Severe Sunburn - Blisters covering my face!

[josh.thomas]

Good Evening! Well, what a 24 hours. I went out in the sun yesterday, only to come inside, feeling slightly hot and a bit pink, so I covered my arms, legs, face and neck (only areas exposed) in After Sun with Aloe Vera. I went to bed at 1am, feeling very hot, and woke up at 2am, with all my limbs and face PURPLE. I had lumps on my face, and on checking in the bathroom, I had boils or blisters. They started out as 2 or 3, they have now developed and literally cover the whole of my face, everywhere, white lumps/shapes.

I went to the Casualty department this morning as my skin is literally purple, even after using a bottle of after sun. Casualty told me I had incredibly bad burns, and gave me pain killers and a special after sun to buy. I am terribly worried about the blisters. They have literally covered my face - friends have had the odd 1 or 2 on holiday but never totally covered - will they go? will they leave scars? how long will they take to go?

I am so worried, the pain itself is slowly going away, and the redness will go (as it always does) but I have never ever experienced blisted, and I am quite literally crying over them. Someone please tell me, will they go? how long will they take to disappear? what can i do to make them abandon ship faster! PLEASE HELP ME!

[twiglet4frog]

not sure without seeing u but i would guess they will go and that there will be very little scarring if any but the best thing is to let them heal and not to try picking at them or doing anything to try to speed them up too quickly as this might cause more scars

[josh.thomas]

Thanks for your reply, although the "without seeing you" comment is slightly worrying - have there been cases of this sort of thing not clearing up?

[smee.tracey]

However tempting Josh, DO NOT BURST THE BLISTERS, they contain healing fluid to repair your skin and prevent scarring. Imagine plunging your hand into hot oil. The skin will blister and cook. I'm not trying to frighten you but this is what has happened to your skin.

Within a week you will start to see differences. The swelling, blisters and discolouration will start to go. DO NOT BURST THE BLISTERS.

There is precious little you can do to help. Keep out of the sun completely, however tempting. If you know anyone with an aloe vera plant ask them for a couple of tendrils so you can squeeze the sap out and rub it on. It won't hurt, quite the contrary and if there is to be any scarring (which I very much doubt) it will lessen it. Anyway it will cool and ease the skin. Aloe Vera preparations from a pharmacist are good but not quite as good as the real thing.

Good luck and learn from this, you obviously are sensitive to the sun, wear a hat and sunblock in future. Remember, it's not sunTAN that causes skin cancer it's sunBURN. I've never heard of this not clearing up (in far too many years experience to mention).

Good Luck (and learn).

[josh.thomas]

You star! Love you, Love you, LOVE YOU! The previous answer was good, but you broke it down and gave an explanation for why I look like Gollum from Lord of the Rings.

I do hope this clears up, everyone has told me (inc. the Dr.) that the blisters are there to heal the skin, and they are filled with moisture that the sun has deprived my skin of.. I'm just worried about being left with bags of fluid on my face. Their not even bags, it looks from a distance as if I have suffered from acne, as there are lumps and bumps mainly on my chin, upper cheeks and lower forehead. I hope they go soon, if not, maybe I will need a chemical peel - lets hope not! :-( PRAY FOR ME AB MEMBERS! lol

[Scarlett]

Poor Josh, this must be really worrying and horrible for you. Be glad that you have been to A&E and they have given you good advice. It's just a matter of allowing you body to heal itself now.I am a big fan of Homeopathy and I am certain you could get something to accelerate the healing process. Look up homeopaths in your local yello pages or www.yell.com  I swear by them. But mainly, don't touch your face, let nature do it's thing. Acne scars only appear when they have been tampered with, so visualise yourself looking and feeling fine, and everything will get back to normal soon.x

[Scarlett]

P.S You may be nauseous or dizzy, in which case drink lots of water, as you could be dehydrated.

[josh.thomas]

Aww! Thank you very much... well the hospital advised carbs and Vitamin E... so I have my Oranges and Orange juice for Vitamin E.. maybe I'll get a tan from drinking and eating so many oranges.. whos knows, lol. Thank you, though. Since have Meningitis A (meningacocal septicimia... not sure on the spelling, at the time I didn't take notice!) I am a total worry freak, anything wrong with my body, I am on meltdown. As you can all see, I am replying to your comments instantly, I am sitting here - shaking. I just really really hope my face swelling does clear up, everyone else's who I have spoken to has. Please keep the positive comments coming, I know it seems attention seeking but I am soooo worried!

