Solarcaine Gave Us an Itch of a Time!
Written: Jul 30 '09
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Not expensive, green?
Cons: Violent itching, tacky feel.
The Bottom Line: Our experience was quite unpleasant, so I can't recommend it. I suspect most people don't itch this way, though.
|
|
|
| Trawma's Full Review: Solarcaine, Aloe Extra Burn Relief Gel - 4 Oz |
This month saw my son’s first serious sunburn. He’s 11 now, and I’ve been very conscientious about keeping him sunscreened, keeping him covered, and keeping him safe from those rays. See, no one kept me safe, and, at 44, I’m finding little spots of “solar keratosis” here and there. Not cancerous, but sometimes a precursor to squamous cell carcinoma. It’s a stupid thing to have, and I don’t want my son to suffer it.
Or worse.
Unfortunately, a trip to the pool clued us into the fact that our “waterproof” sunscreen really isn’t. It wasn’t a long trip—about an hour—but it was long enough to leave my son’s shoulders and upper arms looking positively lobsterish. His face was fine—we used a different sunscreen there. My husband was decidedly fire-truck reddish, too.
The first couple of days, I just gave him cool baths and slathered on the Calamine, and it really looked as though we were going to avoid the blisters. But then the tiny little bumps appeared and the sting increased dramatically, so I decided it was time for something a bit tougher. A half hour in the “ouchie compounds” aisle brought me to Solarcaine Aloe Extra Burn Relief Gel.
Right up front, it looks like aloe. It’s green, bubbly looking, and just appears cool and soothing. The bottle describes a product perfect for the itch and pain of sunburns, and boasts not just aloe gel (first ingredient), but also Lidocaine Hydrochloride (0.5%), a topical anesthetic. I figured I couldn’t go wrong, right?
Hmmm.
Out of the bottle, this stuff smells pretty good—aloe-y, but with a slight undertone of medicine. That would be the alcohol, no doubt. While it looks soothing and cool, it goes on thick and sticky. The longer it’s on, the tackier it gets, and it actually catches on clothing, blankets, etc. It’s a rather grotesque sensation. Worth it, though, if it works, right?
Well, in our case, it didn’t work. In fact, within minutes of application, both my husband and my son developed a deep, torturous itch that felt, to quote my son, “like something alive under the skin.” I sent them both in for cool soaks with vinegar, which did a lot to relieve the astounding itch. Next day, I slathered on the Solarcaine again . . . and again, the vicious, nightmarish itch kicked in, once again necessitating a long soak. Three times we tried, thinking maybe it was just a bad timing thing, that maybe the itch would have kicked in even without the Solarcaine. But that wasn’t the case—Solarcaine on, itch on. Solarcaine gone, itch gone.
To be fair, my hands did not itch from applying the Solarcaine. Of course, I washed my hands afterward because I couldn’t bear the tacky feeling.
In all, Solarcaine Aloe Extra Burn Relief Gel may work for some. I’m sure it can’t possibly make everyone itch like they’re flea infested—if it did, it wouldn’t be on the market, right? But it made my family miserable, and the feel of it was sickening. I don’t imagine recommending this product to anyone unless they’re at their wits end and can’t find even one other product to try.
Recommended:
No
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.