A festival-goer was left 'looking Sloth from The Goonies' after her face DOUBLED in size when she suffered 'sun poisoning'.
Shocking photos show how Ruby Brewer's face and neck erupted in a red rash and ballooned, with her eyes swelling up so much she was forced to peep through small slits.
The 23-year-old was in a rush to get to the Love Supreme Festival in Glynde Place, in the South Downs of East Sussex, and meet up with pals on July 2 and forgot to put any suncream on.
The pale sales assistant believes that when she got hot the SPF in her moisturiser sweated off, leaving her exposed to the sun's rays.
Two days after enjoying the festival, Ruby woke up to discover her face had doubled in size and her eyes closed, leaving her 'looking like a character from The Goonies'.
After a dash to A&E on July 4, Ruby was hooked up to an IV drip containing antihistamines and steroids to reduce the swelling, initially believed to be caused by an allergic reaction.
It took three days for Ruby's face to deflate and after researching her symptoms online believes she was suffering from sun poisoning - a case of severe sunburn.
Music lover Ruby, who admits to now being 'scared' of the sun, is sharing her experience to highlight the importance of wearing suncream and wears SPF 50 daily to avoid it happening again.
Ruby, from Bromley, London, said: "When I woke up, I went to open my eyes and that's when I realised I couldn't open them fully.
"I was really shocked when I looked in the mirror and saw how big my face was.
"My face had doubled in size and there was just a small slit that I could see [through].
"My skin was all blotchy and red and my arms and neck had rashes on them.
"I looked like Sloth from The Goonies or even a chipmunk as my cheeks were so large.
"My mum [Miranda Brewer] jumped out of bed when she saw me and said 'don't panic, we're going to go to hospital now'."
Ruby had booked tickets to attend the festival with web designer boyfriend Eliot Smith, 23, on July 2nd and planned to meet pals there too.
In a rush to meet them, and facing a lengthy car journey, Ruby rushed to get ready and didn't apply any suncream.
Ruby, who was wearing flared trousers and a halter neck top, arrived at 3pm on the Saturday and stayed there for eight hours before Eliot drove everyone home at 11pm.
Despite spending the day in the sun, Ruby said she didn't feel any tightness or burning on her skin and simply enjoyed the music while sipping on a few drinks.
The following morning Ruby said her neck felt itchy and, believing it to simply be heat rash, did her best not to scratch it and make it worse.
As the day wore on, a colleague mentioned how Ruby's neck appeared swollen and then the itchy sensation travelled to her face.
During the course of the evening Ruby's face started to swell and armed with a wet flannel and hay fever tablets she settled down for the night hoping for a decent night's sleep.
It was on Monday morning that Ruby woke up at 8am and got a shock when she couldn't open her eyes fully, and saw her swollen appearance in the mirror.
Ruby said: "[My moisturiser] definitely came off by the time I got there because it was so hot, my moisturiser had sweated off.
"I hadn't applied any [suncream] anywhere else - not on my arms, or my chest.
"We were in a rush to get there, all my friends were already there, we still had an hour-and-20-minute drive.
"We only had a day ticket so we wanted to make the most of the money that we spent.
"The weather was hot and sunny, it was about 26 degrees, I wasn't wearing a hat.
"I didn't feel any burning or tightness on my skin, I just felt hot and was enjoying the music so wasn't paying much attention to how I felt."
After sipping on three vodka and lemonades, a tequila shot and water, Ruby headed home and went to bed.
The following morning Ruby noticed her neck was itchy, but brushed it off as heat rash as she headed to work.
At 8am the following morning Ruby was horrified to discover her face had ballooned and her concerned mum rushed her to Princess Royal University Hospital in Locksbottom, London.
After a ten-minute drive to the A&E department, concerned doctors quizzed Ruby about whether she had any known allergies and gave her steroids and antihistamine.
Ruby said: "My mum guided me in and spoke to the receptionist.
"As we didn't know what it was, she said that I'd had an allergic reaction.
"I was asked if I had any known allergies, which I don't.
"They then put a cannula in, gave me medication and monitored me to see how I'd react.
"They gave me an antihistamine injection and steroid injection that did slightly bring down the swelling.
"They monitored me for five hours and the swelling did go down, they then prescribed me steroids and antihistamine and sent me home."
Both Ruby and mum Miranda Brewer were left scratching their heads at the source of the mystery reaction.
After ruling out it being triggered by something she'd eaten, Ruby researched her symptoms online and found a news article featuring photos that looked like she did.
Ruby said: "When I got home I said to my mum 'it can't be something that I've eaten because I didn't have an internal reaction'.
"Obviously I had my festival so I knew I'd been in the sun for a long time.
"My mum asked if I'd put any suncream on, which I hadn't.
"I started googling 'sun allergy' and found an article where someone had sun poisoning, I clicked on it and saw a picture of a woman whose face had swollen up.
"I put two and two together after seeing pictures of people who looked like me. It was a bit of a relief to know what it was. Now I'm just scared of the sun.
"I slowly deflated over those few days thanks to the steroids and I was back to normal by Thursday.
"My skin was super tight, super itchy and if you touched it, it was really scaly - it felt really horrible."
Now on the mend from her experience, Ruby slathers herself daily in SPF 50 and is urging others to use sensible precautions when going out in the sun.
Ruby said: "I've got this really good SPF 50 cream that I now put on underneath my makeup and I have the matching spray, which I carry around with me at all times.
"I spray that over my makeup and when it's sunny and I've been out for a long time and I haven't been able to re-apply, I just spray it on top of my make-up.
"I feel more comfortable now that I have that.
"I would say to anyone who thinks it won't happen to them 'you'll definitely eat your words' because I never thought it would happen to me."
What is Skin Poisoning?
- Sun poisoning refers to a case of severe sunburn. It occurs after you’ve been exposed to ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun for an extended period of time.
- Also known as polymorphic light eruption, sun poisoning can come in different forms based on your sensitivity to the sun. Unlike a mild sunburn, sun poisoning usually requires medical treatment to prevent complications.
- Sun poisoning is significantly worse than a mild sunburn. In addition to the usual sunburn-like symptoms, you might experience: blistering or peeling skin, severe redness and pain, fever (and sometimes chills), dehydration, confusion, nausea or vomiting, headaches, dizziness and fainting.
- Sun poisoning can happen from being out in the sun too long, not wearing sunscreen, or perhaps forgetting to take extra precautions if you’re at an increased risk for sunburn.
