WOMEN - Mother-of-two spends two days on a drip in a Spanish hospital after 'suffering violent reaction to Piz Buin sun cream'

Mother-of-two spends two days on a drip in a Spanish hospital after 'suffering violent reaction to Piz Buin sun cream'

• -  Clare Myers, 42, was on a £2,000 family holiday when she applied product
• -  Within 36 hours her face, arms and legs swelled and became very itchy 
• -  Was admitted to hospital and put on IV drip to bring down allergic reaction
• -  She was discharged after two days but three weeks on she must still take steroids 
•    and antihistamines to stop her allergy flaring up again
• -  Ms Myers is not first to suffer a reaction - last month cream featured on BBC's 
•    Watchdog show after producers were inundated with complaints
• 
  

By RACHEL REILLY

PUBLISHED: 10:49 GMT, 9 July 2013 | UPDATED: 12:36 GMT, 9 July 2013

A mother-of-two has claimed that a sun cream was responsible for her having to spend two days on a drip after she suffered a violent allergic reaction.

Three weeks after being hospitalised, Clare Myers, 42, from Ipswich, still needs steroids and antihistamines to stop her skin flaring up again.

She applied Piz Buin 1 Day Long on the first day of a family holiday in Menorca and suffered the reaction shortly after.

Clare Myers, 42, said the reaction she suffered after using the Piz Buin product ruined her holiday. Within 36 hours of using the cream her face was so swollen she couldn't smile or open her eyes, and her cheeks were so big she had to use a straw to drink

Within 36 hours of applying the lotion to her face it became so badly swollen she could not smile or open her eyes, and her cheeks were so inflamed she had to use a straw instead of a cup.

A doctor sent her straight to hospital, the Clinica Juaneda Menorca, where she was given the steroid cortisone and antihistamine intravenously.

She said: 'It ruined our holiday and it shouldn’t be on the market.'

Clare Myers, 42, was on holiday in a villa with husband Simon, 41, and children Amelia, four and Danny, two at Cala’n Forcat.

At first she thought she’d been bitten by mosquitoes. She said: 'We arrived on the Saturday afternoon and I put the Piz Buin One Day Long on my face and body.

Ms Myers was on a £2000 family holiday in Menorca when she used the cream. By the next morning her skin was itching and her face, arms and legs were incredibly swollen. She was then rushed to hospital

After the ordeal: Ms Myers said she has never suffered skin reactions before as she does not have sensitive skin. She is part of a growing number of people who are suffering reaction to Piz Buin 1 Day Long. Dermatologists believe two of the cream's ingredients could be the reason for the severe reactions

WHAT IS CAUSING THE REACTIONS?

Last week, Piz Buin sun cream featured on the BBC's Watchdog show after producers were inundated with health complaints about it.

Leading dermatologist Dr Ian White, of St John's Institute of Dermatology in London, said two of the cream's ingredients could be the reason for the severe reactions he had seen.

He said his organisation had demanded urgent action into the safety of one of the chemicals used in Piz Buin, C30-38 Olefin/Isopropyl Maleate MA Copolymer, two years ago.

He also claimed that one in 10 of the patients he now sees were allergic to another active ingredient in the cream - Methylisothiazolinone.

'The next morning I was itching, and as the day wore on I got more and more blotches and my face felt tight.

'By the next morning the itching was unbelievable. I felt really swollen, my arms and legs were all swollen.

'The travel rep got a doctor and he sent me straight to hospital. He said I needed an IV drip.'

Doctors at the hospital’s A&E department were concerned about her high blood pressure and feared she would struggle to breathe because of the swelling.

'I’ve never had any other reactions and I don’t have sensitive skin,' said Clare, who works as a part-time procurement manager for an insurance firm.

'After two days they let me out of hospital, but said I’d need antihistamines and steroids for another two days.

'The doctor said it was a very severe reaction. I tried to wean myself off the steroids but after just one day the rash came back.

'It completely ruined our holiday. It cost us £2,000 and it was our first two-week holiday in five years.

'There’s no warning on the packaging, nothing about doing a patch test. I don’t think it should be on the market.

'I want to tell people so they don’t go through what I went through.'

Ms Myers is not the first to claim to have suffered a reaction to the Piz Buin product. Last month the sun cream featured on the BBC’s Watchdog show after programme makers were inundated with complaints about it.

Medics at the hospital's A&E department were worried about Ms Myers' high blood pressure and feared she would struggle to breathe because of the swelling

 

Three weeks after her ordeal Ms Myers still needs steroids and antihistamines to stop her allergy flaring up again. She said she has never suffered skin reactions before as she does not have sensitive skin

Another holidaymaker, Marie Goldie, 37, from Glasgow, suffered a similar reaction. Doctors in Tenerife said her reaction was so bad they feared she’d need surgery to save her sight.

Dermatologist Dr Ian White, of St John’s Institute of Dermatology, said two of the cream’s ingredients could be the reason for the severe reactions he had seen.

He said his organisation had demanded urgent action into the safety of one of the chemicals used in Piz Buin, called C30-38 Olefin/Isopropyl Maleate MA Copolymer, two years ago.

He added that another active ingredient in the cream, Methylisothiazolinone, triggered a reaction in one in 10 patients.

Manufacturers Johnson & Johnson said: 'Piz Buin 1 Day Long is a safe and effective sun protection product. It contains only permitted ingredients and is labelled according to legal requirements. 

'The vast majority of people using this product are satisfied with their experience. 

'In principle nearly every substance or product in our daily life may cause irritation in some people with a particular sensitivity, including the ingredients of cosmetic products.

Marie Goldie, 37, from Glasgow, (pictured left, during her reaction and right, after) suffered a similar reaction to Ms Myers when she was on holiday. Doctors in Tenerife said her reaction was so bad they feared she’d need surgery to save her sight

'We have received a small number of complaints that Piz Buin 1 Day Long has led to skin irritation or rashes. These incidents equate to approximately 0.01% of sales. 

'Ms Myers has not been in touch with us to report her reaction so we cannot comment on this specific case. 

'We sympathise with anyone who experiences a skin reaction and we would encourage Ms Myers to contact us directly so that we can investigate the circumstances of her complaint. If Ms Myers and her GP agree, we will provide support with allergy testing to determine whether ingredients in Piz Buin 1 Day Long were the cause of her reaction.'

Between May 2012  and May 2013 the makers of Piz Buin received 80 consumer complaints relating to the product. 

During the same period, 875,550 units were sold to trade in the UK and Ireland. 

The number of complaints relating to skin irritation equates to approximately 0.01% of sales.