Sunbed Shock

[SansaStark90]

I’ve been really stupid and gone on the sunbed for twenty minutes and the burns I’ve got - I’ve never seen skin as red. I’ve got like indents to my skin as though I’ve woken to stretch marks on my chest. Will these disappear? I’m in agony. I’ve never burnt and so didn’t know it could cause this kind of pain. I’m shaking shivering. I did this yesterday. Can someone reassure my health anxiety that these indents will all calm down?

I hope the pain eases up soon OP, this all sounds horrendous.

And please don't feel you can't go back to A&E if you think you need to. Doctors are not infallible.

Sounds painful. I’ve had sunstroke before and what they suggest is to have a luke warm shower and then stand in the shower and let the water drip off you so you’re pretty much dry. I’m sure it’s supposed to lower the body temp. X

Has nobody suggested you take some diaralyte for rehydration. I'd have thought that would be helpful, along with the codeine for the pain and possibly a cool fan. Probably 48 hours resting in/on the bed.

Are you actually blistering or is it peeling bubbles.

It sounds most unpleasant and I can only imagine the discomfort having only burnt my shoulders or back previously.

You shoukd have had better medical care but I also think this is an example of when the NHS should levy a charge.

I am half Jewish (Ashkenazi mainly). Brown eyed but brown rather than dark hair and fair skinned. But I go very brown, very easily.

@SansaStark90 PURE ALOE VERA GEL.
you can get it from boots/superdrug etc. this will help massively - creams will be full of fragrances etc. AG best thing you can use, avoid it on broken skin. it is antibacterial as well as cooling & hydrating.

electrolytes for rehydration too x

Pls don’t go on them. You’ll regret it when you’re older. Hope you feel better soon. Put it down to a lesson in in life. I went on them as a teenager/early 20s and have had skin cancer. They shouldn’t be allowed.

Cool baths/showers and a plain moisturiser like aqueous cream can help soothe your skin.

Aqueous should only be used as a soap, not a moisturiser.

This. Apply every few hours. Will cool and soothe the skin. You've damaged your skin very badly and need to ensure it heals properly.

Reading previous posts - OP - NO CREAMS!!! too heavy and Fragrances/too many ingredients will irritate. Skin needs to breathe and be clean/ hydrated, you need a GEL.

Being a debate lord who wants to minimise the negative effects of subbed is certainly an interesting choice.

Im Australian, we do tomatoes too. I remember mum doing it when my sister fell into hot bath. All over burns.

Burns are measured through skin loss, not redness. No one can say you’ve got
‘second degree burns’, that terminology isn’t even used in the UK. It’s all about the skin loss to assess depth and size. Either way, please go back.

Eat loads of tomatoes. Put aloe vera and/or olive oil all over your skin. Drink plenty of fluids - if you have hydrating salts add them to your water. Keep warm - and dock and bay towel may be good if you have one. It keeps off the chill without overheating you.

Call 111. You have 2nd degree burns.

Good luck.

The shop should be reported tbh but you've enough on without doing that right now.

Sunbeds are illegal in Australia. Very good reason -melanoma.

Op, when better you should take your photos to the sun bed place because honestly it was their responsibility to warn and monitor. They’ve been grossly negligent. These things are illegal in Australia because of the cancer risk.
the reason this is such a big deal burn wise is because it’s so much of your skin. Your skin is your body’s biggest organ, and it regulates a lot of your temperature etc. Now a lot of it is damaged, so your body is both injured and the rest of it is struggling to manage without your skin doing its job. If you had the same burn on a few square inches the rest of you would be fine. I’m sorry you’ve been fobbed off by Doctors. If your temp gets worse or any sign of infection in the burn go straight to A&E.

She’s been to A&E. Doctor couldn’t understand her so he gave her codeine and sent her home. She said she’s going back.

Germaloids pile cream, it contains lidocaine which will at least numb the pain & the other ingredients are anti inflammatory which should help with the redness & swelling.

Aloe vera gel. We can't keep saying it enough. If you can find a plant, even better.

But bloody hell I hope you're feeling better in the morning.

