Sunburnt on holiday and friend frustrated with me

Ok that’s you. Some people react differently…

30 minutes max in the sun and it hurts to walk a few days later?

Lucky you! I've got sunburnt in the uk after 1/2 hour - including blisters. Some of us are more sensitive to the sun than others.

I got badly burnt on my chest one year. I just kept applying after sun and kept that area of my body covered up for the rest of the week. Didn't stop me doing anything.

RobinEllacotStrike · Today 13:25

I'm having trouble believing someone could get BADLY sunburnt in 30 minutes wearing suncream. Sunburnt enough in 30 minutes to have this effect - it just doesn't make sense

I got badly burnt in Whitstable in April years ago in 30 minutes wearing spf 15! It was awful, lost half the skin off of my face over the next few days.

It's not unreasonable for her to be a bit miffed. But angry? That's a bit of an over reaction. It doesn't sound like you planned to do watersports with her, so I don't see why she can't go off on her own. As for long walks on the beach, it isn't as if you are joined at the hip fgs! I've had sunburned feet, and it hurts a lot; expecting you to hobble along just to keep her company is unreasonable. Neither of you would enjoy it.

These things happen. Where's her sympathy for you? She sounds selfish to me.

This is the first time the OP has experienced sunburn. Yes it's painful, but I can't help feel she's being a bit precious about it, given there's only so bad it can be after only 30m.

What a shame you're after getting burnt, it's miserable for everyone. Look all you can do is your best and hopefully you start feeling better soon .

I did get badly burnt on my shoulders one time and front of my legs due to skin changes in peri, I tried everything, after sun, aloe Vera, tea tree ,natural yoghurt, you name it and ended up seeing a doctor as the pain was awful, anyway I ended up using an actual burn cream, it eased the pain within hours with pain relief too and the redness went right down over night.

I'm having trouble believing someone could get BADLY sunburnt in 30 minutes wearing suncream. Sunburnt enough in 30 minutes to have this effect - it just doesn't make sense.

If the suncream was "faulty" or perhaps not applied in advance of sun exposure Maybe a bit of pink that would be uncomfortable for a day of 2, but that is all.

And yes I have fairly pale skin & I've had sun exposure all around the world in many different climates including NZ/Oz where there is no ozone protection and you get can get sunburnt quite quickly.

How sympathetic I would be to your friend and her views would depend on where you are holidaying, and if it is a place where a woman could visit somewhere alone without abuse/hassle or worse.

It is a genuinely unexpected thing though. Perhaps part of the cause of the OPs friend and her response is the extent to which holidays and experiences are built up to be so important.

I had a friend do this once, on our first day. With her though, she put cream on once in the morning and then despite me regularly suggesting she put more on, kept saying she was fine/would do it in a bit and as a result ended up scarlet from head to toe, unable to even tolerate clothes the next day, with sunstroke to boot. And meant the rest of our holiday was spent with her sitting in the shade/struggling to move/not wanting to go out in the evenings beyond a quick meal.

I was really pissed off because she did that to herself and wasn't even in the slightest bit apologetic, and just expected me to sit around with her.

Your situation sounds very different in that you took the necessary precautions, and you're not insisting she stays with you 100% of the time. So whilst I understand her frustration, it's no different to if you'd come down with an illness or broken your leg or something. She needs to suck it up and go and do the stuff she wants to do on her own.

I live in the Caribbean and I assume you're around this area for you to have a sun holiday. The sun here is incredibly fierce and it gets hot sooner than in Europe because we're closer to the equator I.e. in Spain it's still not too bad around 10 am on the beach but 10 am here is horribly hot already. So many pasty white tourists come here and get really badly burnt.Those of us who live here are usually in rash vests for a lot of the time.

Neither of you is unreasonable. Just a real shame all around.

Cover up, put some flip flops on and join her. Take some ibuprofen if you can, for the pain.

Agree with this. Any excuse for a bitchy pile on it seems.

Refund some of the cost, WTAF?!

You're getting a hard time here OP. It's not like you did it on purpose. Your friend is being unreasonable.

Sorry - that is a dangerous myth. Just because someone is “brown as a berry” from being in the sun does not mean they have “acclimatised”. It just means they have a lot of permanent sun damage. I have lots of older relatives in Australia who grew up running around in the sun, getting brown, and now many of them are dealing with skin cancer.

Makes me grateful for my friends, who are kind…

People on the this thread are being overly harsh and completely OTT.

Please people from non-hot countries realise that you have to apply probably at least twice the amount of sunscreen you are thinking you need. Double it.Triple it. A sarong is fab too, you can use it to cover yourself from the sun or lie on or wrap around your waist, or dry your hair, Best things .
Don't forget your rashie and a hat and sunscreen on your FEET!
It's like people in cold countries wouldn't go out without a scarf and a coat and boots etc. Just the same.
OP you will be fine I hope you have taken some ibuprofen or paracetamol and are lying in a cool bath drinking lots of water ( and maybe the odd wine). best wishes,

I can't believe there are so many miseries on this thread berating you and saying you should apologise, what fun they must be on holiday!

You’ve not read the OPs posts properly. Sunburn can be more severe and certainly is not all better the next day after ‘a touch of aftersun’! I doubt you’ve ever experienced proper sunburn if you think that’s the case.

The OP has burned her feet which is what is making it so difficult to get around. She is very clear that she still has been out by the pool and is up for planning excursions, has been out for dinner etc. OPs friend is a grown adult who is more than capable of doing water sports and activities on her own, the OP already made it clear she didn’t like water sports before the holiday!

Its no wonder the OP isn’t returning to the thread.

OP is still managing to go for dinner/drinks/to pool in shade. it’s not like she’s not doing ANYTHING.The only time she was ‘moping inside’ was the day after. Sunburn can be so nasty and can make you feel so unwell.

Why? There is nothing to indicate that the OP is employed as a paid companion or that her friend is covering the entire cost of the holiday.

Omg it was an accident! You applied a high factor and burnt from being in the sun for a short period of time…really unlucky and not your fault.

yes it’s annoying for your friend, but if I were her, I’d be understanding. She can still have a nice time doing some things without you and you can plan to do stuff together in a few days. It’s not a big deal..

if you have a bath in your room, try and oat bath. It will help the burns. Feel better soon!

I'm really struggling to understand how you've gotten so badly burned that you are literally incapacitated. I burn like a lobster if I'm not careful but a touch of aftersun and it's all better by the next day. She probably thinks you're being a bit dramatic staying in your room all day and refusing to do excursions tbh. If you don't want her to end the friendship the minute you return home I think you have to suck it up. Put loads of aftersun on, cover up, take paracetamol and antihistamines and stop moping about inside. This isn't just about you. It might well be your friend's only holiday this year and she's probably spent a fortune on it.