If you are going swimming or heading to the beach and you have a new brand of sunblock to use, make sure to do a skin test first before applying it most specially to your face. No matter how expensive or fancy the brand of sunblock is, you will never know if you will have an allergic reaction to it until you test it on your skin first. I’ve learned about it myself and I hope I am able to warn you so you don’t have to suffer what I’ve experienced.
One Laiya Beach Batangas
I won’t mention the brand that I used but it’s a fairly established brand of facial sunblock. Before we went swimming in the beach, I applied the cream on my face and my daughter’s face. Since I didn’t feel any thing bizarre after applying, I thought we were ok. My daughter did not feel anything also. I applied the cream in the morning and by afternoon, I already noticed that my daughter’s face had hives on her face ( pantal or the kind of like ant bites). I asked her if the hives were itchy and she said they were not. But I told her that it must be an allergic reaction to the sunblock and I told her to wash her face immediately. Fortunately, the hives disappeared late afternoon. Since I didn’t feel anything on my face, I’ve mistakenly thought that I was not allergic and I didn’t wash my face.
Early evening, I already felt some slight stinging on my lips but I dismissed it and just thought that it was the salty water’s effect on my lips. Then the next day happened and I felt slight swelling on my face but I still dismissed it. When we went home later that day, that was when I noticed that my lips, the skin on my around my mouth and nose, forehead and neck area were itchy, stinging and swollen. That was when I realized I was having an allergic attack.
My camera was just too bright, but this part was more pink in the actual (area around the mouth and nose), and my lips were itchy and swollen.
The next morning, I decided to go to a dermatologist. When she saw me, she said that it was most probably the sunblock I used. She said that there are two kinds of sunblock, the physical one and the chemical one. Usually, dermatologists suggest to use the physical one which sits on top of the skin to deflect the sun’s rays. The chemical sunblock on the other hand makes chemical reactions to convert the sun’s rays to heat and release them from the skin. She said to check the sunblock I used if it has a chemical called oxybenzone which means the sunblock is a chemical sunblock. Later that day, I checked the sunblock I used and it contains benzophenone-3 which is a derivative of oxybenzone.
Medicines and topical creams prescribed to me to heal my allergies.
My dermatologist said that next time, before I use any kind of sunblock, test it on my skin first. She said that it can be done by applying a small amount in the side of the face where it is most sensitive and wait for a day if I will have an allergic reaction to it. To make the swelling on my face heal, she prescribed Cortizan cream on the rashes, then a skin recovery cream Eau Thermale Avene all over my face to make the skin heal a lot faster. She said that sometimes, the allergic reaction takes time to heal since the skin has to undergo scaling and skin peeling. She also gave me Claricort and antihistamine for the itch. All in all, I’ve spent P2,000 for the consultation, the creams and the medicines.
Different persons have different reactions to any kinds of creams and lotions and sunblocks. I hope I was able to warn you first so you don’t have to suffer the hassles I’ve experienced and make your vacation be all fun memories.
