Sunburnt on holiday and friend frustrated with me

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I am currently on a resort style beach holiday with a friend.

I stupidly got badly sunburnt on the first day, despite applying sun cream. I know I am stupid so please don’t turn this into a lecture on sun protection, I already have a lot of regrets.

It’s still quite painful and red a couple of days later, although I think it’s slowly healing. My feet are the most badly burnt and any significant walking really does hurt. I stayed in the room for a day but now I’m venturing outside to sit covered up in the shade.

My friend is growing increasingly frustrated by me not wanting to do any fun stuff. She wants to go on long beach walks and try out all the water sports activities. I really don’t want to given the pain I’m in and how much of a terrible idea it is for me to go out in the sun again. I am a little upset because this holiday was expensive and I feel like I’ve ruined it for both of us.

AIBU to tell her that she needs to do these activities alone if she wants to do them? I feel bad for abandoning her but I need to put my health and comfort first.

Also if anyone has suggestions for what to do in this scenario, please let me know! Given we’re at a resort, there aren’t many indoor cultural activities (e.g. museums) to fall back on

Burning that badly after 30 minutes with cream on seems both unlikely and unlucky. I have badly burnt a number of times when I was younger but it was never after 30 minutes- normally while snorkelling or swimming. Now I never swim without a rash vest in hot countries. It’s been an absolute game changer.

If the OP has genuinely burnt that badly in 30 minutes she’ll need to take more care any time she’s on holiday in the future and needs to cover up/stay in the shade for the rest of the holiday. Burn on burn would be very bad.

It's easily done. I'm a sun cream fiend but got burned in Barbados because I used factor 30 when I needed 50. Lost 2 days of holiday but it quickly healed after that.

Pure aloe vera if you can get some is like a miracle. Is there anywhere you could buy some Sol Bari type swim wear? I wore that for the rest of the holiday.

As long as you stay in the shade uou will be able to ho with her and watch the water sports.

I know you said you're leaving the thread, OP, but if you're in the Canaries you can hire mobility scooters so you can go for 'walks' and shopping at least. Or maybe you could book a sightseeing coach tour or boat trip for whale-watching? Some include stops for swimming and snorkelling which you could join in with if you cover up.

I am going to switch off from this thread now as to be honest it’s making me feel terrible (which I’m sure many of you will be glad to hear, given I should feel awful for years for this horrific crime). It was ultimately a costly mistake and while I do feel like an idiot for it, I’d rather now focus on making the best out of the holiday and doing as much as I can to make sure both of us have a good time.

Seems a bit silly to start a thread asking people to give opinions on a specific issue and then getting upset when they do 🙄

Could you go swimming but just be well covered up with hat and rash vest etc? The sea water could actually be quite healing for your sore skin, cool salty water should help ease the burn a bit.

Also don't be tempted to risk getting burnt again (sounds like you definitely aren't but anyway) - my sunburnt friend decided on the last day of her holiday she wanted to go in the sun again, albeit with lots of cream on. She burnt so badly she ended up with horrendous blisters and had to go to hospital. Surely your friend doesn't want you to end up like that.

Exactly! I am a pale Irish person who has only lived in Oz for a decade, so my skin hasn’t had that long to acclimatise.I don’t burn though, unless I mistakenly miss a bit when I am liberally applying vast amounts of factor 50. I also have lots of big hats and sunnies! There is a lot less sunburn here, but a lot of skin cancer, you have to be careful.The worst burn I ever had was on a hot and windy Portuguese beach when I was a teenager, probably using factor 6 or something stupid, because that’s what you did in the 80s, so I do sympathise!

It’s a good idea if you are on holiday somewhere hot to apply sunscreen before getting dressed. That way you don’t miss anywhere including the bits normally covered by swimwear that often get burnt when the swimwear moves. If you don’t do this, by the time you’ve been sitting outside eating breakfast, walked to the pool/beach and found somewhere to sit it might be too late.

I am also one of those people who burn wearing factor 50.

