I Tried to Get a Tan

Well, over a weekend, I got the brilliant idea to get a tan. I’m so pale that I was determined to get myself a tan this spring and summer! So, I got myself some Coppertone SunTan Lotion. I was ready.

I should have known better!

Hives, heat and the pool

Now, my hives are heat-induced... and I live in Florida. You’d think I’d know better, right? But sometimes living with a chronic illness gets so frustrating, we want to just do a normal activity. I was determined to lay by the pool, relax, and get some sun. I packed some snacks in my cute new pool bag, grabbed my Yeti cup and headed to the pool. It was a short walk, and I enjoyed being outside. Sometimes I get so tired of just sitting in my apartment. I need fresh air.

I got to the pool, laid out my cute pool towel, put in my Airpods, and turned on my music. Then I used my sun tan lotion all over my arms and legs. I was excited. I’m getting a tan! I laid out for a bit on a late Saturday afternoon. It was so relaxing, and honestly so needed. I headed home and had some dinner. Sunday, I decided to head back to the pool to lay out. Tan, here I come! I again packed my snacks, Airpods, grabbed my Yeti, and off I went.

I got there at 12:30 PM. Probably the WORST time to go in Florida. Every Floridian knows the dos and don’ts of the sun and heat. Yet, here I was not really listening.

Itchy hives

So, I relaxed and laid out for just under 2 hours. Well, I got a sunburn on my chest. Right where my port is accessed. It is comical how it happened. No burn anywhere else except my chest. Seriously? I headed home. On Monday, I got itchy on my legs. Lo and behold, what happened? I triggered a flare-up.

Was it the heat, the sun tan lotion, or a combination of the 2? Who knows. So now here I am, itchy, and with hives on my legs.

How could I have not paid better attention to the potential risk of the flare-up? Because sometimes I just want to do normal things. Sometimes we just want to not be careful or have to deal with our chronic illness. We just want to do normal things.

Now I get to lather myself up with Benadryl cream and hope this eases soon. So while this flare-up happened, I definitely don’t regret spending my weekend at the pool, because sometimes we just need a normal afternoon.

Have you dealt with a chronic hives flare-up after spending time out in the sun? Do you allow yourself to tan like Ambre during the summer months? Tell us how the summer affects your body in the comments below!