A SUNBED salon owner told an inquest yesterday that an overpowering smell like that of "burning tar" emanated from a sunbed being used by a man who died a week later.
Ms Gwen Whelan, the proprietor of Fresh Images, in Braemor Road, Churchtown, Dublin, said the odour had filled the whole salon five minutes after Mr Sean Kelly began his session on the sunbed. She had "given out hell" to him when he phoned the next day to say he had sunburn as a result of the previous day's session.
After the session he told her he had put on a cream for the treatment of psoriasis.
The gardai informed her of his death on February 5th, 1996.
A jury of six women at Dublin City Coroner's Court recorded a verdict of death by misadventure in the case of Mr Kelly (39), who had suffered 70 per cent superficial burns and 12 per cent blistering.
The inquest heard that Mr Kelly had requested a 10-minute sunbed session at Fresh Images on January 22nd, 1996, and said he had just returned from a holiday abroad. Ms Whelan said that when she advised him to spend only eight minutes on the sunbed, he said he had developed a good tan and wanted a 10-minute session.
He had been a regular user of sunbeds at the premises since 1993 and was known by Ms Whelan
The next day he returned for another 10-minute session and was again advised to spend two minutes less on the sunbed. He reiterated that he was well-tanned from his holiday.
Five minutes later an overpowering smell began to emanate from the sunbed similar to "hot tar when they are filling the roads," Ms Whelan recalled.
Mr Kelly assured her that he felt fine and admitted using a cream for the treatment of psoriasis.
Ms Whelan was "very shocked" by this disclosure as she was unaware that he suffered from psoriasis. Customers were warned not to apply any creams or lotions while using the sunbed.
When he phoned the following day and said he was burnt, she had "gone mad". She suggested he attend a doctor, but he said it was not necessary.
"I gave out hell to him and said I didn't want to see him back for two weeks until the redness had gone," she told the inquest.
On January 25th, Mr Kelly, of Braemor Road, Churchtown, was referred to St Vincent's Hospital by his GP, Dr Richard Wade. He was later transferred to the burns unit at St James's Hospital.
He suffered a cardiac arrest on February 5th and died in the early hours of the morning.
Dr Patricia Eadie, a plastic surgeon at St James's Hospital, said in her evidence that his reaction to his two brief sunbed sessions was very unusual.
"I would have anticipated that the burn would have come out 24 hours after the sunbed treatment. It struck us as extremely clinically unusual for someone to have this degree of burns from such a UV exposure," she said.
Dr Sarah Rogers, a consultant dermatologist, said Mr Kelly had visited her rooms in Ely Place in Dublin on January 25th, 1995, seeking treatment for the "widespread patch psoriasis." She had sent him to the nearby Hume Street Hospital where he received PUVA treatment, described as a form of "photo-chemotherapy."
Some redness did develop on Mr Kelly's body following this treatment, and after four sessions he stopped attending.
Dr Rogers stressed that patients were advised not to expose themselves to natural sun or artificial sun while receiving PUVA treatment.
It was not unusual for some pinkness to occur, but she said of Mr Kelly's reaction: "Following his exposure and his skin testing, we thought he would tolerate his starting dose."
Dr Marie Staunton, who carried out the autopsy, concluded that Mr Kelly had suffered a heart attack. This could have been building up during his whole adult life.
When Mr James Gilhooley, representing Ms Whelan, suggested that, because of his heart condition, Mr Kelly had been "a walking time bomb which was likely to go off at any time," Dr Staunton replied "Yes".