Those who are prone and exposed to sunburn during the early part of their life run a higher risk of developing skin cancer later. Sunburn also often results in wrinkling of the skin. It is possible to avoid sunburn by limiting one’s exposure to sunlight and also through application of sunscreen products. For a sunscreen, use at least a minimum of SPF-30.
Did you know that you can also apply freshly brewed tea onto your skin to cool it down? Black tea contains tannic acid which takes off the heat from sunburn skin leading to restoration of pH balance.
Sunburn generally occurs within a few hours (2-3 hours) of the excess exposure to the UV rays. Depending on the intensity of the burn, it could take from a week to a month or more to heal completely.
First-degree sunburns are generally marked with low pain and redness of skin – this only impacts the outer layer of your skin. These can be treated at home. Second-degree sunburn refers to appearance of blisters and increased inflammation in the exposed region. Apart from these signs, one can have tenderness and itching of skin along with fever, fatigue, headache, and chills in severe cases.
One of the ways in which your body heals itself of sunburn is by peeling off the outer layer of the damaged skin. This will leave open irregularity in color and pattern which will eventually heal.
Depending on the degree of your sunburn, you can either take up natural home remedies or take a course of medicines; the latter generally would include pain relievers and itch-control medications. Here is a list of 10 remedies that you can perform at home to heal your sunburn:
- Bath Drop 2 spoons of baking soda into a bucket of bath to cool the water and ready it for your skin. Let yourself rest in the water for about 15 minutes. Do not stay in for more than 20 minutes as this would result in drying your skin further. Let your skin dry naturally without the use of air-blow or rubbing. You can also add oatmeal to the cool water for bathing. This will help your body to cool down.
- Aloe vera The gel of Aloe vera plant is well-known for its healing properties by causing the constriction of blood vessels. Apply the gel on to your burn about 4 to 5 times per day for at least a week.
- Cool compress Soak a cotton cloth in cool water and apply it directly on the burned areas. Make sure you do not apply ice or ice pack. Application of cold compress about 2 to 3 times a day will help your skin to heal faster.
- Hydration Your body loses a great amount of water in the event of sunburn. Make sure you drink at least 8 to 12 glasses of water to adequately hydrate your body.
- Moisturization Once you have taken bath, ensure that you apply moisturizer immediately. Letting your skin exposed to the air for too long will take away its moisture and worsen your sunburn.
- Potato-treat Potatoes relieve your sunburn greatly. Wash two potatoes and cut them into small pieces. Blend and grind them until they reach a liquid state. If the result appears dry, add water to make it into a paste. Apply this paste onto your burned areas. Do this 2 times a day.
- Cornstarch To smoothen the chafing that has occurred on your skin, apply the burned region with cornstarch. Do not apply petroleum jelly or oil as this could block the pores and aggravate the situation.
- Topical anesthetic If your skin is in pain and itches, then you can apply a topical anesthetic like Solarcaine. Products which contain lidocaine have the lowest probability of leading to an allergy.
- Pain reliever In case the pain does not relieve over time, then go for an over-the-counter pain reliever. This will reduce the pain and swelling of the skin. Make sure you do not use it in case of any digestive troubles following its consumption.
- Prevention The best way to avoid your skin from sunburn is to prevent being exposed to sunlight for a long period of time. Make sure you avoid major outdoor traveling between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. when the UV exposure is highest. Do not forget to wear sunglasses and to apply sunscreen (with at least SPF 30) when you are out!
