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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To not want to go on a hot holiday again

78 replies

CaramelEmporium · 17/08/2019 07:29

Because what I assume is heat rash has ruined it for me? I have spent just about every night and part of the day scratching myself like some demented chimp. As a result I’m tired and grumpy. It’s not even that hot, probably about 28 degrees. I look round the pool at other smooth glistening tanned folk and I’m so envious. I’m just not made for heat am I? How do others cope with it.

OP posts:
origamiunicorn · 17/08/2019 08:26

Sorry for the hijack OP. I think heat rash can be treated in a similar way to prickly heat, do even if it's not prickly heat, applying the tips given here should help 😊

TSSDNCOP · 17/08/2019 08:34

Step 1 is to visit the pharmacy. They may be more effective antihistamines.

Step 2 buy a sponge (natural sea sponge for the environment virtue signallers amongst us) and make sure you get all the sunscreen off every night.

Step 3 mine is worse if I put stuff ON it, so I avoid after sun, moisturiser etc and if you can’t stay out of the sun under a lovely umbrella or palm tree then use kids sun lotion as it tends to be better for sensitive skin.

AnnaMagnani · 17/08/2019 08:36

2 weeks in the sun is the norm

Only if you want it to be. Loads of people have UK holidays with their kids, my SIL has had their main holiday in Cornwall, in Skye, in Centreparcs. Or just in less hot places - Normandy, Holland.

They get out and do stuff instead of being on a beach. Which is how I remember my summer holidays as me and my DM are extremely pasty and would die in hot climes, so we went somewhere less hot and explored it.

Holidays have to work for the parents - if you are miserable with your skin, the whole holiday is going to be awful.

ImpracticalCape · 17/08/2019 08:36

@ToTryThisJustOnce I also hope you don't have children. They create 120 times more carbon a year than a return transatlantic flight.

ImpracticalCape · 17/08/2019 08:39

It's prickly heat. Horrible but essentially it's the sweat trying to get out of blocked pores. I get it on my chest and unfortunately I live in a hot country.
Cold cold flannels
Don't use sun cream for the next few days on that arean just cover up.

Frazzledbutcalm · 17/08/2019 08:42

Definitely prickly heat OP. I used to get horrendous prickly heat ... OUT OF A 14 day holiday I’d spend 4 days outside and 10 indoors in an air conditioned room. Awful.

My GP now prescribed steroid cream for me BEFORE I go on holiday so I take it with me .. definitely helps clear it up.

However, after posting on here many years ago I was recommended Ultrasun sports gel as a sun lotion. BEST thing I’ve ever used! It’s very very easy to apply, much easier than sun cream. Your skin breathes instead of clogging ... I’ve NEVER had prickly heat since! It’s expensive but has absolutely changed my holidays abroad. More than worth the cost of it.

bbcessex · 17/08/2019 08:44

Such a shame, OP. What an absolute bummer.

I've stared to get heat-related acne... first happened when in Majorca, quite mild, then full blown when we went somewhere hotter.

Ended up in hospital with an infected face , not the relaxed, holiday clothed, going out to eat-type break I was hoping for.

It is so disappointing to look forward to something and end up with a condition - I really really feel for you.

I now have antibiotics I take for 3 months before going anywhere particularly hot... can you see a doctor and get something too?

Tonnerre · 17/08/2019 08:49

I've decided Never Again in terms of holidays in hot places irrespective of the heat rash issue. I hate it when you go outside and the heat hits you, when you're sweating with every step, and even when there's a breeze it's a hot, humid one. The thought of lying out in the sunshine, or even under and umbrella in this conditions, is completely uninviting.

itsabongthing · 17/08/2019 08:49

Sorry to hear this OP and hope it passes soon.

But also - thank you for posting as it has helped me a little as I sit here in France in th pouring rain on our campsite thinking we should have gone on a ‘hot’ holiday, it would have been perfect!

CassianAndor · 17/08/2019 08:53

Caramel two weeks in the sun hasn’t been my norm for at least 20 years. I get very hot and bothered in anything much over 25.

DD is 9 and has never been abroad. She loves our UK holidays - as long as there’s sea, plenty of outdoor space and chips she’s happy.

Give it a try! Tip is to go at the beginning of the holidays when the weather is better. We always go 2nd week of the hols and might have 1 or 2 bad days but with the right mindset it isn’t a disaster.

BarbaraofSeville · 17/08/2019 08:57

Are you by the sea? DP has sensitive skin that reacts to all sorts of things, but he finds that swimming in the sea (not a pool, as the chemicals makes things worse) helps due to the salt and the cooling effect of the water, even if it is quite warm.

