A woman is urging people to always wear sunscreen after her face swelled up so much that she was temporarily left unable to see.
Payton Williams ended up with 'sun poisoning' after spending two hours outside in 27°C heat back in April.
The 25-year-old's face ballooned and her eyes swelled shut. She was also left with a crusty and oozing sore in the middle of her forehead.
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Payton, a waitress who lives in Oklahoma in the US, was prescribed two different antibiotics but the swelling continued to worsen before it got better.
She said: "At its worst my eyes were swollen shut. I could barely see through the little slits left, I had to hold my eyes open to see.
"It was so painful. I have a chronic pain disease so I am not new to pain and have a high tolerance but this had me in tears.
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"I started doing comparison photos with The Michelin Man, Baymax from Big Hero 6, Sloth from The Goonies and Quasimodo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
"Laughing about it made it much easier to deal with what was happening, I use humour to cope a lot.
"It was either laugh about it or be scared since I wasn't sure how bad it'd get or if it would cause lasting issues. If I'm laughing, I'm not worrying."
Payton says she ended up with the sun damage after popping out on a 'social distancing date' with her pal and goddaughter but forgot to slap on some sunscreen before heading out.
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She added: "I'm so mad I didn't wear sun lotion. I'm so pale, I should have known better. I thought the length of time would keep me okay but, man, was I wrong.
"It was kind of cloudy and breezy so it wasn't too hot out and I was only in the sun for two hours.
"Right before I left my friend, I could feel I was starting to burn a bit but It wasn't until I got into my car and headed to the store, that I actually felt crispy.
"I called my mum because I started feeling very sick. I felt dehydrated and my head felt 'swimmy'. I thought I was going to puke or pass out at the time.
"That was Wednesday and on Thursday I woke up and my forehead was swollen and painful. By midnight the swelling and pain was worse so I decided to go to the doctor on Friday.
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"They could only treat the cellulitis with antibiotics. The treatment for sun poisoning is basically lots of rest and water. It took a month to heal and I'm so glad it's all over with.
"I want to warn anyone planning to spend time in the summer sun to wear sunscreen, reapply it regularly, wear a hat and stay hydrated."
Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News And MediaTopics: US