- An incident involving a woman’s severe sunburn has gone viral on TikTok.
- Bela Chatwin shared her experience of getting sunburned after falling asleep on the beach for five hours.
- Chatwin hopes her video serves as a reminder for everyone to wear sunscreen, whether they are her friends or strangers on the internet.
A TikTok video featuring a woman’s viral account of a tragic sunburn incident has become a poignant reminder for people to prioritize sunscreen usage.
Many individuals are now becoming aware, for the first time, of the excruciatingly painful and severe burn known as sun poisoning.
In her video, 21-year-old Bela Chatwin shares photos from her vacation in San Diego back in April 2018. The images depict her face swollen and intensely red, with a caption explaining that the burn had become so severe that her own sister didn’t recognize her.
Since posting on Tuesday, the video has garnered over 30 million views, eliciting strong reactions from viewers genuinely shocked by the visual evidence. Many individuals have taken to tagging friends, urging them to make sunscreen an essential part of their routines.
Chatwin revealed that immediate symptoms did not manifest upon waking up from her beach slumber. She appeared normal throughout the remainder of that day. It wasn’t until the following day that her face became swollen and covered in blisters, particularly along her chin and upper cheek area.
Matters took a turn for the worse on the third day when extreme swelling made it difficult for Chatwin to open her eyes. The blisters had burst open, causing oozing. Adding to her discomfort, she was on vacation, sleeping on a plastic bed aboard a sailboat, causing her skin to stick and peel whenever she moved.
“The pain was unbearable,” she recalled.
Chatwin recounted how concerned strangers in San Diego approached her, offering various remedies for her face or aloe for her body. It was apparent that those around her were genuinely worried.
Upon returning to Utah, Chatwin promptly sought medical attention. The doctor diagnosed her with sun poisoning and confirmed her allergy to the sun. She was prescribed a steroid cream for her face and advised to use over-the-counter antihistamines like Benadryl. Additionally, she was instructed to avoid sun exposure and had to wear a surgical mask, hooded jacket, and sun hat for a duration of two weeks.
“The swelling left my skin with a rough sandpapery texture for about three weeks,” she revealed.
Chatwin explained that she shared her video after witnessing other TikTokers share their own bad sunburn experiences. She believed her injury was the most severe of them all.
Positioning the video as a dire reminder to wear sunscreen during the summer, she was pleased to see numerous individuals tagging their friends to spread the message.
Based on the comments, it appears that many people were learning about sun poisoning for the first time.
“I had never heard of sun poisoning,” read one of the top comments with 42,100 upvotes. Several replies from individuals who had experienced it themselves noted that while white people are more susceptible, sun poisoning can affect individuals of all skin colors and types. One user responded, “It’s a real thing. I’m black and I got sun poisoning after spending 7 hours on a beach in St. Maarten.”
Chatwin is grateful that her horrifying experience has raised awareness.
“I don’t want others to learn this lesson the hard way like I did,” Chatwin emphasized. “I learned it the hardest way possible, and I’d rather people learn from me than have to go through that.”