Then followed by a shower and application of aloe vera based aftersun.

ssd · 17/08/2019 09:04

Op, did you get a bit if sun on your skin when you hadn't got any suncream on? I'm asking as the only time I got a bad prickly heat rash with raised bumps was on holiday in the UK this year, didn't think to use suncream and ended up all rashes!!

ssd · 17/08/2019 09:06

We were on a city break to Liverpool and I just didn't pack the suncream, turned out lovely and I got heat rash!!!

georgialondon · 17/08/2019 09:07

@CaramelEmporium Piz Buin allergy sun cream solved this for me overnight.

gingerscot · 17/08/2019 09:07

I second using kids sensitive sunscreen. I have similar skin to you and it’s allergy to sunscreen.

scarecrowhead · 17/08/2019 09:07

My ds has started with this, anti histamines and hydrocortisone cream helps.

georgialondon · 17/08/2019 09:07

It's definitely prickly heat in the photo.

Jayaywhynot · 17/08/2019 09:08

Ask one of the locals for any tips, in Greece one year a staff member advised I put natural yogurt on blistered sunburn, it worked. Or pop into a pharmacy if you're in or near a village. Be prepared to be told to stay out of the sun, locals tend to think we're all crazy for laying out in it all day

wigglybeezer · 17/08/2019 09:11

I don't get the comments like:
"Not what the OP was asking but ok. Hope you don't drive a car"
Does that poster mean you shouldn't make ANY life choices based on being green unless ALL your life choices are green.? You wouldn't apply that kind of logic to other areas of your life like fitness or diet or saving money.
Some flights have the same carbon cost as a whole year of driving so unless I was driving two cars at once all year my carbon debt is still better not flying as much as possible.

Notaboxer · 17/08/2019 09:13

Dettol soap changed my prickly heat woes.

I’d nip back to room every cpl of hours and scrub my prickly heat with a shower doofer thingy lathered in dettol soap. Takes the sting right out of it.

I also don’t bother with sun cream at all on my back where I usually get it- anything seems to set it off so I leave it without cream but covered

Rayn · 17/08/2019 09:15

You poor thing. We have just come back from Spain and a heatwave and one of my children had this. Loads of cold water and keeping that part of the body out of the sun seemed to do it.

I was so looking forward to my holiday and this time found it too hot. I think I am one of these people who like the planning and idea of a holiday but don't enjoy it when I am there. However the kids and the husband love it so I will go.
Just decided though I am never going in August again!!

Choufleur · 17/08/2019 09:16

You may be allergic to the reaction to your sweat and suntan lotion. I can only use one brand without getting a heat rash on my arms. It’s fucking miserable isn’t it. Avoid putting loads of lotions and potions on it. Take antihistamines. Use something like eurax to stop the itching.

UniversalAunt · 17/08/2019 09:16

Huge sympathies here.

I developed PLE a few years ago & ditto comments above to manage the situation. At first I thought it was prickly heat but the rash is triggered by sun exposure & follows a consistent pattern.

However, for now.

Don’t scratch. Certainly not with your nails.
If you need the relief of a scratch, try covering the itchy area with a clean towel & running the knuckles of your fist over it. You satisfy the urge to itch without scratching the skin. Taking oral anti-histamine will really help with the itching.

Anti-histamines - I find Loratadine once-a-day good enough & Boots own brand is often on offer in the summer months. Don’t hesitate to ask your GP (yes, show pictures) to prescribe something stronger if the standard Loratadine dose is not strong enough. I now take it through the summer months for nasal allergies AND as a preventative for PLE.

Avoid direct sunlight on areas of your body that are affected. For me its my legs. I have gone from bare legged summers of yore to minimal exposure & slathered in SPF 30 before baring my legs otherwise the rash comes up with a vengeance. If I miss a bit when I put the cream on, the rash will appear there so I now carry a handbag size tube of SPF50 cream in case I cannot find shade. This seemed excessive at first - more junk to cart about - but avoiding the allergic reaction is well worth it.

Avoid skin products with PABA & perfume in ingredients. Good quality hypo-allergenic skin products will not have these ingredients but check the contents every time you buy them.

Wear loose light natural fabrics so your skin can breathe & wash with non-bio detergents. Fairy & Persil non-bios are the go-tos on the supermarket shelf.

Aloe Vera gel is good for calming the worst of the raging prickling, you can slap it on as much & as often as you need.

LoafofSellotape · 17/08/2019 09:16

but I don’t want to deprive the rest of the family a sunny holiday and 2 weeks in the sun is ‘the norm’ isn’t it

Is it?Confused

I get this but only with certain sun creams.

Beelee · 17/08/2019 09:19

I had this one year and it really ruined it for me too. The next time I went I used Ultrasun and it worked wonders