A mum claims her children were left “like burnt bacon” with significant burns on holiday – despite applying factor 50 sun cream.
Furious Claire Tymon says she applied SPF factor 50 Banana Boat UltraMist sun screen to son Louie, eight, and daughter Millie, 12, several times a day as instructed.
But despite this the 30C heat in Spain left them with horrific burns which turned into blisters.
Louie’s body was swathed with bandages after the family visited a walk-in centre on their return to the UK.
Millie has reddening and soreness to her face and shoulders – both children could be scarred for life after being burnt during the 11-day trip to Spain last month.
Claire believes the Banana Boat sun screen she bought from Home Bargains did not prevent them getting the burns.
She claims Louie cannot expose the top half of his body to direct sunlight for a whole year.
The mother-of-two, from north Hull, east Yorkshire., said: “While we were on holiday I felt guilty as a parent because they were getting burnt and I thought that I wasn’t putting enough on them at first.
“So I just kept applying more and more on them but it just got worse.
“I took them to a chemist over there because they had blisters as well.
“They were in so much pain. On the way home people were coming over to me bringing me medication for Louie to help the pain.
“We took them into the walk-in centre on Saturday morning and the medics there said Louie always has to wear a t-shirt in the sun.
“His shoulders and back can’t be exposed to it at all, and that’s for a year at least.
“They’re both scarred. It looks like burnt bacon.”
She added: “On the plane back, and coming out of the walk-in centre we had people staring at the kids and pointing which was awful.
“Millie’s really upset about it because she thinks people will stare at her when she goes back to school.
“I just want other parents to be aware if they’re taking their kids on holiday anytime soon.”
Miss Tymon says she bought the sunscreen from Home Bargains a couple of weeks before she went on holiday.
She applied the factor 50 suncream to her children at least half a dozen times a day as per the instructions on the bottle.
The mother is now speaking out to warn parents to be vigilant about choosing their sunscreen products.
Furious Claire says she is going to contact Banana Boat demanding answers.
Independent health advisers Environmental Working Group listed a different Banana Boat product, the Kids’ SPF Factor 100 sunscreen and sun lotion, on a list of 14 sun protection products “to avoid” as the SPF factor is lower than advertised.
A spokesperson for Banana Boat said: “We at Banana Boat, take all of our consumer’s concerns seriously and investigate all cases when we are contacted directly about someone who has encountered a reaction when using our products.
“However, it is difficult to determine what may have caused the reported problem without speaking with the consumer, examining the product or determining the specific type of reaction.
“Any consumer concerns that reach us are fully investigated by our quality assurance team, who will look into reported cases and assist consumers in any way we can.
“Often, chemical burns are mistakenly linked to personal care products or confused with sunburns, but Banana Boat sunscreens fall within a neutral PH range, which means they are safe for human skin and cannot cause chemical burns.
“We encourage people who have concerns about a type of burn to visit a dermatologist who can determine the differences among a chemical burn, a sunburn, a reaction to the sunscreen itself or a photoallergic reaction.
“A dermatologist can also advise on appropriate treatment. For some people, sensitivity to an ingredient can be triggered or exacerbated by the sun.
“Such a photosensitive or photoallergic reaction can result in an exaggerated skin rash or sunburn. In more severe cases, blistering may also develop.
“Banana Boat focuses fully on providing quality products and effective sun protection that meet all EU and Cosmetic Regulations (EC 1223/2009).
“All of our sun care products undergo appropriate and rigorous testing to ensure they are properly labeled and meet these regulations.”
A spokesman for Home Bargains said: “We’ve contacted the manufacturer and they have assured us that the formulation available in Home Bargains is compliant with relevant health and safety requirements.
“We’d urge the customer to contact us directly, so that we can investigate the reported incident.”
