FDA

FDA adds: "There is no certainty that the reported event (adverse event or medication error) was actually due to the product. FDA does not require that a causal relationship between a product and event be proven, and reports do not always contain enough detail to properly evaluate an event." The information in these reports "cannot be used to estimate the incidence of these events."

Do not rely on openFDA to make decisions regarding medical care. While we make every effort to ensure that data is accurate, you should assume all results are unvalidated.

Not medical advice. This site counts what was reported to FDA. Questions about a medicine or device belong with a pharmacist or clinician.

16,170
reports recording the term: 0.1% of all reports; 831
reports, 12 months to June 2026: 830 in the 12 months before; 63%
marked serious by the reporter: 57.4% across all reports; 1.8%
record death among outcomes, as reported: 9.1% across all reports

"Photosensitivity reaction" (in plain words, skin reaction to sunlight) is a MedDRA preferred term recorded in 16,170 adverse event reports received by FDA, 0.1% of the database, from January 2004 to June 2026. The term is chosen by whoever codes the report to match what the reporter described.

831 reports recorded it in the 12 months to June 2026, close to the 830 of the 12 months before. FDA releases FAERS data quarterly, so the newest months are incomplete and grow in later releases. Of reports recording this term, 63% are marked serious, 1.8% include death among the outcomes and 19.1% include hospitalisation, as reported.

The drugs listed most often as suspect products in those reports are Humira, Esbriet and Enbrel. That order mostly follows how many reports each drug has overall; the table also gives the term's share within each drug's own reports. FDA states that "a causal relationship cannot be established between product and reactions listed in a report" and that for any given report "there is no certainty that a suspected drug caused the event."

Reports by month, five years

FDA releases FAERS data quarterly, so the newest months are incomplete and grow in later releases.

Drugs listed as suspect products in these reports

Drug	Class	Reports with this term	Share of the drug's own reports
Humira	—	769	0.1%
Esbriet	Pyridone	628	1.8%
Enbrel	Tumor necrosis factor blocker	542	0.1%
Methotrexate	Folate analog metabolic inhibitor	483	0.2%
Dupixent	Interleukin-4 receptor alpha antagonist	472	0.1%
Voriconazole	Azole antifungal	454	3.4%
Doxycycline	Tetracycline-class drug	308	1.6%
Remicade	Tumor necrosis factor blocker	264	0.2%
Ciprofloxacin	Fluoroquinolone antibacterial	262	0.7%
Zelboraf	Kinase inhibitor	262	3.4%
Zejula	Poly(ADP-Ribose) polymerase inhibitor	228	1.5%
Prednisone	Corticosteroid	227	0.1%
Sulfasalazine	Aminosalicylate	216	0.5%
Orencia	Selective T cell costimulation modulator	208	0.2%
Xeljanz	Janus kinase inhibitor	202	0.1%
Actemra	Interleukin-6 receptor antagonist	198	0.2%
Rituximab	CD20-directed cytolytic antibody	178	0.1%
Rubraca	Poly(ADP-Ribose) polymerase inhibitor	171	2.1%
Plaquenil	Antimalarial	169	0.8%
Arava	Antirheumatic agent	167	0.5%
Vfend	Azole antifungal	166	2.5%
Leflunomide	Antirheumatic agent	150	0.4%
Vemurafenib	Kinase inhibitor	149	3.9%
Tacrolimus	Calcineurin inhibitor immunosuppressant	140	0.1%
Methotrexate sodium	Folate analog metabolic inhibitor	137	0.2%

Drugs with a page on this site, ordered by the number of their reports recording this term. The last column is the term's share within that drug's own reports, against 0.1% across the whole database. FDA states that adverse event reports "represent a small percentage of total usage numbers of a product", that "common products may have a higher number of adverse events due to the higher total number of people using the product", and that the data "by themselves are not an indicator of the safety profile of the drug or biologic."

By pharmacologic class

Class	Reports with this term	Share of class reports	Median drug in class
Kinase inhibitor	1,411	0.2%	0%
Tumor necrosis factor blocker	1,075	0.1%	0.1%
Pyridone	722	1.9%	2.3%
Azole antifungal	671	1%	0%
Folate analog metabolic inhibitor	629	0.2%	0%
Tetracycline-class drug	608	1.7%	1.6%
Corticosteroid	559	0.1%	0%
Poly(ADP-Ribose) polymerase inhibitor	537	1%	0%
Interleukin-4 receptor alpha antagonist	490	0.1%	0.1%
Antimalarial	418	0.5%	0.3%

Classes ordered by count. Class shares follow the class's overall report volume as much as anything else.

Patients in these reports

Patient age

Under 20.1%23

2 to 111.7%270

12 to 171.7%282

18 to 4416.9%2,735

45 to 6425.7%4,163

65 to 7412%1,938

75 and over6.7%1,079

Age not given35.1%5,680

Patient sex

Female55.4%8,963

Male34.8%5,623

Not given9.8%1,584

Grey bar: all 20,646,523 reports in the database. 57% of these reports give the United States as the country.

Questions about "Photosensitivity reaction"

What does "Photosensitivity reaction" mean in an adverse event report?

In plain language: skin reaction to sunlight. It is a MedDRA preferred term, the dictionary FDA uses to code what a reporter described. The report's own description is not published by openFDA and is not shown here.

How many reports record photosensitivity reaction?

16,170 reports through June 2026 (0.1% of all reports), 831 of them in the latest 12 months.

Which drugs appear most often in these reports?

Humira (769), Esbriet (628), Enbrel (542), Methotrexate (483) and Dupixent (472). Drugs with many reports overall lead almost every term's list. FDA states that adverse event reports "represent a small percentage of total usage numbers of a product", that "common products may have a higher number of adverse events due to the higher total number of people using the product", and that the data "by themselves are not an indicator of the safety profile of the drug or biologic."

Does a drug appearing here mean it was responsible for this reaction?

No. FDA states that "a causal relationship cannot be established between product and reactions listed in a report" and that for any given report "there is no certainty that a suspected drug caused the event."

I have this symptom. What should I do?

This site cannot assess anyone. A pharmacist or clinician can; for an emergency, call the local emergency number. Nothing on this page is medical advice.

Where this comes from. Counts are built from the openFDA Drug Adverse Event (FAERS) bulk export released 28 Sep 2026, which holds reports FDA received through 30 Jun 2026. Drug names are as reported, resolved to the brand or generic name on the FDA label where openFDA's harmonisation matched them; classes are the pharmacologic class (EPC) from the label and the National Drug Code Directory of 17 Sep 2026. Terms are pooled across spelling and capitalisation variants of one MedDRA preferred term. No report narrative, lot number, patient detail or reporter identity is published. See the methodology and sources; FDA's record is authoritative, and corrections are handled within five working days.

Drug data (FAERS) through 30 Jun 2026; device data (MAUDE) through 31 Aug 2026. Not medical advice.