Sunbed Shock

It's so scary how quickly damage can be done. I work outside and I'm so vigilant about putting sun cream on or wearing UV protective clothing. It doesn't take much.

I got a melanoma on my hand from sitting in a pub garden. On one single occasion. We were sitting under a parasol but my right arm was exposed and got burnt. A mole appeared on my right hand, I noticed it but wasn't sure if it had always been there and I had just noticed it because it had gone a funny colour. But I found a picture of me the year before where I was holding a bottle of Oasis in my right hand and there was no mole. Two doctors said it was fine before I was finally referred, and luckily after initial removal confirmed it was malignant I had to have a wide excision and skin graft to make sure they had got it all. So in the end I was fine but I couldn't believe one sunburn experience had given me cancer. Fwiw mixing some aloe Vera gel with Ibuprofen gel is really good for sunburn.

Yes, get to A&E

The shaking and shivering are not good signs

OP you've taken account for being stupid by getting on the sunbed in the first place, please don't make a second stupid, irresponsible decision by listening to your mother's stupid, irresponsible 'advice'.

Sunbeds are still legal?! WTAF.... they will kill you. What are you doing?? Sunbeds, worse, sunburn from sunbeds alters your skin cell structure and you're at higher risk of developing melanoma than just normal sunburn or sun exposure. One of the quickest developing and most excruciating diseases out there. And if you're under 35 it's worse. You have a 75% higher risk of developing melanoma.

Never, ever do sunbeds again. Please.

Editing to be kinder. I'm so shocked anyone would still do these and I see others have posted stats. You need fluid, rest and aloe vera gel and you will be fine. I've lived in places where this is pretty common like a weekly thing from sun, not a big deal, and no scarring from blisters ever. Please, the biggest risk is skin cancer not a few days of discomfort. Don't do it.

@MissScarletInTheBallroomI live in a very middle class area and we have at least 2 within short walking distance (and possibly others within beauty salons) so I don’t think that it is class based. The maps of local
stores for the big chains shows them literally everywhere except for like the tip of Cornwall and outreaches of the highlands.

How are you feeling OP?

You are not the first to make a silly mistake and you won't be the last so don't beat yourself up too much once you're feeling better

I really hope you are feeling better

With whole body burns she may need blood tests and fluid replacement. That is the greater concern here. I think A&E better option than urgent care or minor injuries.

Hope you're ok OP

Yes - I’m sure you are quite right there. We have an urgent care service near by and honestly, I think most people in A&E are there because they can’t access other medical care. It’s a shocking waste of resources, but there you go.

Probably been said a million times in this thread but 20 mins is such an incredibly insane amount of time on a sunbed, even for someone who regularly uses them, that'd cause significant damage to them. I don't know how you're coping with it tbh - I went on a retubed stand up when i was younger, I had no idea what I was doing so just asked for 12 mins believing that'd be fine... I am very pale. It was absolutely excruciating within hours and I was tripping out, couldn't sleep & wanted to die. Took days to recover to a point where I could exist. God only knows how you're coping after 20 fucking minutes, jesus, I feel so so sorry for you.

I guess it depends if there is a centre near OP. 111 usually know where the best place is depending what is available and when they are open and advise accordingly. We are lucky to have a walk in place nearby, but a lot of towns don't have them. There was one attached to A&E in the next borough but they closed it.
My GP does e-consults and triage, but friends at the next practice along can't get an appointment. There is a huge variety in services.

@SansaStark90

If you haven't done so please go to A&E!

This happened to my mum and she ended up in the burns unit. She was so lucky that she didn't become seriously ill.

You made a silly mistake, don't beat yourself up but please get seen by a doctor

Excellent reaponse - ignore the twats! How are you today?

A&E is overrun with people who have minor injuries, burns unless vastly more serious, are usually attended to at urgent care centres, which means you are seen faster because the other cases there are unlikely to be life threatening. Because beds aren’t needed for minor injuries, which is time consuming, so not as simple as triage and an appointment with a doctor.

Sorry to hear you're going through this, I hope the pain subsides asap! Glad to see you've gone to a&e.
I haven't read the full thread so sorry if someone has mentioned this already, but as someone whose husband got melanoma at the age of 30, please check for suspicious lesions in the future. Getting sunburnt on a sun bed is a huge risk factor for getting melanoma. I wish they would ban sun bed shops :(
Use the ugly duckling method to detect as well as abcde (my husbands didn't conform to abcde so we didn't take it seriously for a while, had we know about the ugly duckling, we would have!!) x

No she hasn’t … 111 told her to go, but her mother told her no way should she go for sunburn so she didn’t go 🤷🏻‍♀️
Instead of listening to actual medical advice, she listened to her deranged mother.

OP, with respect, your mother is a bloody idiot. You need to go to A&E if you haven’t already. Fucking hell, how many times can people say it?

I hope you’re ok OP and getting appropriate care. None of us are infallible and it was just a mistake, which you obviously now regret. I’m sorry you’ve had so many unkind comments earlier on this thread, let’s hope all those making them are absolutely perfect in every possible way before they come on here to mock and deride someone else.

I have no idea. I am not an A&E doctor. But I do know that she potentially has serious burns and therefore should be seen and assessed by a qualified person.

Op, that was not your anxiety telling you to go to A&E. That was your common sense. Do not ignore it. Hope you are getting some medical attention.

I use sunbeds, the ones you stand up in. I start at 3 mins and work up to a max of 8. This is negligence, you must go back and inform them. I would go to an and e and you definitely aren’t over reacting.

I do hope she has gone. I missed the bit about her mum telling her not go.

Yeah, it doesn’t read to me like she went, but as you say it’s not very clear.

This was the final update from OP, it’s not really clear.

I’ve rang 111 and they’ve said a&e. I’ve had a heap of health problems. Spinal surgery etc. and not complained about the pain. I’m literally howling and deep breathing while shaking due to this pain. But I saw my mum today and she said no way do you go to a&e for a bit of sunburn. I may be an adult but she made me feel that silly that yes her opinion has put me off. So I posted on here hoping to hear the same and that my anxiety was telling me to go to a&e.

Really hope you went to hospital yesterday