To be worried sick about this!

[sunispoison]

On a family holiday last year my young adult DD had a bad reaction. We sought help and it was diagnosed as sun poisoning. She wasn’t even particularly badly burnt (she wears SPF 50 and avoids the sun anyway) however her body had a huge reaction to the little sunburn she had. I’ve never seen anything like it before- her face was swollen beyond belief from the top of her forehead all the way down to her chin. She was swollen so badly that her eyes were closed over and she couldn’t see properly. It was diagnosed as sun poisoning and she was given antibiotics and antihistamines which didn’t particularly take it away and it gradually improved over a week or so. It’s never happened again although that was the last holiday we went on.

We are going away next month and she is worried sick about it happening again. She has spoken to her GP who advised taking along antihistamines and putting on SPF 50 all over her including her face and scalp, however she did this last time and it didn’t prevent nor stop the reaction. She is fair skinned and avoids the sun as she doesn’t want her skin to age. Although she was embarrassed of the facial swelling it was harmless itself, however she is worried sick that her eyes will swell over again, or more seriously that her neck and throat will start to swell. She was told last time that she was extremely lucky this hadn’t happened as throat swelling can obviously be very serious. Last time the swelling extended slightly under her chin and she was aware of it when she was swallowing. She was told it could happen again and is terrified of next time the swelling being on her throat.

She is worried sick about it and it is ruining the build up to her holiday. Please, does anyone have any advice?

They didn’t judge, they asked you why you were going. Judging is more like ‘you’re a terrible mother for allowing this.’ They asked a reasonable question based on the information you chose to give. I wondered the same thing but didn’t judge, I just wondered why you’d book another sunny holiday going on the last one, didn’t think much else of it; I didn’t judge you either.

Anyway, as I said, hope the holiday goes well and you all enjoy yourselves.

Was the reaction a year ago the first time it’s happened? Was it accompanied with horrific pain inside the body too and tingling extremities? What was she like as a child when she’d been exposed to sunlight?

Look at the emoji posted by the first person who asked why on earth we were going. I felt judged and im pretty sure anyone else would too. I can’t be bothered with this anymore as like I said, it wasn’t why I made this post.

thank you.

OP please ignore the twats who feel it is their god given right to judge and bring nothing to the table.
Has your GP suggested that your daughter starts antihistamines before your holiday?
Secondly I would look into mineral
based factor 50 sunscreen Coola do an excellent range, and without the heavy synthetic chemicals that can inflame the skin further.

I hope you have a great holiday

I'm allergic to wasps and carry an epi pen.

I can't avoid seeing a wasp in summer but what I don't do is sit next to a wasp's nest because that would be inviting trouble.

If I purposefully sought out and sat next to a wasps' nest and was stung then I would expect people to judge my recklessness at best and stupidity at worse.

So, I can't avoid wasps but I take pains not to put myself in the way of them because that would be, you know, dumb.

Yes- It was the first time anything like that has ever happened to her. I don’t think she had any pain or tingling- she said she felt otherwise well. As a child she burned but not particularly badly, especially given how fair skinned she is. She never had any reactions or problems like this.

The UV swim stuff is a must. You can get some really cool surfer style ones.

That’s very helpful, i’ll tell her to move into the basement all summer where there’s absolutely no sunlight at all. if she stays at home in London the temperatures are just as hot as abroad.

And your comparison is, as you so eloquently put it, ‘dumb’, since I’ve mentioned in a previous post that she was told it wasn’t an anaphylactic reaction like yours is. You are comparing different things. Maybe read all the posts before being so nasty, eh?

Thank you very much. It’s such a relief to have some kind, non sarky commenters here! 😀

That’s fantastic I’ll recommend that mineral SPF to her when I speak to her tomorrow. Yes, she was recommended to start them in the weeks leading up to the holiday.

thank you very much again for your advice (and for being non judgemental!)

That’s brilliant! I’ll let her know tomorrow. She was covering her skin with clothing but not specifically UV blocking clothing (I didn’t even realise it was a thing!) so that absolutely sounds like a great idea. Thank you very much for your suggestion.

Not sure if it's been mentioned as it's late, but
Is she on any medication that makes her react and burn more easily? I can't remember what I was on once, but Def was supposed to stay out of the sun 🙄

I hope she can see her GP before she travels.

I just can't remember what it was or why. Not a pregnancy thing... Sorry no idea.

There's my useless post for you 😭

St John's wort?

St. John's wort can also make the skin overly sensitive to sunlight, called photodermatitis. If you have light skin and are taking St. John's wort, wear long sleeves and a hat when in the sun, and use a sunscreen with at least SPF 15 or higher.

I don't think she would have to live in a basement would she.

You seem pretty snippy and that's because I think you know what she/you are proposing isn't very smart.

If going on holiday-and you specifically say that you are worried about a holiday nest month-not general summer living (you have only said that when posters questioned the sense of going on holiday) could lead to a risk of death (her throat closing up) then yes, you and she are silly to potentially risk her life because she doesn't want to miss out or be different from her friends.

You can't be that "worried sick" because you would be asking her to not put herself in a position of heightened danger. You clearly think the risk is worth it, so just get on with it and take your chance.

Luckily, neither I nor my daughter would think her life worth risking because she didn't want to be different from her friends. Your daughter is an adult-she thinks it is worth possibly dying for-she knows the risks, let her get on with it.

I would be fucking angry with her.

Ok, I only ask as my husband has a rare condition called Erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) which we simply describe as an ‘allergy to the sun’. It usually is present from childhood but there are cases that onset in adulthood. BUT when he has had too much sunlight exposure he is in incredible pain and feels extremely unwell. As a child his skin bubbled and blistered which led to septicaemia and he almost died. That is what led to his diagnosis.

It was your description of the swelling that made me think about EPP being a possibility but because your daughter felt well, I’m not sure it could be. It may be worth reading up about to see what you think. My husband has to wear protective clothing, even down to gloves as his hands are very badly affected. It is an awful condition to live with and very very restrictive. He can’t play with our children during the summer months, he’ll try for a few minutes at a time but can feel the burning pretty immediately which can lead to being bedridden in agony for days afterwards.

We can’t holiday freely or do days out without him hopping from one patch of shade to another.

He wears UVA/B protective clothing and normal everyday sunscreen does not work. He has a prescription one called Dundee cream which is two tubes you mix together to create a foundation like product that he must wear. It looks ridiculous and ruins all his clothing. He gets pretty down during the summer.

He was told there would never be a cure during his lifetime but exciting things are happening currently and there are 3 products currently trialing in America and somewhere else (I forget where) that allow people with EPP to be in the sunlight without reacting. It is incredible! Yet it currently costs thousands of pounds. We are hoping desperately that one day it will become accessible to him or he can get into a clinical trial.

Sorry that went off on a tangent but if I had never met my husband I still wouldn’t know about EPP due to its rarity so I always like to mention it to others who present with similar symptoms.

Good luck to your daughter in finding something that works for her and I truly hope it isn’t EPP she has.

I beg to differ, you’ve obviously never been to Scotland in July, wet and dull.

I don't know whether you missed this before or just felt it was pointless advice. Either way, it sounds as though she's very keen on anti-aging but it is imperative that she doesn't use other products on her skin if she's going out in the sun. If she must use cleanser, moisturizer, etc. in the morning, then she needs to wash them off thoroughly with warm water before applying sunscreen, or she risks leaving a combination of chemicals on her skin which may be activated by the sun/heat.