Thursday, June 8, 2017

Sun Poisoning

Dear Diary,

Alright. A lot of you have been asking how my trip to Punta Cana was and for the first few days, it was great. Then something totally awful happened to me. I got sun poisoning. Before I left for my trip, I was having some allergy problems with my face. Like getting really hot and red after working out (like 10x more than normal), my face was rough to the touch, it was almost like I had eczema for a few weeks. I thought about making a dermatology appointment but I couldn't find the time to go between then and the trip. So we get to Punta Cana and everything seemed totally fine. Thursday I was noticing it a tad in my face so I decided to go play in the ocean. They say saltwater is really good for the skin so I thought it would help. I was splashing and putting my face in the water, having a grand time. I was drinking vodka with sprite and cranberry (I had about 4 during the coarse of the day) and laying out. When we got back to the room, I noticed one of my eyes was slightly swollen. I put on my makeup and we went out for the night. When I woke up the next morning, I had no idea what I was going to be walking into the bathroom looking like. I knew something was wrong. I could only really see out of one eye but I didn't know the extent of what it was. I texted Bobby to come back from the gym and he has no idea what he was walking into. He thought it was going to be something simple, but he took one look at me, told me to get dressed and off we went to the emergency clinic on property. 
The nurse at the clinic had seen it before and told me some things to do. 
Below are my pictures. 
I give no one permission to share my photos. I give no one permission to save these photos for themselves. If you want to tell/teach someone about the importance of sun safety, please feel free to bring them to my blog. These photos are raw and real and I ask that you don't make fun. I am not sharing with you for you to laugh. I share to teach! 

This was the morning of. Between the sun, the alcohol and the saltwater, I got sun poisoning. Some people even get sick from it, like vomit/diarrhea. I never got those, just the swelling of the face. I do believe my allergies had a role in this too. So if you are having really bad allergies, just stay out of the sun. 

The nurse on staff as well as a Doctor that was part of the Henry Schein crew, told us to put ice cold tea bags on my eyes, every hour for 10 minutes. As well as 2 Benadryl every 4 hours and 4 Ibuprofen as well. I stayed in a dark room only lit by a lamp at times to see. No sun-light. 

This was me 6 hours later. 

Again, tea bags were the thing that actually healed me to be honest. My face was super dry for days afterwards but it was worth it. I am strong believer in this now. 

This was me 12 hours later.

This was me the following morning, so 24 hours. 

And this was me the next night, so 36 hours. I am almost 100%. I still have a droopy side and my face was still a tad swollen but much better.

Here is a comparison of it. Morning of, 6 hours later, 12 hours later, 24 hours later. 

Sun poisoning is real thing. There is such a thing as getting to much sun. Some people experience a very bad rash or their skin gets burnt. I didn't have either of that but the reason I tell you is so you can look for signs. If you start to feel tired or weak, get out of the sun. Sunscreen every 2 hours, drink water especially if you are drinking alcohol, get in the shade some, keep your body cool by getting in the water, wear a hat! There are so many easy steps you can do to prevent this from happening to you. 

I share this with you because I believe there is a lesson to be learned. If I can help just one person not experience this, then I'm doing something right. I will now always use caution when I am in the sun. I will listen to my body and watch for the signs. I know being tan and having fun outside is awesome...but taking care of yourself is more important. 


Love, Me

8 comments:

  1. I'm experiencing it right now! Thanks for sharing, I don't feel alone <3

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  2. I also experienced this on a trip right now in San Diego. Thank you for sharing. I thought being a AZ native my body/skin would never react this way but it did. I applied some SPF but did not reapply and I should have drank more water. I think it really flared up after I was being super active running around playing as the sun was setting. Didnt think anything of it because the sun was going down at the time. I felt short of breath and my face turned bright red. My eyes were bloodshot. I took a steamy shower trying to clear my sinuses because I was coughing too like I had to clear out some mucus. Right after the shower I got a rash/hives and my face swelled. Im on day 2 and its gotten a lot better. Took antihistamines and IB every 4 hrs. Cold compresses. Luckily the rash cleared by 90% the next day.

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  3. Same thing happened to me. Did your eye or lower eyelid get itchy right before it puffed up?

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  4. This haopens to me almost every time i go to florida (i live in Michigan). Its gotten to the point that i sit under an umbrella all day and it still will happen to me. The only thing that has worked for me is steroids. The urgent care prescribes me Prednesone and it goes down instantly. I wish i could find a better cure for it but so back thats all i got

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  5. Thank you for posting my pregnant daughter went to a Mardi Gras parade and ended up like this , one eye completely shut . I found your picture and shared your tips , the only difference was she preferred Green Tea Bags,

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  6. Did you use new tea bags every time? Does the kind of tea matter? My husband is going thru this as I write. His started yesterday at work. He had to do some walking in the sun for his job. This has never happened before. Is it life threatening? I’m very concerned.

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  7. Thank you for sharing your story. He’s not ready to go to the hospital, yet.

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  8. Hello, we have too same problem now. My doughter stay on sun, but She has bad sun cream. Big bubble created during night. So I use tea bag how you read and the bubble GO out (slowly) I can ASK about night. You use every hour tea during night or better is sleep? Věry Thank you. Jarda

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