My Weekend In The Sun.........Bah! (OTC Medicines in general)

Member Name: BestMum

Product:	OTC Medicines in general
Date:	15/07/02 (455 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Active in minutes

Disadvantages: The smell, Its a 'dry' paste

What a fantastic day it was yesterday. The sun was shining, the temperature was rising... The day was spent sipping ice-cold beer whilst watching little Rachel chasing the sprinkler we had set up in the middle of the garden, squealing with delight as the cool water caught her unawares. Evening came and after a tidyup in the garden, and Rachel bathed and put to bed, the shower was beckoning. What a relief. After the warm day there was nothing better to soothe my glowing skin than a nice cool shower.

My favourite fluffy lilac towel provided further comfort as I stepped out and patted my body dry. It also gave relief to an annoying itch I had on my arm. After looking for my delicate summer PJ's to slip into, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and screamed. No, not at the sight of my naked body (although it did give me a nightmare or two last night), my arms, legs, and chest were a bright red colour.

But I was sure I had put on plenty of high factor suncream, and besides I have a nice olive complexion that doesn't usually burn in the sun, just goes a lovely deep shade of brown (don't be jealous now!). Upon closer inspection I realised that I actually had a rash - on the front of my arms, on my shins and thighs, and a large patch on my chest.

And the itching was worse than having chicken pox. It felt hot to the touch and was quite reminiscent of last years summer holiday, where towards the end of the holiday I had to purchase some antihistamine cream for a sun rash on my chest. This was put down to the fact that my body was still full of post-pregnancy hormones and was told that it probably wouldn't last. Hmpf.

The itching was terrible, and it kept me awake for most of the night and so at first light I dashed off to the Chemists to see if they could recommend anything for me. After some discussion with the pharmacist who is always helpful in this type of situation when it's not serious enough fo
r an appointment with your GP, he recommended a skin allergy relief cream called Benadryl.

BENADRYL SKIN ALLERGY RELIEF

Manufactured and distributed by Warner-Lambert, it claims to soothe and reduce inflammation and is good for stings, itching, skin irritation and insect bites, and can be bought over the counter at your local Chemist shop. So far so good.

It contains Diphenhydramine hydrochloride Ph Eur 1%, Camphor Ph Eur 0.1% and Zinc Oxide Ph Eur 8% amongst others, which I'm sure are kind to your skin!

APPLICATION

It's a pink paste, rather than the milky cream I expected, and quite thick in consistency too. It is recommended to be used three to four times a day at regular intervals. It's not the easiest of creams to apply and as it's quite thick it's not very easy to spread. No jokes please!

It smells too, which I'm sure is the Camphor and I have to go to Mother and Toddler soon so shall sit in a corner on my own for fear of offending other mothers! The smell doesn't last too long though, it's more noticeable upon application.

The instruction leaflet states that it shouldn't be applied to raw or broken skin (cuts or grazes) or body cavities (e.g. mouth or vagina!).

RESULTS

Well I expected to see and feel immediate results as it claims to be active in minutes but unfortunately I don't feel any relief as yet. My skin is still very itchy and as inflamed as ever. But as I've just started to use it, it may well take a few applications before I see some results. Here's hoping.

PRICE

At £3.55 for 42g I suppose it was a little on the expensive side but I'd have paid £100 if it got rid of the itching. Well, maybe not but you get the general idea. It's a large tube too which I'm sure will last me quite a while.

SO WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?

Well I didn't want to bother my GP and wa
s considering calling the NHS helpline but I thought I would try to do some research on the internet first. This is what I learnt, which may come in handy for you too:

Solar Dermatitis

If you have sensitive skin (which I don't have) you are more prone to getting a sun rash, as are children and young adults. It rears its ugly head as small read blisters or small or large spots in areas exposed to the sun. Sometimes it can appear immediately, sometimes after a few hours. And its recurrent too, so chances are if you had it last year, you'll suffer with it this year, as in my case.

There is no cure as such, rather preventative steps you can try. For my holiday in August I've been advised to try using a broad-spectrum sunscreen with UVA and UVB filters (this information is on the sunscreen label), with an SPF of 15-25 or higher as my skin becomes used to the sun, then maybe in the second week, try reducing the factor.

Photoallergic Dermatitis or Drug-Inducted Photosensitivity

Easy for you to say, eh? Some medicines can cause a reaction to the sun also. These include diuretics, painkillers and antibiotics. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you think you may be at risk and they can then advise you on how best to protect yourself.

Certain soaps, chemicals, perfumes etc can have an adverse reaction to the sun too. This could be the cause of your rash and it's best to try using a different product to see if it makes any difference. I have read about one young lady who found that the soap she used didn't agree with the sun and after she changed brands, the rash disappeared, never to return. It's worth checking out.

CONCLUSION

It is recommended that if symptoms don't clear up then you should go and see your GP, who may refer you to a dermatologist. I will definitely continue to use this cream for a week and then go from there. The smell is quite 'clinical&#
39;, but it's bad enough to stop me using it, and I would have preferred it to be a little easier to apply as it's a dry paste. But we can't have everything can we.

Darn those pollutants and other environmental nasties!

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