[josh.thomas]

Sorry... A few of you have said not to touch my face - Can I apply after sun to it? Also, the hospital mentioned infections in the blisters.. I can still wash daily with a damp flannel (lightly?)

[Scarlett]

Yes but just be very careful. If you accidentally burst a blister and your hands were dirty, that could cause an infection. So put loads of after sun/what the hospital recommended on it, to keep the skin nice and moisturised. If it was me I wouldn't try washing with a damp flannel- water generally dries out the skin, and if you are using a good moisturiser you won't get particularly dirty! I use nothing but baby lotion on my face and I can still see out!!x

[spangle111]

Josh, try using a spray-on aftersun and then there is no risk of either bursting the blisters or getting any dirt onto the affected areas. It does clear up I promise. This happened to me but I was also allergic to the sunblock I used so I was this centurys version of the elephant woman!! It cleared up after peeling quite badly but theres not a blemish in sight!! You'll be fine sweetie and will soon be looking as good as ever lol x

[jakesi]

I had the same condition on my shoulders many years ago, and yes they where uncomfortable but they cleared up after about a week or so, and there was no scarring,so hang on in there and STAY OUT OF THE SUN.

[josh.thomas]

Spangle111: I too feel like the elephant man! lol! Oh thanks for your reply, I appreciate everyone elses (inc. Jakesi) but no body else has experienced it on their face as you have, and unfortunatley, I am! Thing that concerns me Spangle, is to peel, doesn't the skin have to dry first? The skin on my face is still quite soft, and hasn't dried up like normal sunburn, its just very red and blistered everywhere? Will it still peel? Thanks again xx

[Emily Ball]

Everyone has given excellent advice which I'm sure has reassured you but for anyone who is about to jet off to a hot country it is worth remembering that if you come back from the beach or poolside after several hours sunbathing it is usually the evening time when your skin feels like glowing embers and during the night when it becomes excruciating to sleep. To counteract the burning effects and prevent a lot of discomfort, take prolonged and very cool to cold showers followed by a soothing lotion  as soon as you can after sunbathing. If you have any degree of burning at all, you should stay out of the sun completely for at least the following 24 hours, preferably in an air-conditioned atmosphere. I lived in Greece for some time and I saw a lot of holidays ruined just through someone spending a little too much time in the sun. A little too much time can be as little as an hour or two in a hot dry country. 

[platts]

I'm probably a bit late for this one, but the only thing I know that really works is lavender essential oil (make sure it's pure essential oil).  A little goes a long way, and when I got burnt a week ago this is what I used. It also helps to keep infection at bay. Even my incredibly sceptical boyfriend swears by lavender, and it's great for any burn..it takes the pain out straight away and since using it I've never had a scar from a burn, and I am rubbish at getting stuff out of the oven without burning my arms!  You still have to run the burn under running water for a bit.  Try it, even if it makes you smell like an old lady.

[spangle111]

Yes the redness fades and the blisters go down and the skin does peel but not too badly as long as you remember to keep it well moisturised. I accidentally popped a couple of the blisters and they didn't scar either. when your skin has healed (believe me you'll know when this is) and its peeling you can use a shower flower to lightly exfoliate all the dead skin from your face, or use one of those gritty facial scrub things but dont be tempted to do it too soon or you'll get sore again - keep up with the aftersun until its completely healed. lol x

[Scarlett]

How are you today, Josh?

[josh.thomas]

Well, theres been a big improvement. There are 3 blisters left on my face (small) however one of my cheeks, forehead and chin have completelly dried up - which is good. The skin has started to peel quite quickly, with quite large sections falling off - yay! (I never thought I would be thankfull of the day my skin fell off!) My arms are coming along quite good, the redness is lessening, although one is still v.v.painful. As for my legs, their as bad as ever, I have ankles that look like pillars, and can barely walk. My legs at the moment are the worst. I am just glad my face is coming back to normal, with a bloody good tan (so it seems!). The forehead and chin are still 'lumpy' but its all shrivelled, dried skin - so it looks good... Thank you for caring, b.t.w... x

[Scarlett]

Great- isn't the body a marvel, the way it tries to heal itself. It can't do it all at once so it takes it's time, but it gets there eventually..!x