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Ways To Take Care Of and Prevent Sunburn

So, you took a nap while on the beach, during July, and baked lying in the scorching sun for over 2 hours. You cannot lie down, stand, or sit comfortably. Catching your body in a mirror it’s a color of glowing red. You’re nursing a severe case of sunburn. Now, your only option is to nurse your searing skin back to health. Here are some ways to preventing as well as treating that horrible sunburn to keep your healthy skin.

How bad is the sunburn? The first step in caring for seared skin is to examine your amount of damage. Even though any burned skin is damaged skin, burns occur in multiple degrees. Is your skin hot when you touch it and a red or pink hue? You may be experiencing a mild burn that will most likely respond to most any at-home treatment. Has any blistering shown up on your skin? If your burn is serious you will likely discover blisters showing up on the sunburned skin. Headaches, nausea and chills might follow. If this is the case, you should seek medical treatment as this will more than likely get even worse with no treatment by professionals.

Soothe the burn. Time is the only thing that can heal sunburn completely. Damaged skin needs to be replaced by new, healthy skin that lies underneath. Waiting is the only thing that can be done at this point. However, certain types of treatment can rid you of most of the pain. If a visit to the doctor’s office was required, you’ll be written a prescription of NSAIDS. This medication will give you some relief from pain and swelling with greater efficacy than an over the counter drug. Aspirin used in combination with cold compresses will assist with inflammation for less serious cases.

Keep yourself well hydrated. Any exposure to hot temperatures makes the body lose fluids because of sweating. Sun burn elevates the temperature of your skin and acts in the same way. Ensure that you consume plenty of water so that you do not dehydrate and your body has adequate fluid to perform its normal-everyday functions.

Begin the healing process. Putting on a low-dose hydrocortisone lotion or cream that contains aloe to the area that is affected can reduce time to heal substantially. However, do not apply to broken or blistered skin as this could further aggravate the area. Once your skin begins to peel, continue to apply moisturizing cream as this will help new skin stay healthy as well.

Know your skin type. Everyone under the sun is affected by rays from the sun. Some people feel the burn a bit more keenly than others. People that have fair skin are more likely to burn whenever they go out into the sun. The fairer the skin the less you should venture in the sun. Take an umbrella or hat to the beach so that you can enjoy yourself while at the beach and keep your skin in tact. However, even people with darker skin can burn every so often and some types of medicatios can increase the risks.

Tried and true. Too much of a good thing is never a problem when it comes to applying sunscreen. The first application should go on 30 minutes before you walk out the door and then reapply every two hours. It is the best to purchase a separate formula that’s made for the face if you tend to to have break outs. Don’t be mislead by overcast skies, the sun is still up above the clouds and sunscreen is necessary even then.

Sue enjoys writing about health topics such as sunburn and also loves the comfort of wearing Urbane Pants and Urbane Scrubs as well as Urbane Scrub Pants