A young Australian woman was left with severe second-degree burns to her legs from too much sun exposure after a four-day music festival.
Cassidy Flynn-Troy visited Beyond The Valley with 20 friends and enjoyed herself until her legs started throbbing an hour before midnight on New Year's Eve.
The 22-year-old from Melbourne told FEMAIL she felt like she was starting to 'hallucinate' and panic after looking at her legs under her jeans.
'They were so red. It felt like I had walked through fire and steam was coming out. “I was panicked and shocked,” she said.
The boxing and pilates teacher had to go to the emergency room after returning home and had huge blisters on her thighs.
Although the temperature was 22-24 degrees Celsius and Cassidy had applied sunscreen, she said her burns were the result of too much sun exposure for four days.
Her horrifying experience once again highlights the importance of wearing and reapplying sunscreen, especially when outdoors for extended periods of time.
Cassidy Flynn-Troy attended Beyond The Valley in Victoria with friends on New Year's Eve. The weather was mild, reaching only 24 degrees Celsius in one day. Despite applying sunscreen, she was left with severe burns (photo camping before the festival)
The 22-year-old went to the emergency room after returning to Melbourne. Nurses drained the blisters and she left with bandages on both legs (photo)
The first two days of the festival were cloudy and overcast, but on New Year's Eve the sun shone with a temperature of no more than 24 degrees Celsius.
On December 31, Cassidy and her friends applied sunscreen to all parts of their bodies that were exposed and drank at their campsite before heading to the festival at 3:30 p.m.
“We lost track of time, had fun watching the performances and noticed everyone was sunburned when we got back to the campsite at 8pm,” she said.
They all put on warmer clothes, like jeans and jackets, knowing it would be cool when the sun went down. They were back at the festival at 9:30 PM.
An hour before midnight, Cassidy noticed her legs were starting to get sore assumed this was because she had 'danced for twelve hours', not eaten and was dehydrated.
At 2 a.m., she began “hallucinating” in the crowd.
'I thought, “I'm probably just really exhausted, I haven't slept much the last few days.” So I told my best friend and we left,” she recalls.
The pair went to get food and walked two kilometers back to the campsite. Then Cassidy noticed her skin starting to feel warm.
'I panicked because my legs felt sore. When we got to the tent, I had a massive panic attack after rolling up my pants and seeing the color of my skin for the first time.
“It was three in the morning, I wasn't sure if I needed to go to the hospital and we had no phone service.”
She had two options: stay in the tent and moisturize the burns, or walk back to the festival to see a medical professional, as there were no other medics around.
Cassidy chose the latter and returned with her best friend by her side calming her down.
'They were so red. It felt like I had walked through fire and steam was coming out. “I was panicked and shocked,” she said
Now she has had a week off, drank 4.5 liters of water and is constantly hydrating to speed up the recovery process. It will probably take another three weeks for her skin to return to 100 percent normal
When she reached the medical aid tent, she explained what was happening and the medic said 'oh s***' after looking, which only made her more worried.
All they could do was put cold water on her legs to ease the pain from the burn. The medics then took her back to the campsite and gave her medication to help her sleep through the night.
On New Year's Day, Cassidy and her group took the bus back to Melbourne.
“When I got home I didn't even have the energy to shower and just went to bed,” she said, adding, “The next day I woke up and realized how serious it was.”
Cassidy visited a local medical clinic who told her to go straight to the emergency room.
“The nurse said there's nothing I can do except wait for it to heal, be patient, stay hydrated, and stay hydrated. Then she drained and cleaned the blisters,” she said.
'I have taken care of the skin over the past few days, but it has already improved drastically. I'm still a little sore, but I'll get through it.'
Now she carries several types of sunscreen with her everywhere and wears it every day
Reflecting on the experience, Cassidy said the “scariest thing” was not being aware of the severity during the festival because she “couldn't feel it.”
“It's so easy to forget to log back in when you're doing other things. You can apply it in the morning or at lunch, and then maybe in the afternoon, but you have to reapply it every hour,” she warned.
She also uses Accutane for acne, which can make your skin more sensitive to the sun than normal.
She has had a week off, drank 4.5 liters of water and is constantly hydrating to speed up the recovery process. It will probably take another three weeks for her skin to return to 100 percent normal.
Now she carries several types of sunscreen with her everywhere and wears it every day.
When asked what she wants others to know, Cassidy said, “Put on sunscreen! It's so easy to lose track of time when you're away, so set a reminder on your phone.'
Cancer Council recommends applying sunscreen 20 minutes before going outside and then reapplying every two hours.
When UV levels are three or higher, most Australians get enough vitamin D with just a few minutes of sun exposure while doing daily tasks such as walking to the local shops.
Because sunscreen can be easily rubbed off and lost through perspiration, you should also reapply it after swimming, sweating, or towel drying.
Too much sun exposure can increase your chance of developing life-threatening skin cancer.