Let me begin by saying that Hawaii was wonderful. I loved spending time with extended and immediate family, in a gorgeous place, full of amazing things to see. That being said, something terrible also happened.
I am aware that I have a very pale complexion. I've accepted it. And as part of that acceptance, I slathered on the sunscreen, we all did, for our first full day of snorkeling and spending time at the beach. That day at the beach was fantastic. That night, less so.
The sunscreen was expired. Which I didn't even know was possible.
Grant tans well, but he still got some burn on his shoulders. Holli is black, and yet both her shoulders and back burned. Liam spent a lot of time in the water and was wearing a swim shirt, but his ears and face were deeply burnt. His face even swelled over the next few days! Mom was incredibly burnt on both her legs and shoulders. It was painful just to look at.
But I personally feel I got the short end of the stick. My arms, my legs, my feet, my back, my shoulders, my face...everything was burned. My fingers were sunburned. That was new experience. My legs swelled so much I could hardly walk. I could hardly move. My body had a decision to make--take care of Emily or take care of baby. Thankfully, it chose baby. Baby was not harmed at all, but I was pretty much out of commission for a few days.
I didn't get to go hiking or do as much swimming as I would have liked, but I did still get to see a lot of Hawaii. And as my wise cousin Michelle helped me to see, vacation is all about relaxing, and this experience definitely helped me to get off my swollen, swollen legs and relax!
A lot of aloe gel and aftersun moisturizer were used up in our house that week as everyone tried to recover. We also heard from a nurse at BYU Hawaii about vinegar and baking soda as an excellent sunscreen remedy. After some internet research, Will purchased some vinegar and a spray bottle. It actually felt great on my legs. It calmed things down and removed the pain for quite a while. You will smell like easter eggs, but it's worth it.
Then we sprayed my shoulders. My blistered shoulders. These blisters had ruptured, and we chose to spray vinegar on them. I was a little worried about pain, but wanted to give it a shot. And it hurt. It was shockingly painful. Will sprayed my shoulders and at first I thought, "no problem, the vinegar hurt a bit on my legs because anything touching my skin triggers sensitivity at this point, but then it got better. power through." The pain began to increase and I asked Will to stop spraying. Then it began to hurt even more: "ow. Ow. Owwww!!!!!!! Oh my gosh, that hurts!!! Will, it hurts! It hurts so bad!!! Ow!!" I was laughing by the end because it HURT SO MUCH.
Moral of the story, vinegar works, but only if your sunburn blisters have not opened. That's VERY important to remember.
Do not worry, I still enjoyed my Hawaiian vacation. But I will forever be aware of sunscreen expiration dates and the power of ultraviolet light.
Theme Song: Good Day Sunshine, The Beatles (feel the irony...)
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