Bad sunburn with ankle swelling..concerned

[jamie6836]

Hello everyone. I went to the beach on Saturday, and stupidly, didnt put enough sunscreen on my lower legs. I''m very fair skinned, so I should have known better. Needless to say, I have a pretty bad sunburn on both of my lower legs. The burn itself isnt really bothering me at this point, other than it''s sore to the touch. My concern is the fact that my right ankle is swollen so bad you can''t even see it. I''ve been sleeping with my legs propped up, and when I woke up this morning, my left ankle is swollen as well, but not nearly as bad as my right. What I''m kinda scared about is the fact that if I''m sitting longer than 10 minutes, it''s unbearable to stand up and walk. My ankle will completely give out, and it hurts so bad I can''t put any pressure on it. If I fight through the pain and walk around a bit, it goes back to feeling normal. I can''t take Ibuprofen or anything because I''m six months pregnant. I guess I''m just wondering if what I''m experiencing is normal. Any help or advice would really be apperciated.

 

[lulu]

Take a bath with epsom salts. That really helped when it happened to me. I was on the pill at the time so I was more sun sensitive. That may be the case during pregnancy too.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Jamie, swelling in pregnancy is normal and can be pretty uncomfortable. That being said, swelling can also mean other more serious things. You should call your doc and talk to them about it. We''re not medical experts by any means and we have no knowledge of you, your health or your pregnancy thus far.

 

[kama_s]

Sounds like you have edema. The sunburn plus the pregnancy aggravated it (more prone in pregnancy due to a variety of reasons).Try and rehydrate yourself. Plus the Epsom salts lulu mentioned. See a Dr. if it doesn't get better soon.

Ibuprofen is completely safe to use up until 32 weeks in pregnancy.

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 4/27/2010 5:48:59 PM
Author: kama_s
Sounds like you have edema. The sunburn plus the pregnancy aggravated it (more prone in pregnancy due to a variety of reasons).Try and rehydrate yourself. Plus the Epsom salts lulu mentioned. See a Dr. if it doesn''t get better soon.

Ibuprofen is completely safe to use up until 32 weeks in pregnancy.

Ditto the oedema - does it feel quite firm when you press the swelled up area?

I got terrible oedema when I was pregnant and the advice they gave me was to keep my legs elevated, compression stockings and drink lots of water.

Kama_s - I wish I''d known about the ibuprofen being safe up to 32 weeks, I was desperate to take some for an inflamed costovertebral joint and the pain team told me it was a big no-no. I was already on 125mg lamotrigine, 200mg SR tramadol and around 60mg codeine and they just suggested upping the codeine a bit. Are opiates significantly safer that other things in pregnancy?

 

[Rachel9]

100% with Ibuprofen for pain if green tea bath doesn't work. I have also used Lidocaine Spray [tropical anesthetic] avail in 2-4% at the pharmacy it works like a charm. Keep fluids in /legs up as others posted and best of luck.

ETA to say: if you feel confused or develop larger blisters please give your doctor a call.

 

[kama_s]

Date: 4/27/2010 6:23:35 PM
Author: Pandora II

Date: 4/27/2010 5:48:59 PM
Author: kama_s
Sounds like you have edema. The sunburn plus the pregnancy aggravated it (more prone in pregnancy due to a variety of reasons).Try and rehydrate yourself. Plus the Epsom salts lulu mentioned. See a Dr. if it doesn''t get better soon.

Ibuprofen is completely safe to use up until 32 weeks in pregnancy.

Ditto the oedema - does it feel quite firm when you press the swelled up area?

I got terrible oedema when I was pregnant and the advice they gave me was to keep my legs elevated, compression stockings and drink lots of water.

Kama_s - I wish I''d known about the ibuprofen being safe up to 32 weeks, I was desperate to take some for an inflamed costovertebral joint and the pain team told me it was a big no-no. I was already on 125mg lamotrigine, 200mg SR tramadol and around 60mg codeine and they just suggested upping the codeine a bit. Are opiates significantly safer that other things in pregnancy?

Not particularly, especially not in the 3rd trimester. There isn''t much conern for birth defects with either. But opiate use in the 3rd trimester is not suggested because of withdrawal symptoms in the newborn. Most of the concern with opiates is during breastfeeding though. A % of people have a variation of a liver enzyme that makes you less efficient in breaking down the drug and flushing it out of your system. So you end up having more in your blood, which gets passed on via breast milk. Plus, chances are the baby too has the same variation, causing an overdose.

Ibuprofen, when used AFTER week 35 (I say 32 to stay on the safe side), prematurely closes the ductus arteriosus (DA). The DA normally closes automatically soon after birth. Ibuprofen causes it to close prior to birth, again, when used after week 35 only. So technically, it''s safe to use until that point.