A British schoolboy suffered such severe sunburn on holiday that he needed surgery after developing painful blisters all over his body.
This happened despite the family using sunscreen, which they now suspect was “expired” or counterfeit.
Disturbing footage shows 10-year-old Hector Harvey looking as though he has had hot water thrown on him with huge yellow blisters and large sections of his skin peeling off.
Hector, from Nottingham, was on holiday in Cape Verde, an archipelago off the coast of Africa, with his family on what should have been the trip of a lifetime in August this year.
He flew out with his mother, Natalie Harvey, 47, along with her partner, Ben Limbrick, 40, and Hector’s brother, Hugo, 15.
Hector Harvey was on holiday in Cape Verde, an archipelago off the coast of Africa, with his family on what should have been the trip of a lifetime in August of this year.
But a sunscreen mishap left the 10-year-old looking like he had been “dumped with hot water” with huge yellow blisters and large sections of his skin peeling off.
After calling NHS 111 for help, he was eventually admitted to Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham, where he was treated for sunburn and underwent surgery to burst and clean his blisters.
The family, from Nottingham, packed British sunscreen which they used successfully for much of their trip.
However, on the last day of their holiday they ran out, so they opted to buy a bottle of SPF90 from a shop in the hotel they were staying at.
They claimed to have used it liberally on Hector 30 minutes before he ventured out to play in the pool in 29°C (84°F) heat.
Ms Harvey said she reapplied it “continuously” throughout the day.
But it was only when Hector felt sleepy and hot at the airport, before his return flight, that the family had their first suspicion that something was wrong.
Watery blisters measuring 8cm then appeared on his chest, arms and shoulders when they landed.
After calling NHS 111 for help, he was eventually admitted to Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham, where he was treated for sunburn and underwent surgery to burst and clean his blisters.
Ms Harvey, a teacher, said that while the cause of Hector’s burns was still unproven, she said doctors who treated her son suggested the cream bought overseas could have been out of date or counterfeit.
Ms Harvey, a teacher, said that while the cause of Hector’s burns was still unproven, she claimed that doctors who treated her son suggested that the cream bought overseas might have been out of date or counterfeit and therefore did not protect him from the sun. Hector is recovering in hospital
She said she now wants to raise awareness about the dangers of buying sunscreen outside the UK to other families.
“On the last day we had no sun cream left and Hugo and I didn’t feel like going out, but Hector did feel like going out because he had made lots of friends on holiday,” she explains.
‘Ben was going to take Hector outside and we had seen in the hotel shop that they sold sunscreen and it was SPF 90 so we thought it would be absolutely fine.
‘We bought it and applied it in the apartment and waited 20-30 minutes before going out into the sun to let the sunscreen settle.’
Ms Harvey recalled that her son and his partner were fine until they arrived at the airport.
“Hector seemed absolutely fine until we got to the airport and he seemed to be quite sleepy and hot,” she said.
‘At the airport I bought some aloe vera just to help cool him down.
‘I spent about two hours in the sun and it was about 29 degrees and I was continuously applying sunscreen during that time.
Hector was on holiday in Cape Verde with his mother Natalie Harvey, 47, along with her partner Ben Limbrick, 40, and his brother Hugo, 15.
‘I went out in the sun for about 30 minutes and didn’t put any cream on and I didn’t have any problems, but my partner Ben, who also used sun cream, also got a terrible burn.
‘When Hector took off his shirt when he got home, blisters began to appear that were about three inches thick. They appeared on his shoulders, upper chest and back.
“I couldn’t believe I was sunburned. I was wearing the highest protection factor sunscreen I’d ever seen and I was burnt.
‘I felt sick when I saw the blisters and wished it was me.
‘I couldn’t understand what had gone wrong. I knew I had reapplied the sun cream and had done everything right and although I’m still blaming myself, it’s incredibly unfair as I bought something in good faith and it didn’t work.
‘The doctor said he had been to Cape Verde and said there were numerous things that could have caused this.
‘They suggested the sunscreen might be out of date and then later said the sunscreen might be counterfeit.
“When his blisters burst during surgery, they gave him gas and air, and they had to clean him up and bandage him to prevent infection.”
Despite the extent of the burns, Hector has recovered well and will not have any scars.
Ms Harvey said: “I don’t think he’ll have any scars but at the moment he’s blotchy and has lots of red spots all over his body.”
“It looks like hot water has been poured on it.”
However, he added that doctors have warned him that Hector will be particularly vulnerable to sunburn over the next two years.
She also said she would never buy sunscreen from another country again and would instead make sure she had enough supply in the UK and urged other parents to consider similar precautions.
“I would tell other parents to bring an extra bottle of their own sun cream and if you are buying sun cream abroad, check if the bottle has stars and its UVA rating,” she said.
While sunburn is usually short-lived, mild and severe cases, like Hector’s, may require medical attention.
Getting sunburned can also increase your risk of developing skin cancer in the future.