A British schoolboy became so badly sunburnt on holiday he needed surgery after painful blisters erupted across his body.
This was despite the family using sunscreen, which they now suspect was ‘out of date’ or counterfeit.
Disturbing images show 10-year-old Hector Harvey looking like he had ‘hot water thrown on him’ with massive yellow blisters and huge sections of his skin peeling off.
Hector, from Nottingham, was holidaying in Cape Verde, an archipelago off the African coast, with his family on what should have been a trip of a lifetime in August this year.
He jetted off with his mother Natalie Harvey, 47, alongside her partner Ben Limbrick, 40, and Hector’s brother Hugo, 15.
Hector Harvey was holidaying in Cape Verde, an archipelago off the African coast with his family on what should have been a trip of a lifetime in August this year.
But a sunscreen mishap left the 10-year-old looking like he had ‘hot water thrown on him’ with massive yellow blisters and huge 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 have his blisters popped and cleaned
The family, from Nottingham, packed British sunscreen which they used successfully for most of their trip.
However, on the final day of their vacation, they ran out so opted to buy a bottle of SPF90 from a shop in the hotel they were staying at.
They claimed to have used this liberally on Hector 30 minutes before he ventured to play in the pool in the 29C (84F) heat.
Ms Harvey said she ‘continuously’ reapplied it over the course of the day.
But it was only when Hector became drowsy and hot at the airport prior to their flight home that the family first had an inkling something was wrong.
He then developed 8cm big ‘watery’ blisters over 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 have his blisters popped and cleaned.
Ms Harvey, a teacher, said while the cause of Hector’s burns has yet to be proven she claimed medics who treated her son suggested the cream purchased abroad may have been out of date or counterfeit.
Ms Harvey, a teacher, said while the cause of Hector’s burns has yet to be proven she claimed medics who treated her son suggested the cream purchased abroad may have been out of date or counterfeit and therefore didn’t protect him from the sun. Hector recovering in hospital
She said she now wants to raise awareness about the hazards of purchasing sunscreen outside of the UK to other families.
‘On the last day we had none of our own sun cream left and Hugo and I were not bothered about going out but Hector wanted to go out because he had made lots of friends on the holiday,’ she said,
‘Ben was going to take Hector outside and we had seen in the hotel shop that they were selling sun cream and it was factor 90 so we thought it would be absolutely fine.
‘We bought it and applied it in the apartment and waited 20 to 30 minutes or so before he went out in the sun to let the sun cream settle in.’
Ms Harvey recalled, how her son and partner were fine until they got to the airport.
‘Hector seemed absolutely fine until we got to the airport and he seemed to be quite drowsy and hot,’ she said.
‘At the airport I bought some aloe vera just to help cool him down.
‘He spent about two hours in the sun and it was about 29 degrees and I was continuously reapplying the sun cream in that time.
Hector was holidaying in Cape Verde with his mother Natalie Harvey, 47, alongside her partner Ben Limbrick, 40, and brother Hugo, 15
‘I popped down into the sun for about 30 minutes and didn’t wear the cream and I didn’t have any issues but my partner Ben who also wore the sun cream was terribly burnt too.
‘When Hector took his top off when we got home, he started blistering and they were about 8cm full of water. They were on his shoulders, top of his chest and back.
‘I couldn’t believe he was sunburnt. He had been wearing the highest sun cream factor I had ever seen and he was burnt.
‘I felt sick when I saw the blisters and I wished it was me.
‘I couldn’t understand what had gone wrong. I knew I had reapplied the sun cream and done everything right and while I’m still beating myself up, it is incredibly unfair as I purchased something in good faith and it didn’t work.
‘The doctor said he had been to Cape Verde himself and said that there were numerous things that could have caused this.
‘They suggested that the sun cream could be out of date and then further down the line they said the sun cream could be counterfeit.
‘When they popped the blisters in surgery he had to have gas and air and had to clean him up and bandage him to stop him getting any infections.’
Despite the extent of the burns, Hector has recovered well and won’t have any scars as a result.
Ms Harvey said: ‘I don’t think he’ll be left with any scars but at the moment he’s blotchy and has lots of red patches all over him.’
‘He looks like he’s had hot water thrown over him.’
However, she added that medics have warned her that Hector will be particularly vulnerable to sunburn for the next two years.
She also said she would never buy sunscreen again in another country and would instead ensure she had enough of a UK supply and urged other parents to consider similar precautions.
‘I would say to other parents to take an extra bottle of your own sun cream instead and if you are going to buy sun cream abroad check whether the bottle has stars on it and it’s UVA rating too,’ she said.
While sunburn is often short-lived and mild severe cases, like Hector’s, can require medical care.
Getting sunburnt can also raise your risk of developing skin cancer in the future.
