Teenage girl left with golf ball-sized burn blisters and in hospital for a week because she didn't put on sun cream due to sea breeze

A teenager left with agonising golf ball-sized burn blisters has released horrifying photos in a bid to encourage others to wear suncream .
Hannah Hughes, 18, was on a week-long holiday in Newcastle Emlyn, west Wales, with pals celebrating the end of her AS levels.

Despite the sunny weather, Hannah shunned sunscreen during a three-hour trip to the beach as she couldn't feel herself getting burned due to the sea breeze.
But hours later her skin had turned red raw and she started vomiting.
After Hannah returned home she noticed penny-sized sacs of pus bubbling up across the back of her legs which ballooned into golf ball-sized blobs and she was admitted to hospital where she stayed for a week.

Hannah never realised she could be so badly affected by the sun in the UK (Image: Mercury Press and Media Ltd)

Hannah's legs in bandages after she was burnt (Image: Mercury Press and Media Ltd)

Hannah is now speaking on a year after her ordeal last July to urge people to always slather on sunscreen.
Hannah, from Staffordshire, said: "Stupidly I decided not to wear sun screen that day.
"It didn't feel all that warm because of the sea breeze so I didn't realise I was getting burnt.
"We were only in Wales which isn't the most exotic country in the world so I didn't think twice about it.
"When you go abroad you know to put sunscreen on but because it was nice and cool I thought I didn't need to.
"When we got back to the cottage we were all red as none of us wore suncream.
"I had a cold shower and put after-sun on but it didn't help, then I started throwing up.

She burns covered most of her legs (Image: Mercury Press and Media Ltd)

She began vomiting violently after being burnt (Image: Mercury Press and Media Ltd)

"We went out for a meal that night but I couldn't face anything so I just had a glass of water.
"When I got home I was stuck in bed for two days and that's when I started getting blisters.
"I couldn't get out of bed alone so mum had to help get me up to go to the bathroom, it was humiliating."
As the pain worsened, Hannah and worried mum Kerry Fellows attended a walk-in centre where dressings were put on the few penny-sized blisters which had developed.
However, when Hannah returned home, her condition worsened and two days later the pair went to North Staffs Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent where she was closely monitored and placed on a drip.
Hannah said: "The staff were really shocked when I told them that it had happened in Wales.
"The back of my legs, from my knee to the top of my legs where my shorts finished, were absolutely covered in blisters. By this point they were the size of golf balls.

Pus oozing out of Hannah's blisters (Image: Mercury Press and Media Ltd)

Some of the blisters were as big as golf balls (Image: Mercury Press and Media Ltd)

"I was unable to do most things on my own, I needed a wheelchair to be able to move to have a wash or brush my teeth.
"I was able to move on to crutches but it was still frustrating.
"It took three people to get me out of bed which sometimes took 40 minutes due to the pain I was.
Hannah, then 17, was in hospital for a week and was told the blisters could either be cut off, with a high risk of infection and scarring, or her legs could be bandaged up.
Hannah said: "I decided on having them bandaged which was possibly my safest option and by letting them pop on their own.
"They had to change them quite often which was pretty painful and grim looking but it was a relief to know they were going away.
"I was given crutches to help me get around when I came out of hospital and was on lots of strong painkillers."
It took four weeks for Hannah's legs to look normal again as once the blisters popped she had to wait for her skin to peel off to reveal the fresh skin below.

Hannah had to rely on crutches because the pain of the blisters was so great (Image: Mercury Press and Media Ltd)

Hannah is now sharing her experience to urge people to use sun screen so they don't endure the agony and embarrassment she went through.
Hannah said: "You always think you're going to be ok but it's not worth the risk. It's always best to put sun cream on - it's better to be safe than sorry."
Care assistant mum-of-three Kerry said: "It was awful. On the day it happened her friends rang me and said she want feeling well and that she's been sick.
"When she came off holiday she was struggling to walk but it didn't look that bad - there was redness but no blisters.
"The following morning she couldn't get out of bed and we spotted two small blisters on her leg, but as time went on the blisters just started popping up more and more and were filling up with all this horrible yellow fluid.
"Her legs were rock solid like a brick."
Kerry is proud that Hannah is now sharing her story to help others.

Hannah's legs went bright red within hours (Image: Mercury Press and Media Ltd)

Kerry said: "Given the extent of the blistering the doctors thought she would have some scarring but miraculously she hasn't.
"Hannah wants to share these awful pictures to prove that the sun is just as strong here in the UK as it is abroad.

"It's not worth the pain, the stay in hospital or the embarrassment. I'm urging people to always use sun screen so they don't go through what Hannah did."
Cancer Research UK's senior health information manager Jessica Kirby said: "Whether you're at home in the UK or abroad, it's very important to protect your skin, especially between 11am and 3pm when the sun is strongest.
"The best way to do this is to spend time in the shade, and cover up with clothing. Use plenty of sunscreen with at least SPF15 and 4 or more stars on the parts of your body you can't cover and reapply regularly."