This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/tifu by /u/GTurbo7 on 2025-02-01 17:08:53+00:00.
5 days ago I traveled to Sanya (basically the Miami of China) to spend the winter and Chinese new year there with my family. My grandma prepared my bedroom for me and as soon as I entered the room I noticed this weird looking lamp without a shade that had a blue/purple-ish color to it. I didn’t question it much other than thinking that my grandma probably had a unique taste in home decors. I then proceeded to spend the rest of the week with this weird lamp for a few hours every night while I scrolled on reels and tiktok before I went to sleep.
Now you must wonder, how did my dumbass not notice that I was being exposed to basically the full power of the sun without the ozone on a cloudless afternoon while butt naked for hours? Here’s the thing: Sanya has a tropical monsoon climate where the sun is literally a deadly laser, and I have been drinking a bunch of 80 proof baijiu everyday as soon as I’ve arrived bc of the holidays. I felt the sunburn sensation on my skin immediately on day 2 and started peeling on day 3 especially on my face. Everyone around me just assumed I was a thin skinned baby face bc all the uncs I had met were totally fine playing golf or hanging around outside all day without sunscreen. I accepted the humiliation and honestly based on my previous experience swimming in Egypt on a cloudy day and literary shedding my entire skin like a snake afterwards, I thought it was a me problem too.
In the morning of day 4, after an extra intense night of alcohol overconsumption, I woke up literally unable to keep my eyes open for more than 5 seconds. I asked google if this was a common hangover symptom and mf said yes. I then proceeded to purchase some artificial tears to help my eyes feel better. On top of the dryness, I wasn’t even able to focus my eyes all day and my vision got noticeably worse. My face was peeling too. Still, I thought I was just hungover and was suffering the consequences of being a low melanin beta.
Finally, tonight, my grandma switched my lamp for a brighter one bc she thought it looked weird too and had the lamp placed in another room where my mom was going to stay. My mom immediately noticed a weird smell (I did not smell anything when I had it) and realized the lamp is actually emitting UV light. Apparently one of my uncle bought my grandma this lamp during the pandemic to help disinfect things and she forgot what it was for. Thankfully nobody used it before I came.
My eyes have recovered and my skin has almost stopped peeling since. I’m just thankful that I didn’t accidentally leave the light on all night long. Now take this lesson in and please double check when a light near you has blue/purple colors or smelled off. Also, always wear sunscreen! Don’t forget your ears too!
TL:DR Got exposed to intense UV radiation from a light that my grandma mistakenly placed in my bedroom thinking it was a normal lamp. Thought it was just bc of sunburn and being hangover until mum realized what was off.