 Poster: A snowHead
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Sunburn. This may seem like a bit of a silly one as it's entirely avoidable with a bit of common sense, but I've had a lot of comments and sympathy this week from people with their own tales of burny woe, so I think it's worth sharing. I'm currently sporting a rather fetching sunburn "beard". This started out red and puffy
 and has faded to pink and scaly  ,
both of which are obviously great looks and neither of which has been photographed (to my knowledge). I did consider keeping a photo diary but, even though I'm not remotely vain, I really couldn't quite bring myself to record the state of my visage.
I burn. I know I burn. Usually I can feel when I'm burning. I guess I've come to rely on this sense of heat to warn me when I'm in trouble. I'm not a sunbather and I usually cover up rather than slather on the sun cream. It has been several years since I last caught the rays in a bad way. I have now discovered the risks of spring skiing. I was out from 9am to 5pm on a fairly overcast day, I didn't feel the onset of the burn due to the cold air and no one else noticed anything during the day, probably because my skin was being constantly cooled. The redness started to assert itself in the evening (when I was inside, nice and warm) and I started to blister at around midnight (whilst talking ski technique in the kitchen). Overnight it got worse and worse and I was really rather frightened of looking in the mirror in the morning. When I did it was actually a relief, I'd been expecting to see a mass of boils and only saw a very red, very puffy face. I was seriously considering going out for my lesson at 9 a.m. Fortunately skiing means that I never seem to be far from a medical professional and I was talked into going to the medical centre instead. This has probably saved me a great deal of pain and I am extremely grateful. At the medical centre it became obvious that this happens a lot. They had a standing prescription in both French and English. The consultation, injection and various lotions and potions cost the best part of 100 EUR but it was money well spent as I only missed one day of skiing (and I'll be able to claim most of it back on insurance). The swelling subsided and the flaking and peeling hasn't caused any long term damage. I was able to do expressions after four days of treatment (not being able to smile, laugh or sulk properly is very strange). I'm now off to see my GP to see whether there's anything else I need to do to make a full recovery. It's all good.
So, the moral of this story is:
1) Don't get burned
2) If you do get burned see a doctor on the mountain. They deal with this all the time.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Mon 29-04-13 21:13; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I also learned this lesson on my first late season trip (end of April in Val d'Isere) many years ago. Not quite as bad as your experience, but not far off, so I didn't go to the local Dr. I'd add a third moral point to your list:
3) If your partner decants aftersun moisturiser into a little travel bottle make sure she/he marks it as "Aftersun" not just "Sun" as some people who are hard of thinking are easily confused 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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3) Nu school bandanas and Airhole masks. Not just tragic fashion.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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little ms spock, ouchie! Glad to hear it is getting better. I burned my ears on my first EoSB, before the days of helmet wearing but just as easily done when sitting on the terrace bar.
4) don't forget to put cream on your ears
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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5) If your skiing partner says 'I'm holding a bottle of Factor 50 sun cream, I've just put it on, do you want some?' the answer is 'yes!!'
6) Real men do get sunburnt, and sunburnt mouth (well this is SH's!!) lips are not the sort of lips anyone wants to kiss!!!
little ms spock, Good OP - something many people could do with reminding of. Perhaps you should 'bump' it around November!!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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ironsidexx, I burned my ears on a ferry trip once. That was a darn sight more painful than this. Peeling off skin from the folds of the ears was really unpleasant.
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Snakeskin Spock,
something is puzzling me about your post , You say it started to blister around midnight.
Surely you weren't still awake at the witching hour 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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As another easy burner (remarkably easy for someone with my skin colour), I've only got 2 words.
Ski masks.
That's all.
Not burnt in almost 5 weeks of skiing and counting.
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After days of cloudy weather I asked an ESF friend if he wanted to eat out on the terrace in the sunshine his reply educated me "hell no I work in it all day need to give my skin a rest, I never eat out at lunchtime" I always thought those people thought it was too cold
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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First multi-day ski touring trip in glorious sunshine which reflected off the pristine white snow. Didn't think about putting sun lotion on the underside of my nose - ouch !
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| Neville wrote: |
Snakeskin Spock,
something is puzzling me about your post , You say it started to blister around midnight.
Surely you weren't still awake at the witching hour |
The burnyness kept me awake, and heated several aparments (apologies to everyone who I used as a face cooler).
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| Megamum wrote: |
5) If your skiing partner says 'I'm holding a bottle of Factor 50 sun cream, I've just put it on, do you want some?' the answer is 'yes!!'
6) Real men do get sunburnt, and sunburnt mouth (well this is SH's!!) lips are not the sort of lips anyone wants to kiss!!! |
I think these comments are referring to myself.........
I still maintain i was neglected.....
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FAQ
).
. They calmed down after I fed them Toblerone.
