In the UK, 10-year-old Hector Harvey, his mother Natalie Harvey (47), her husband Ben Limbrick (40) and Hector’s brother Hugo (15) went on holiday to Cape Verde, an archipelago off the coast of Africa. When they ran out of sunscreen they brought with them, they bought a sunscreen with SPF90 from a local shop. It was claimed that 10-year-old Harvey applied the sunscreen 30 minutes before going to the pool during the day during the holiday.
”HIS ARMS AND SHOULDERS WERE SLOUGH”
On the way home from the airport, the child was hot and sleepy, and when he got worried, he noticed many blisters around his neck. After his clothes were removed, the 10-year-old boy was found to have large 8-centimeter ‘watery’ blisters on his chest, arms and shoulders.
SURGERY WAS UNDERTAKEN
According to the Mail Online, the child was rushed to hospital and had surgery after blisters were noticed at the airport. During the surgery, all the blisters on the child’s body were popped one by one and cleaned, and he was treated. It was reported that the child was being treated for sunburn, as his body looked as if ‘hot water had been poured on’.
SUNSCREEN MAY BE ‘FAKE’ OR ‘EXPIRED’
The family said that the cause of the burns had not yet been proven, and claimed that the doctors who treated the child suggested that the cream purchased from abroad could have expired or been fake.
Mother Natalie Harvey said people should be careful with purchased sunscreens, saying:
“At first I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. He knew I had reapplied the sunscreen and that I had done everything right. The doctor said the sunscreen might have expired. They took my son into surgery immediately. He was cleaned and bandaged to prevent infection. Despite the extent of the burns, Hector has healed well and will not have any scars. If you are going on holiday, take an extra bottle of sunscreen with you. If you need to buy it from where you are going, I would recommend checking if it is a good sunscreen and if it has a UVA rating.”