Am I being a timewaster going to A&E?

[Antisun]

Hoping someone can help,

I’ve had a few episodes of reactions to sunburn. I obviously take all precautions - I wear SPF 50 and wear a big broad sun hat and am on strong antihistamines but in hot weather I’ll still occasionally burn and sometimes when I get even a little bit of burn on my face it reacts extremely badly. Usually it swells a bit around the area and then over the course of 24-36 hours there’s extreme redness and swelling. Last time it happened it was across my forehead, over my left eye and temple and down into my cheek. Eventually my eye swole completely shut and I couldn’t open. It’s also extremely red and basically looks like cellulitis except it’s not from an infection it’s just sunburn.

if the swelling isn’t around my eyes or throat I can manage it fine at home myself with antihistamines, but there’s been a few occasions where the swelling was so bad I went to A&E. this was on the advice of the GP/pharmacist etc because my eyes were swollen shut and on another occasion the swelling was spreading down to my throat.

but I’ve had really mixed responses in A&E. including a doctor once saying that I was wasting his time and that I just need to give the antihistamine more time to work, and on another occasion I was told there was nothing they could do and I just need to give it time to fix but on this occasion the swelling had spread under my chin and was getting close to my throat, so again I had been advised to go to A&E. but then on other occasions when it’s happened they’ve taken it really seriously and said I might have to stay on a ward until the swelling improves etc. it seems to be different each time I go and it’s left me a bit confused

Just wondering if anyone here is medical and could advise, should I be going to A&E when it flares up badly like this?! Obviously I don’t when the swelling isn’t near my eye and throat, but when it is I’ve always been told to go to A&E to get it checked. am I being a time waster? Obviously I’m on strong antihistamines and use extreme sun protection as a preventative but when it happens I genuinely don’t know what to do because the GP/pharmacist can’t fix it but A&E don’t want to help either so I’ve no clue now!

Tia x

Just to clarify aswell, it doesn’t happen every week, I’ve only had this reaction a few times over a few years, it’s just in the back of my mind as we get into summer and hotter weather so if it happens again I just want to make sure I know what to do, I don’t want to be a timewaster obviously x

This happened to me, and I went to A and E.
I was told I'd made the right decision.
You can't take risks with this kind of thing IMO.

Honestly I would be making sure I didn't burn at all. The highest SPF you can get and check the star rating, stay out the sun between 11-3 and/or find a shady spot outside

I'm a pale redhead and while I've caught my shoulders/neck/patch I've missed, I've always been cautious about my face and I've never burned

I'm really sorry to hear that that happens to you. It sounds really uncomfortable. I would be really interested to hear why such a dramatic reaction happens.

Sorry, I don't know about A&E but wanted to send sympathy.

Is your suncream in date? And are you buying ones specifically for sun allergy? I ask as I take a dreadful rash (thankfully not bad enough for A&E) but I buy new suncream every year, my skin does well with the Piz Buin sun allergy. I also take anti histamines and beta carotene. I take the BC from march through to October. This is a new addition and I feel it’s helping!

Yeah I honestly do all that. I only get burned by accident, for example, on rainy overcast days where I’ll be layered in clothes and SPF but obviously it’s not as effective in the rain and a tiny patch of my forehead got burned and then it all kicked off

i don’t regularly get burned thankfully and 99.9% of times I manage to avoid it but unfortunately it’s not possible to fully prevent it so just trying to make sure I know what to do if it does happen x

Thank you that’s very kind of you. Yeah I’ve always wondered why it happens as well tbh. Sometimes it doesn’t cause the reaction and other times it does. And if I ever get burned anywhere else (admittedly rarely that it happens but if it does) I never have the reaction, it’s only when it affects my head and neck it seems to happens me even then it’s only sometimes x

Yeah I do but that’s all really great advice thank you! Sorry to hear you’re affected by the sun too x

Ah that’s interesting! Do you mind me asking how they treated it and what they did when you went to hospital for it?

I would investigate the possibility of lupus. Sun induced rashes are part of it. They can be very severe. We have to completely stay out of the sun.

You must remember to reapply sunscreen at least every 4hrs when out in the sun.it is possible to prevent sunburn, you just have to be vigilant.

What treatment do A and E prescribe? If it was bad they gave me some thing that sorted it more quickly than time and anti-histamine then I would go. If they were just monitoring me then I wouldn't unless there was a risk it was going to be bad enough to affect my breathing.

This sounds like genuine sun allergy. Have you been diagnosed with this? It’s a potentially life-threatening condition and you DO need medical treatment immediately. (Often oral steroid medication or even oxygen support.) Speak to your GP about this. With a diagnosis you may even be able to get NHS support to purchase UV protective hats, clothing (not sexy, I know) and sunscreen.
If this is not a sun allergy, do you have a diagnosed illness like Lupus?
This sun sensitivity is more extreme than normal .

I would personally go to A&E if the swelling was really bad BUT... have you seen the GP again? Is there a plan to diagnose/treat whatever is causing this? Because it sounds horrible to have to live with the fear of this happening, and I'm thinking surely there's something that can be done?

Eucerin do an spf 100

if it's affecting your breathing/swallowing etc a&e would be appropriate.

4hrs? I have to apply every 30-60 mins of I burn. In 4hrs I’d be completely burnt.

What a stressful situation for you.

I think you need to get your GP to take it seriously and investigate the underlying cause so that you can be treated to prevent the reaction or, if that's not possible, have a "rescue pack" at home to manage the symptoms if you do have a reaction and an agreed threshold for seeking emergency care if home management isn't effective.

You need a parasol. Well a sun umbrella these days. https://www.solbari.co.uk/products/women-compact-sun-protective-umbrella-upf50?variant=40235443060838&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwu8uyBhC6ARIsAKwBGpQCRG2l_IGGTy2NFMQ1qMDL8vwiVK_dIOHk4UcixvPaN4wksmzGlGYaAkGSEALw_wcB

Adrenaline i/v and oxygen.

In my experience A and E can be very variable in the individual doctor's reaction unless the reason you are there is very obviously life threatening

I am severely disabled and regrettably have to go quite frequently and the individual doctors can be very variable.

On occasion I have had to speak to pals and they unfortunately had to speak to the doctor.

If you have a consultant/you know that you have a condition that will need emergency medical attention and you have been advised to go then do so,

I'm fairly immune to the telling off now (I say I'm very sorry but my consultant advised to attend A and E in these circumstances and I have condition X which is relevant)

I would say four hours is nowhere near often enough. I work outdoors and have to re-apply at least every two hours, but I often top up once an hour on my face as I sweat and don't know how well covered I am.

OP - are you wearing hats and clothing with built-in sun protection? I wear tops that have Factor 50 protection built into them - I'm sure you can buy hats etc. with the same technology.