I can understand why your friend is annoyed to be fair but you did not choose to get burnt.

Hopefully you will find a mid ground that will allow you both to enjoy the rest of your holiday.

Why can't your friend do things on her own for a few hours? Is she a toddler?

Presumably she went on holiday with you, rather than alone, so that she didn't have to do all the activities etc by herself. I can see why she's pissed off - I think I would be too, and I actually quite like doing things on my own!

I don't understand why your friend can't just do the water sports etc alone. You guys can meet up to do meals in the shade or inside. Or when she does feel like relaxing, she can meet you while you sit in the shade and she can sit in the sun if she wants. On holiday I like sitting in the shade, but anyone who wants to sit in the sun can sit in the sunny spot, while i sit in the shade (all you have to do is move the umbrella or sit close to a tree).

As others I can't see how you got so burnt in 30m in factor 50

So you literally sat in the sun for 30m then burnt and went inside ?

Sure you were out in sun for much longer

You have to re apply suncream. Esp if that hot assume been in the pool

I'm fair but do tan but I do start off with minimum of 30 but often 50 as that's what i put on my daughter 7

She never goes below 50 and always comes back with a tan. Never burns as I re apply lots

You were silly to burn but it's happened

I can understand why you friend is pissed off as you planned stuff to do no doubt and it's not as fun on your own

Cover up. A hat. Apply high factor and stay in Shade and join her

Evenings should be ok so go to some nice restaurants

Hire a car or book a coach trip

If you say where you are sure some can advise what things to visit

Aloe Vera and plenty of water. No balms/lotions/moisturisers/barrier creams, as this only traps the heat and worsens the burn. You probably have sunstroke too, ya poor bugger. It’s no fun at all, and certainly won’t be helped by a guilt-trip. Feel better soon X

I think you just have to suck it up to be honest, in the same way that you have to power through a hangover if it's going to ruin someone else's day.

Cover up in light cotton/linen clothes, buy some footwear that doesn't irritate your feet if necessary and get on with the activities you've planned. You might not enjoy them as much as you would have but it's not fair to ruin it for your friend.

Be careful if you imagine that factor 100 is somehow "twice as good" as factor 50.

Factor 50 is called 50 because lets 1/50 of the UV through, so it blocks 98%. Factor 30 lets 1/30 through and blocks 3.33%. Factor 100, if you can get it, blocks 99%. If you have the kind of skin where 98% versus 99% is going to make a difference, you should probably be fully covered up anyway. You can never hit every square inch, and some people apply a lot more cream than others per handful.

In one of OP's later posts she says she was only in the sun for 30 minutes with factor 50. That is the equivalent of 36 seconds with no protection. I think it's possible that she was not being overgenerous with the handfuls. 🙏

If you can get hold of some 8 hour cream, once the heat has gone out of your skin it is absolutely amazing for taking down the redness and soreness- put it on overnight and it should sort it enough that you can carry on the next day (obviously you then have to cover up the burnt skin and keep it out of the sun, or it’ll just get worse). Get yourself a rash vest (tshirt if nothing else), shorts and baseball cap and wear them in the sea, and stay under the umbrella on the beach.

She’s rightfully annoyed. Very foolish of you.

Same has happened to my friend in Tenerife at the moment OP, hot winds have had a different effect to usual on his skin
You did what you could, it's a shame but I've had sunburnt feet and it's so painful so you can't be doing painful things. She'll have to do things alone

I see people with expensive designer sunscreen applying it lime it was liquid gold.

Probably not as that comment was posted 2 hours before the OP posted about her feet.

The OP said her feet are the most badly burnt part in the very first post

Make it up to her? Absurd. Things happen . She needs to make the best of it. Either if you could have gotten norovirus or covid. Holidays aren’t a magical time/space where nothing bad ever happens.

This site https://www.omnicalculator.com/everyday-life/sunscreen-amount says I would need 400ml for 4 hours lying in the sun per day over 6 days. I'll go to Lidl, I think.