LIFESTYLE NEWS - Most sunburns, while painful, are not life threatening, and treatment is primarily symptomatic.
Once indoors, these dermatologists' tips can help relieve the discomfort:
Put a cold, damp towel on your skin. Do this for 10 or 15 minutes a few times every day. That will help take some of the heat out of your skin. You also can 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 will help ease the dryness.
Use a moisturizer that contains aloe vera or soy to help soothe sunburned skin. Lotions that have something called aloe vera in them help make your skin feel better. Be careful not to use lotions or creams that have any of these things listed in the ingredients: petroleum, benzocaine, or lidocaine. Things with petroleum trap the heat in your skin (and you don't want that!) and benzocaine and lidocaine can bother and irritate your skin. If a particular area feels especially uncomfortable, you may want to apply a hydrocortisone cream that you can buy without a prescription.
Taking ibuprofen for pain. This will help reduce any swelling, redness and discomfort.
Drink extra water.
Leave blisters alone. If your skin blisters, don't pop them because that makes the sunburn worse. Blistering skin means you have a second degree sunburn. Allow the blisters to heal and protect you from infection.
Tell someone if you feel sick. They might need to take you to the doctor if you feel dizzy, weak, sick to your stomach, cold, or just not yourself. Those things can mean the sunburn is making you really sick and you need help.
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 fabric up to a bright light, you shouldn't see any light coming through.
Courtesy of Walk in Doctor
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