A Brit holidaymaker was left with such severe sun poisoning that her face doubled in size - leaving her fearing that she would not be able to get home.
Kayleigh O'Donnell, 21, was left so worried by the state of her face that she was afraid airport security would not let her board the flight - as she no longer matched her passport.
Kayleigh and her boyfriend, Mitchell Wallis, 23 jetted off to Gran Canaria, in the Canary Island for three days in September to surprise her family while they were on holiday.
One day, the pair decided to go on an impromptu trip together on a boat, and Kayleigh said she applied sunscreen while they were doing watersports.
And although the 21-year-old, from Basildon, Essex, was adamant on lathering on the factor 50, she still got slightly sunburnt.
She then went another day where she covered up further, but was left horrified when she noticed that her left eye started to shut.
Kayleigh said: "I'm very pale and fair skinned anyway and tend to get burnt quite quickly.
"We went on a boat trip and were out for quite a few hours and went back to the resort that night. I was a little bit burnt but nothing bad.
"And then woke up the next morning and my forehead felt swollen and it started to blister a little bit.
"We went out on a boat trip that day and I sat with a hat on, had suncream and sunglasses on and a towel over my head as well because it started to blister, I didn't want it to get any worse."
And not before long, the same side of her face became increasingly swollen.
Fearing for her health, the recruitment consultant was then left dashing for medical help, where a flabbergasted chemist asked if she'd been punched in the face, while saying that "she'd never seen anything like this before."
Despite the chemist giving her some cream and advising her to keep out of the sun, that evening things took a turn for a worse as her cheeks ballooned, so much so that she could barely open her eyes.
But the following morning, poor Kayleigh became so swollen she 'looked deformed' - leaving her fearing that she was so unrecognisable, that she wouldn't make it through airport security.
Kayleigh went on to add: "We went back to the hotel that night and my other eye started to shut as well and by this point both cheeks were swollen and I could barely open my eyes.
"When I woke up the next morning it had just got so much worse and it started to panic me a little bit and we were due to fly home that day.
"I went to the doctors on site at the resort and they said that they hadn't seen anything like it before and they were unsure whether to make me fit to fly but because I wasn't in any pain he said it was fine.
"So they gave me a steroids injection and antihistamines and said I was fit to fly and once I was in England it probably took about two or three days to properly go down."
Fearing that she may miss out on her flight back to the UK, Kayleigh explained: "One side of my face was worse, it was huge. I'd say it went double [times swollen head became].
"It made me look almost deformed. It was scaring me, I didn't think they'd let me through security at the airport or anything.
"It didn't look like me at all. Both of my eyes were pretty much shut, I had to hold them open to see."
However, it turned out that the 21-year-old had suffered from sun poisoning or polymorphic light eruption - which is a case of severe sunburn after being exposed to ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun for an extended period of time.
Following the scary experience, Kayleigh is now raising awareness of the dangers that the sun and its rays can pose on humans, and the importance of applying sun protection regularly - even when it does not feel hot or sunny outside.
She's currently waiting for an appointment with a dermatologist to get to the bottom of why it happened.
However, Kayleigh did admit that the whole experience was frightening and "horrible", adding: "It was horrible at the airport. Everyone was looking, I didn't know what to do.
"If it wasn't for the letter from the doctor I would have worried whether they'd let me through because it obviously didn't look anything like me.
"I'd say wear a hat and wear so much suncream."
What is skin poisoning?
Sun poisoning - also known as polymorphic light eruption - refers to a case of severe sunburn, and may occur after a person has been exposed to ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun for an extended period of time.
It can come in different forms based on a person's sensitivity to the sun.
However, unlike a mild sunburn, sun poisoning usually requires medical treatment to prevent complications, as it is significantly worse than a mild sunburn.
In addition to the usual sunburn-like symptoms, people might experience:
- Severe redness and pain
- Fever (and sometimes chills)
- Blistering or peeling skin
- Dehydration
- Confusion
- Nausea or vomiting
- He adaches
- 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 are at an increased risk for sunburn.
