A WOMAN has revealed that she ended up in hospital after just two hours on sunbathing on her first ever holiday abroad.
Shan was buzzing when she jetted off to Portugal for her first-ever trip out of the UK.
Shan was unable to walk due to her sun burn[/caption]
Doctors told her she had sun poisoning[/caption]
When she arrived, it was a “gorgeous 23 degrees”, which Shan said was “nothing too outrages for my skin”.
Excited about the week ahead, the Brit spent a few hours relaxing by the pool, where she said there was a nice breeze.
However, when she headed inside just two hours later, she noticed that her legs were bright red.
Throughout the day, Shan’s legs continued to go a startling colour, and she began to struggle to walk.
By the next day, her feet had swelled in size dramatically.
“I physically couldn’t walk to the bathroom”, she revealed in a TikTok video, where she is known as @shazz838.
Despite the pain, Shan was determined not to miss out on her holiday and managed to crawl outside into a shady spot by the pool.
“Everyone was so shocked to see me”, she said.
After she got back from her trip, Shan headed to the hospital as her condition had worsened.
She had blisters on her ankles, and every movement hurt her swollen legs.
Shan was seen instantly on arrival, and was told she had skin poisoning.
Doctors bandaged up her legs, gave her morphine and antibiotics, and was ordered to stay in bed for four weeks.
“Lesson learnt to wear factor 50 and not 30”, she said.
“Hopefully I will be returning on another holiday at some point.”
How to care for sunburn safely
WE should all avoid getting burnt in the sun as it can cause skin cancer.
But if you do get burnt this summer, it’s important to take care of your skin safely.
Your skin will likely feel hot to the touch, be sore and painful, and flake or peel after a few days. If your burn is severe, your skin may also blister.
According to the NHS, the best ways to ease sunburn yourself are to:
- Get out of the sun as soon as possible
- Cool your skin with a cool shower, bath or damp towel (take care not to let a baby or young child get too cold)
- Apply aftersun cream or spray
- Drink plenty of water to cool down and prevent dehydration
- Take painkillers, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen for any pain
- Cover sunburnt skin from direct sunlight until skin has fully healed
You should also avoid using petroleum jelly, putting ice or ice packs directly on sunburnt skin, popping blisters, scratching or trying to remove peeling skin and tight-fitting clothing.
Most of the time, sunburn can be treated at home. But you should ask for an urgent GP appointment or call 111 if you’ve been out in the sun and:
- Your skin is blistered or swollen
- Your temperature is very high, or you feel hot and shivery
- You feel very tired, dizzy and sick
- You have a headache and muscle cramps
- Your baby or young child has sunburn
Severe sunburn can lead to heat exhaustion and heatstroke, which can be very serious and in some cases fatal.
Source: NHS
Shan’s video has likely left many people open-mouthed, as it has racked up over 4.1 million views on the video sharing platform.
TikTok users raced to the video’s comments section to share their thoughts.
One person said: “Oh my, that looked horrendously painful.
“Hope you’ve healed well.”
A second person said: “Same thing happened to me a few years ago.
“Worst pain ever.”
A third chimed in: “As soon as I saw the powder white legs, I knew sun poisoning was incoming.
“Been there, done that.”
