Sunburn - Causes and Treatment - Avicenna Health

Your skin can burn if it gets too much sun without proper protection from sunscreen and clothes. It is essential to begin treating sunburn as soon as you notice it to help heal and soothe stinging skin. The first thing you should do is to get out of the sun—and preferably indoors.

Once indoors, these dermatologists’ tips can help relieve the discomfort:

1. Take frequent cool baths or showers to help relieve the pain. As soon as you get out of the bathtub or shower, gently pat yourself dry, but leave a little water on your skin. Then, apply a moisturizer to help trap the water in your skin. This can help ease the dryness.

2. Apply a moisturizer that contains aloe vera or soy to help soothe sunburned skin. If a particular area feels incredibly uncomfortable, you may apply over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream. Do not treat sunburn with “-caine” products (such as benzocaine), as these may irritate the skin or cause an allergic reaction.

3. Consider taking aspirin or ibuprofen to help reduce any swelling, redness, and discomfort.

4. Drink extra water. A sunburn draws fluid to the skin’s surface and away from the rest of the body. Drinking more water when you are sunburned helps prevent dehydration.

5. If your skin blisters, allow the blisters to heal. Blistering skin means you have a second-degree sunburn. It would be best if you did not pop the blisters, as blisters form to help your skin heal and protect you from infection.

6. Take extra care to protect sunburned skin while it heals. Wear clothing that covers your skin when outdoors. Tightly woven fabrics work best. When you hold the material up to bright light, you shouldn’t see any light coming through.

Although it may seem like a temporary condition, sunburn—a result of skin receiving too much exposure from the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays—can cause long-lasting damage to the skin. This damage increases a person’s risk of getting skin cancer, making it critical to protect the skin from the sun.

Source: American Academy of Dermatology Association