Sunburn Treatment at Home in 6 Steps
What can be done at home, especially for sunburn, which is the fearful dream of summer holidays? Here are those home remedies…
Sunburn is the name given to the temporary inflammation of the skin due to too much exposure to ultraviolet, or simply UV, light from sunlight or artificial sources such as a sun lamp.
It causes pain on the skin, an unusually warm and flushed appearance. In milder cases, various home remedies can provide relief from the sunburn within a few hours, but it may take days for the sunburn to fade completely.
Repeated exposure to intense UV light that causes sunburn increases an individual’s risk of developing dark spots and other skin damage, such as dry or wrinkled skin. This may also increase the risk of developing types of skin cancer, such as melanoma.
It is possible for individuals to prevent sunburns and related ailments by protecting their skin from the harmful rays of the sun. Applying these protection methods even on cool or cloudy days is important for skin health.
Sunburn treatment does not improve an individual’s skin, but has the goal of reducing pain, swelling, and discomfort. If home care does not help control and relieve the individual’s symptoms, or if the sunburn is very severe, the doctor may recommend additional treatments or admit the individual to hospital.
Home Care for Sunburn
When sunburn occurs under normal circumstances, it is too late to limit the damage done to the skin. However, a few steps can be taken to reduce the individual’s pain, skin swelling and discomfort. All the methods suggested here must be used after the doctor’s control and approval. In particular, individuals who are constantly or temporarily taking drugs for certain medical conditions should learn before taking other drugs whether they are dangerous by interaction.
Over-the-counter, over-the-counter pain relievers can be used immediately after sun exposure to relieve pain. In these cases, the most effective pain relievers may be creams or gels applied directly to the skin. Apart from painkillers, applying a moisturizer, lotion or gel, especially aloe vera lotion, gel or calamine lotion, can have a soothing effect for pain.
Also, following the steps below can help alleviate your sunburn.
1. Keeping cold
You can take a cold shower to minimize the pain. You can cover the burned area with wet & cold things several times a day. When taking a shower, you should make sure that the water is not too cold; because when sunburn occurs, your skin’s ability to control temperature decreases.
2. Drinking water
By drinking 8-10 glasses of water a day, you should regain the amount of water you lost and protect yourself against thirst and weakness. You should avoid coffee, alcohol or carbonated drinks.
3. Using a humidifier
You should apply moisturizing creams and lotions on wet skin. Thus, the moisturizer will be even more effective and the recovery will be faster.
4. The right foods
You can benefit from antioxidant-rich foods (for example, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, plums, prunes, artichokes, beans, pecans) to heal and protect damaged skin.
5. Avoiding the sun
Sunburned skin is much more vulnerable to the harmful rays of the sun. In order not to take more risks and make things worse, you should not go out in the sun as much as possible, and you should use protective products when you go out in the sun.
6. Not dealing with bubbles
You should never try to pop the blisters after sunburn; because these bubbles play an important role in the self-healing of the skin. If you suspect an infection risk regarding these blisters, you should definitely see a specialist. Signs of infection are redness, pain, yellow appearance. If you have encountered such a situation before, you should definitely tell your doctor about this situation.
You can also check out this our article: Sunburn: Duration and Treatment Tips