Blistered Boobs - ewww
July 11, 2012 1:56 PM Subscribe
Clear fluid filled blisters on chest 4 days after mild sunburn - delayed reaction or coincidence?
On Saturday I got a mild sunburn on my chest and shoulders - it was slightly warm to the touch Saturday evening but not really sore. By today it was still pink but fading.
I put on factor 30 sunscreen before going out this evening (about 6pm - it was 16°C). I put it only my chest, shoulders and arms. I haven't used this sunscreen before.
I was out for about 4 hours, I got home about an hour ago and have just noticed the pink parts of my chest are now covered in tiny (about the size of a pin head) clear fluid filled blisters - wtf? The blisters are only on my chest not on my arms or shoulders.
On Saturday I got a mild sunburn on my chest and shoulders - it was slightly warm to the touch Saturday evening but not really sore. By today it was still pink but fading.
I put on factor 30 sunscreen before going out this evening (about 6pm - it was 16°C). I put it only my chest, shoulders and arms. I haven't used this sunscreen before.
I was out for about 4 hours, I got home about an hour ago and have just noticed the pink parts of my chest are now covered in tiny (about the size of a pin head) clear fluid filled blisters - wtf? The blisters are only on my chest not on my arms or shoulders.
2nd degree burns are characterized by fluid filled blisters...wikipedia (scroll down a few paragraphs to the table..."red with clear blister")
posted by iurodivii at 2:02 PM on July 11, 2012
posted by iurodivii at 2:02 PM on July 11, 2012
That's a thing that happens with sunburn.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:05 PM on July 11, 2012
posted by DarlingBri at 2:05 PM on July 11, 2012
Best answer: Was it hot out - did you sweat? I have gotten "miliaria crystalline" heat rash in the wake of a sunburn. I'm not quite sure of the mechanism but I had never had that kind of heat rash before so I think it was somehow helped along by the sunburn. Very superficial, went away fast, kind of just looked like drops of sweat on my skin until I went to touch them.
posted by ftm at 2:07 PM on July 11, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by ftm at 2:07 PM on July 11, 2012 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: It wasn't particularly hot but there may have been some perspiration, I was out at archery practice and its my job to lug the warning signs across 3 rugby pitches!
just looked like drops of sweat on my skin
That's exactly what it looks like!
posted by missmagenta at 2:12 PM on July 11, 2012
just looked like drops of sweat on my skin
That's exactly what it looks like!
posted by missmagenta at 2:12 PM on July 11, 2012
You know how sunburns peel? That's the start of it peeling. Those blisters will burst and that's where your skin will start peeling, at the site of each blister. Use lots of aloe and moisturizer on the spots and gently exfoliate each time you take a bath for the next week, and it'll all be good.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:20 PM on July 11, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:20 PM on July 11, 2012 [1 favorite]
I got the blisters with a 2nd degree sunburn in Hawaii. They burst in the bed, so I slept in damp sheets. I got a fever. I vomited. I was a bright, red person covered in a muu-muu for the rest of the trip so as not to burn even more.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 2:26 PM on July 11, 2012
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 2:26 PM on July 11, 2012
Sometimes if I have a mild sunburn it will blister like that (tiny micro-blisters) when I start to sweat. Once my sweat cools/dries the blisters go away. I recently burned my hand on hot soup (!) and a few weeks later while I was sweating it away in yoga I noticed this happening.
posted by Brittanie at 2:52 PM on July 11, 2012
posted by Brittanie at 2:52 PM on July 11, 2012
Yea, that's the sunburn after being exposed to sun again. Aloe Vera 100% Gel (normally less than $5) will clear it up within a day or so. I wish I had known that before I freaked out and went to the minor emergency room.
In the meantime, long sleeve shirts are your friend.
posted by zamdaba at 3:07 PM on July 11, 2012
In the meantime, long sleeve shirts are your friend.
posted by zamdaba at 3:07 PM on July 11, 2012
This happened to me a few weeks ago, I got tiny little painbless blisters a week after a not-really-that-bad sunburn. I freaked out a little-- "my sunburn wasn't that bad?!" and some subsequent googling led me to the answer that when the top layer of skin is burnt, it loses its ability to pass sweat through it and so little bubbles of sweat get caught underneath. It was not a particularly legit site but seemed like a reasonable answer so I chose to believe it.
posted by geegollygosh at 4:31 PM on July 11, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by geegollygosh at 4:31 PM on July 11, 2012 [1 favorite]
This is not a delayed reaction but what happens when you have severe sunburn. Can you get some silver sulfadiazine? If you don't have that anywhere, you may need to go to the doctor and get some. Apply twice a day and cover with gauze.
Please get some sunscreen!!
posted by Yellow at 4:32 PM on July 11, 2012
Please get some sunscreen!!
posted by Yellow at 4:32 PM on July 11, 2012
Best answer: If it were a blistering sunburn, I'm pretty sure you'd know it. Sunburns that severe hurt A LOT.
I've only had a handful of sunburns ever, and I always get the little blisters before peeling. I've only burned badly enough to blister one time, and it was different (and painful!) enough that there was no question what was going on.
posted by easy, lucky, free at 4:49 PM on July 11, 2012 [2 favorites]
I've only had a handful of sunburns ever, and I always get the little blisters before peeling. I've only burned badly enough to blister one time, and it was different (and painful!) enough that there was no question what was going on.
posted by easy, lucky, free at 4:49 PM on July 11, 2012 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Yeah, I've had the little "beads of sweat that aren't because it's peeling" thing, a couple days after a sunburn; and I've also had the "blisters because it's a really bad sunburn" kind of blistering that came a day after.
There's a DEFINITE difference. Yours sounds more like the "beads of sweat that aren't because it's peeling" thing.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:42 PM on July 11, 2012
There's a DEFINITE difference. Yours sounds more like the "beads of sweat that aren't because it's peeling" thing.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:42 PM on July 11, 2012
My guess is heat rash. Oily lotion ends up clogging some of your pores, which holds in sweat, causing blisters. I don't know, but I'd suspect that the damage from sunburn would make it more likely that the sweat would end up causing blisters. In general you want to make sure your skin is cleansed of oily lotion lest you end up understanding why the condition is sometimes called "prickly heat."
posted by Good Brain at 9:20 PM on July 11, 2012
posted by Good Brain at 9:20 PM on July 11, 2012
Believe me, if you had a second-degree sunburn you'd know-- I had one on my shins once and my feet swelled up like watermelons, rendering me barely able to walk for three days. And that was *before* it started to blister. What you have sounds like, as others have mentioned, the result of sweating with a mild sunburn.
posted by nonasuch at 6:38 AM on July 12, 2012
posted by nonasuch at 6:38 AM on July 12, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Ausamor at 1:58 PM on July 11, 2012 [1 favorite]