Please don't be hard on yourself though. Remember some have higher risk factors than others and melanoma can develop anywhere on the skin, especially in areas with little to no sun exposure, as a result of sun exposure elsewhere. I think you're blessed you persisted and caught it early. Now you can keep yourself safe through regular checks and care in the sun, as we should all do 🙏

You'll eventually recover from this. But your biggest threat is malignant melanoma. It could take 10, 20 years to develop so you need to be extra vigilant of any changes to moles, new moles appearing or any other changes to your skin during that time. Visible changes to moles can be quite gradual so it may be difficult to notice. Take photos of all existing moles to compare later down the line or even better go for a skin check and have them all photographed.

Many British people don't think about melanoma as being a threat to them but trust me it is. My 12 year old son had to have the top part of his ear cut off due to it (stage 0 or in situ) and I had to have a 3in x 2in oval shaped part of my calf cut off (stage 2) and then at my next skin check, some of my shin cut off (stage 0). All this within the space of 4 months.

Stage 0, 1 and 2 are fairly simple to treat with surgery.
Stage 3 and 4 though, if it gets this far, life is not easy.

• Stage 0 (In Situ): 99.9% 5-year survival.
• Stage I: 89-95% 5-year survival.
• Stage II: 45-79% 5-year survival.
• Stage III: 24-70% 5-year survival.
• Stage IV: 7-19% 5-year survival.

Your post which seems to play down the risk of melanoma is extremely dangerous and quite frankly stupid.
NOBODY SHOULD LISTN TO YOU!

The overall survival rate is around 94% which is relatively high. However that's only because it's the easiest cancer to detect at it's early stages. Changes to moles etc that are visible. Once it's at stage 3 or 4, it spreads rapidly and is difficult to treat. Even at stage 2, the wide area excision can be large and even with skin grafts, you're still left with scars.

These are what I'm left with after being diagnosed with stage 2 melanoma and then stage 0 in a different place.

@bloominnora Stop. Anyone can copy and paste Google stats, not to mention manipulate for their own cause and ego. You are minimising sunburn, sunbeds, and the utter brutality of melanoma. People need to be shocked, sometimes that is the only way to penetrate a person's thinking and keep them safe. The reality is that when a person has such a diagnosis it is often enough too late for that shock... They wish they'd had the wake up call earlier, prior to putting themselves at risk

There is scientific, peer-reviewed research that clearly states melanoma risk factors. These include being sunburnt under five years old which doubles melanoma risk. As an adult, five times doubles the risk. It doesn't mean you'll get it, but what if you do? So unless you are a specialist who grew up under that massive hole in the ozone layer, enough.

As for your four people with melanoma and no sunbeds. Is it family? Close friends? A neighbour's cousin's stepson? A workmate from 20 years ago? Four celebrities? A friend of a friend? What about all the other friends of friends or celebrities or workmates and those inbetween that have also had melanoma, but from sunbeds, you don't even know about? It's hardly relative or reliable is it? Stats work both ways. Your point is moot.

OP I hope you get better treatment from your second trip to A&E.

A word of caution with trusting ‘people from hot countries’ for sunburn advice. Someone from Australia advised coconut oil - this is terrible advice! Someone else from Australia says they’ve been using tomatoes for years. I’m in my 50s and have never heard of tomatoes treating sunburn. There is some evidence that eating them can provide some protection and anecdotes about it soothing minor burns but it certainly doesn’t appear in any official medical recommendations!

My uncle died from one and I have a 30 year old relative who is stage 4 and not responding to treatment. Young people can and do die from melanoma.

Jesus wept

I remember doing 10 fresh as a young foolish person.

I woke up at 3am in agony and op, tge recovery wasn't pretty

It was a week of lying down, applying aloe vera, trying not to move,

then I got covered in hundreds of tiny Water blisters that, whilst not painful, soaked my clothes as they popped when I moved.

Then I peeled. A lot. As in I left a trail.

Honestly the worst two weeks of my life abd I learnt a valuable lesson.

As you will too.

As you did double my time (christ alive) I'd honestly go to ozzy

You know what did help me actually

Acv