Sun Poisening?

[Kimberle]

I got the strangest thing this trip, never happened before. I got 2 wide red bands around my lower ankles. It's not a sunburn cause the skin never flaked & pealed. Someone told me that the sun bounces up from the concrete. It was a bright cherry red, then turned purple, then to pink.

This trip I wore sandels for the first time. The first day it appeared, I switched to sneakers with low socks. Still got it, just above my socks.

Anyone else? Any idea's exactly what it is or how to prevent it? I've been to WDW many times and never gotten this before.

 

[Eljay]

Sounds kind of spooky, Kimberle! As a fair-skinned person who spends lots of time at WDW, in both sandals & sneakers, I have never heard of such a thing. I would see a doctor, it might be something else.
Good Luck!

 

[Samirella]

Originally posted by Kimberle
I got the strangest thing this trip, never happened before. I got 2 wide red bands around my lower ankles. It's not a sunburn cause the skin never flaked & pealed. Someone told me that the sun bounces up from the concrete. It was a bright cherry red, then turned purple, then to pink.

This trip I wore sandels for the first time. The first day it appeared, I switched to sneakers with low socks. Still got it, just above my socks.

Anyone else? Any idea's exactly what it is or how to prevent it? I've been to WDW many times and never gotten this before.

Well, if you say it wasn't a sunburn then it isn't sun poisoning. If this happened even with sunscreen on (which you should wear any time you're in the sun) it might be an allergy to something. I would certainly see a doctor about it.

 

[WDWAurora]

The two times I had sunpoisoning I got pukey sick and felt like I had a migraine the whole time...

 

[goofydad621]

The last time we were at Disney it was a few years ago in November. My wife got this red almost rashy looking things on her legs below here knees. She actually saw first aid for it and they told her that it was a reaction to the heat/sun and that they see it often.
don't know if this is the same thing or not.


Dave

 

[ncmvp]

Wow, I thought I was the only one.

I got the same rashy thing on my ankles a couple of years ago. The next couple of times I went to Disney in the summer I put sunscreen on the lower half of my legs and I didn't get the rash anymore. This past summer I did not put sunscreen on my legs and I got the annoying itchy rash that my kids made fun of. So the lesson for me is to always put sunscreen on my legs when I go to WDW.

P.S. this only happens to me when I go to WDW.

 

[Samirella]

Medications that cause photosensitivity will cause a reaction similar to this. Basically it's just an allergic reaction to the sun. Check your medications...they could be the culprit.

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

My mother got this in May. I had her stop at the First Aid station at Epcot. It is very common. The asphalt has glass in it and it reflects the sun. This causes the blood vessels in some people to swell at the skin's surface. He said to prop her legs up when she wasn't walking. Also, to put Benadryl and ice on her legs for the swelling.

Lori

 

[Tara8595]

My mom had the same thing happen to her, even with sunscreen. She spoke to someone else who had the same thing happen and they thought it was new Disney socks. Both wore Disney socks that they had just purchased and hadn't been washed.

Is this what happened to you?

 

[Kimberle]

No Disney socks.

I am taking a new med for HBP. I'll have to check the reactions.

Thanks,

 

[inaminute]

I used to get this all the time--and only at Disney. I tried everything, then started drinking more water while touring the parks. It hasn't been a problem since!

Very strange.

 

[EileenAmI]

I get the same thing! Being fair skinned, I do try to remember to put on sunscreen. I only get it in Florida. The first aid people at universaly told me that it cold be from a combination of the sun and sweating (since I was wearing short socks). However, this year, I have comfy sandals, som maybe that will help!

 

[dawgsgirl]

There was a long thread over on the Community Board about this a while back. You might want to do a search. I was a victim of "Disney Rash" and went straight to Centracare. Official diagnosis was Photodermatitis. Allergic reaction to sun. Got a steroid shot and was fine. Dissers recommend Coppertone Spectra to combat this strange and mysterious "Disney Rash".

 

[Kimberle]

Originally posted by dawgsgirl
There was a long thread over on the Community Board about this a while back. You might want to do a search. I was a victim of "Disney Rash" and went straight to Centracare. Official diagnosis was Photodermatitis. Allergic reaction to sun. Got a steroid shot and was fine. Dissers recommend Coppertone Spectra to combat this strange and mysterious "Disney Rash".

Thank you, I'll remember to get some for our next trip.

 

[phamton]

I have gotten this rash even when wearing jeans and also I've gotten it at night, so mine isn't from the sun.

It occurs most often if you have the 4 F's (fair, fat, forty, female) I have 3 of the F's.

What happens is that your legs swell a little (edema) from the heat. If the sock elastic is just a little tight, the swelling pools at the sock line and can't go down into the feet much. At the sock line, these little capillaries under the skin are overloaded with the edema and they break and bleed underneath the skin. The bleeding occurs from the edema and the jarring your legs get from walking on asphalt and concrete all day. As the swelling goes down in a day or so, this blood under the skin is reabsorbs and the redness fades to pink and then disappears.

The best way to prevent it is to keep your legs and ankles from swelling. Make sure that the socks you wear are not too tight so the blood can flow more easily and prop your feet up whenever possible. Avoid taking aspirin or advil as they both act as a blood thinner and can increase the bleeding from the capillaries.

Edited to add: I also went to the first aid at Epcot one night and they told me it was from the sun also. I pointed out the fact that I hadn't even arrived at the parks until after sundown and hadn't been in the sun at all that day.

I got it again a week later while walking around at Downtown disney with jeans on, not shorts. It was not the sun but the heat that caused the edema.

 

[tinkerbell of winter]

my friend got that when she went to wdw last may

 

[goofy4tink]

I've been to WDW about 5 times now. Several trips in the fall and two trips in mid-August. I am, ah...over forty, about 8 lbs. overweight, and fair skinned. Only on our trip last August has this happened to me. We got to WDW the same day H. CHarley did. The humidity was incredible for our whole visit. Yes, it was hot the year before, but the humidity was noticably higher this year. After about 4 days in the parks, my lower legs started getting red and itchy. Streaks of red were running up the backs of them. I remembered posts to these boards and knew what I had. It has to be due to the excess swelling plus heat/humidity. My legs/feet always swell a bit in WDW. I wear good, supportive shoes and switch shoes mid-day and change into good sport sandals. But this year I really believe that the humidity really was worse and so I had problems. 2 days after we got home, the redness was gone.