I went to London on May 11 for a week.
The trip started off on a bad note.
I micromanage my seat assignments and actually selected the flight according to the seats available at the time of booking.
If forced to fly in coach, I fly an AA 777 in seat 31A or 31J.
I had seat 31J for 3 months. I booked it myself in the actual AA system, not online. I watched it all the way until I left for DFW.
I arrive at DFW and the seat I had was a really crappy 5 seat row aisle. I about had a heartattack and raised a whole lotta hell. I did not get my seat back but I did get a bulkhead. I was still pretty upset about it but when I got to ORD it didn't much matter because my flight had been cancelled and I would have to get reaccomodated on the ONE later flight. Geez. I slipped an agent on another gate a SOS card (an award for good service) and she slipped me into a bulkhead aisle and my sister next to me. A miracle because the flight was already packed. I arrived in LHR 4 hours late. Not too bad after all the delays in DFW and ORD.
My sister and I arrived to the hotel around 1pm and could not get into the room so off we went to Harrod's to buy some groceries.
Got back to the hotel and checked in, dropped off the groceries and headed back out into the beautiful 75 degree sunshine!
I made it to Hyde Park Corner and planned to walk down Piccadilly to show my sister a few sites.
At Green Park I noticed my legs were itching something fierce. I was scratching and not paying too much attention.
We went into the Hard Rock and moved down the street, stopping in a Waitrose or something similar.
I looked at my itchy, burning legs and was pretty shocked to see that my legs were swollen and bright red, turning purple.
It scared me to death and I decided that I better get back to the hotel.
I had to work early the next morning.
It was 330pm and my legs were getting tighter and tighter. I could barely walk by the time we got back to Belgravia.
On my way in, I asked the hotel (Carlton Tower) if they had a doctor on call and they said yes.
I got to my room and elevated my legs. By 4pm they were about double the normal size and purple. The swelling was pretty much isolated to the area between the knee and ankle. I could not move my ankle.
My left leg was really bad and the pain was just awful.
The right leg was getting worse. Fast.
I called down stairs and told the concierge that I needed to go to the ER.
I am terrified of DVT and looking at the web, I had every symptom.
I was trying to hold it all together and be brave but I just could not. I had no currency at this point and by the time I made it to the front door, the concierge had 50 pounds for me to pay the cab.

More in just a minute...

omigod, what happened!?? Get Back here and tell us!!!!

They hotel had a car and driver but it had run to the airport for someone and I would have had to wait a while for it to return, so I took a cab.
I went to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and was seen by a ER nurse for assessment. Waiting, I had a pain in my chest that just would not go away so they brought me in back for an EKG. So for the next 3 hours they tried to figure out what was wrong with me. For quite a while they thought it might be a fast moving skin infection. They prepped me for an overnight stay. I was not sure what it was, but I really did not feel it was an infection. It was not DVT (we hope) and all my vitals were fine.
They took blood and tested everything... all fine.
So they settled on the allergy diagnosis, gave me a shot of steroids and massive dose of antihistamine and sent me on my way.
I slept that night with my legs elevated and it was a little better the next morning.
It slowly improved to almost normal over the course of the week.
I then had the stress of flying home this weekend.
I had seat 31J again and checked everything before I left for the a/p.
Got to LHR and my seat had been reassigned to a crappy aisle seat way in the back! I was REALLY pissed and when I told the gate agent that I would go see a friend who worked for AA at LHR, she magically retrieved my seat.
What the hell is going on?
I have never had this happen. Never.
Flight was uneventful and my legs were fine.
Once I got home I started researching what the problem could have been...
I used a new lotion on my legs and arms that morning. I used a self tanning lotion as well, on my legs and arms.
BUT, I was also a little sunburned on my calves from a few trips to the tanning salon.
Before you start yelling, let me explain that I only tan my calves because they look 1000x better tanned. It hides veins.
I don't wear shorts, only capris, so I give my tan just a little boost every spring.
But I overdid it a little and my legs were just a tad red.
Enough to make a warm bath uncomfortable.
As it turns out, a possible side effect of a sunburn on the legs is excessive swelling, especially under ideal circumstances.
This is the new diagnosis.
My doctor seems to feel that this is the most likely cause.
So, all's well that ends well.

Other than that, the trip was as great as a business trip can be

Glad everything turned out ok.

TxTravelPro,
I once had a terrible red itchy rash on my face! I went to the md and he started looking very serious and concerned and ordered all kinds of tests, then told me he thought it might be lupis. He also thoughtfully provided the information that if it was, it would probably kill me before I was 40. Once I got over my hysteria, DH insisted I see his doc, who promptly asked me if I had used a new moisturizer or foundation. Uh...yes. So she told me take a benadryl and 48 hours later I was fine. Sounds very similar to your situation. Allergies and be HORRIBLE!

Hope all is well!

Well - frankly I'm not surprised that a new lotion on skin that was already supersensitive could do something like that.

A couple of lessons - when you switch lotions always try it on a small bit of skin for a day or two before using on large areas. Many of them have ingredients people are sensitive to.

On a MUCH more serious note. No one should ever tan in a salon - ever - any part - for any reason. And you should always have 100% coverage with sunscreen when you're outdoors for any amount of time. I lost a beloved uncle to malignant melanoma a couple of years ago. And it's very insidious. You can have only a tiny spot on the skin when it's already metastasizing through your whole body. And the increase in the number of people developing it - and at much younger ages - is shocking.

If you want your legs darker just use more of the self-tanner - not any sort of real tanning. You're risking your life.

I'm working on an educational prject now - and know that in Texas the Tanning Salon lobby is next to the NRA in terms of influence. They have sucessfully blocked all attempts at anti-tanning legislation that is becoming much more common in other states (at least protecting young people by requiring written parental consent and limiting the use by young people).

nytraveler, good!
If people got a look at what having a melanoma looks like ( before you die) they might think that a pale skinned look would be preferable.
I am now living in the Land of the Tanned and the skin cancer rate here is horrifying, not to mention really ugly as that skin ages..my handbags are smoother!

TxTP...I am relieved for you that it was not veins or anything really serious..although I have had allergic reactions and know how uncomfortable it is..hope you feel good now.

Me too!
It's funny, the lotion was fine on the other parts of my body, so if it played a role it was because the skin on my legs was already compromised.
It was a highly perfumed lotion, Bulgari Green Tea. I used it years ago, so it was not totally new but it was a new bottle of lotion that I had not used in long time.
Tanning. Ugh. I know better. I have been very diligent about the rest of my body. I have an olive complexion but my stupid legs look better dark.
I don't think I will do it again