Everybody knows the agony of a sunburn and the concern about what damage we may have done to our skin. What should we do when we or our children end up with a sunburn? Can we make it less painful? Can we make it go away faster? In this article, we answer those questions.
What Happens When Our Skin Sunburns?
Sunburns result from too much exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun. The two damaging types of UV radiation from the sun—UVA and UVB—both damage the skin, but UVB is the main culprit.
Our skin is our body’s primary defense against UV radiation. The skin does this through producing melanin, the pigment that may be either brown-black or red-yellow. However, the skin’s defenses can be overcome by UV radiation, especially in fair-skinned people who do not have much melanin in their skin.
When UV light overcomes our skin’s defenses, it induces inflammation and may cause a superficial or 1st-degree burn (a burn that affects only the epidermis, the outermost layer of skin). A really bad sunburn that blisters may be a 2nd-degree burn.
The burn develops 3 to 5 hours after sun exposure, which may be while the individual is still out in the sun. The skin damage peaks between 12 and 24 hours, and usually resolves within a week. A sunburn rarely causes any scarring. Severe cases may result in dehydration due to loss of the skin’s ability to act as a barrier to fluid loss. Infection of the burned area may also occur.
Sunburn Remedies
Of course, the best treatment is prevention: sunscreens, clothing, umbrellas, or other barriers to UV radiation. However, even the most careful of us may end up with a sunburn from time to time.
All of the sunburn remedies we will discuss here are directed at the relief of the symptoms of sunburn, particularly pain and redness. With one exception, none have been shown to speed healing time.
Hydration
When sunburns occur, our first response should be to remain well hydrated—inside and out. Oral hydration with fluids that help replace the electrolytes (like sodium and potassium) you may have lost in the hot sun will help you rehydrate properly.
Keeping your sunburn moisturized will help soothe the damaged skin. Moisturizers containing aloe or soy are especially effective. Applying moisturizers after a bath or shower helps keep the added moisture in.
Medication
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are useful for pain relief, and they have been shown to reduce redness for 24 to 36 hours after each dose. These may be taken orally or applied topically.
Topical or oral corticosteroids may help, but they are usually only used in more severe cases. Evidence supporting their use with sunburns is limited, and at least one well-designed clinical trial has shown them to have little effect on the sunburn reaction.
Acetaminophen will not help with the inflammation in your sunburn, but it is an effective non-NSAID pain reliever.
Antihistamines may help with the itching of a sunburn, but they do not address the underlying inflammation and skin damage.
Topical or oral antibiotics may be required in the event that your sunburn becomes infected.
Vitamins
Recent research suggests that taking a one-time high dose of vitamin D3 within a few hours of the onset of the sunburn significantly reduces skin redness and pain and significantly accelerates healing time. The doses required are 100,000 IU to 200,000 IU. Although these are very high doses, studies have shown that they’re safe for adults with healthy kidneys.
Antioxidant vitamins such as C and E may help prevent skin damage, but they probably do not have much effect on treating a sunburn once it happens.
Other Tips
If your sunburn blisters, do not try to pop the blisters. The blisters protect the skin from infection and allow the skin underneath to heal.
Frequent cool baths or showers are helpful for relieving sunburn pain. Make sure to lightly pat-dry your skin afterwards. An oatmeal bath may also be soothing. Even applying a cool, damp washcloth may help.
Calamine lotion may also be soothing for some individuals.
Watch for infection of the burned skin, which would cause increasing redness, swelling, and pain in the affected skin after 24 hours of the onset of the sunburn. In such cases, topical or oral antibiotics may be required.
Take-Home Message
Sunburns are more than a nuisance; they can cause significant pain and indicate damage to the skin. Fortunately, there are some remedies that have been shown to reduce the pain and redness, and one remedy (high-dose vitamin D3) has recently been shown to speed healing time. As always, prevention is the best cure.
