I have fought with myself for two days about posting this. I don't really know why....anyway I decided to put it out there anyway and see if any one else has experienced this.
I have sunbathed all of my life. My skin tans in the summer and I don't have to "lay out", but I do. I have had a pool for most of my life too. I get "brown as a biscuit" as the saying goes in my neck of the woods.
Over the years of swimming, sunbathing, fishing...whatever it is, I have never ever had a sunburn...I have sat in a boat in the sun from sun up to sun down before, many times...no sunburn, just a nice dark tan...but this past week...I got in the pool on my raft and just basked and floated for about an hour and a half... my legs and abdomen later that night were nearly purple and so sore that I couldn't stand it...that was four days ago and they are still tender, although they have turned from purple to red to a slighly tan color... I did the same thing all last summer and never had this problem... I truly don't understand what is different this summer!

[edit on 3-7-2009 by Greenize]

Normally during summer, i'm used to the heat in texas, but this year it is just downright unbearable. I think something is going on too.

I don't know if there is anything different with summer 2009, but I do know that there have been a lot of reported sun spots. This may be the reason for the recent weather troubles.

Dont knock it- at least you're having a Summer.

We got the first rays of Sun today, along with temps in the high 60's.

The way they tell it, it is going to finally get warm.



Do you take any medication? It could be the meds if any are reacting to the sun.

[edit on 3-7-2009 by dgtempe]

Record temps huh?

Over here we are having insane amounts of rain. I think I've only seen about 2 sunny days in the past 90 days. My power goes out every other day. It only goes out 1-2 times a year normally. Flash flood warnings nearly everyday.
It should be at least 80 degrees to 90 by now, I mean comon its july, middle of summer. It'll hit the upper 70's then a storm will come through and we're back to the 60's again. Brrr

So I can't say much about the sun, as we never see it over here in New England.

The other day (when there was increased activity it turns out) I was out for a whopping 30 minutes and my arm was red lobster red. Couldn't believe it!

I don't know if our magnetosphere being as funny as it is these days is allowing for more "burn juice" but I sure felt like I was out for a full day in the Miami sun.

The past few years the sun seems more intense, your burn sounds

like radiation burn, more intense than sunburn. Witch hazel helps tame

the pain down.

[edit on 4-7-2009 by truth/seeker]

it's definately different now, hotter, more damaging, than when i was a kid or even in more recent years, but i believe it to be, as most have alluded to, only in certain areas, probably those where the ozone layer or some other layer is thinner and these may even move around as the earth rotates or orbits...i just don't know that much about it despite all i've read. i also have a very real sense that the huge push in recent years about using sunscreen and UV indexes and staying indoors and the upsurge in skin cancer is probably not due to a purely new "awareness" but something actually going on that they (maybe) don't want a panic about. just my two cents.