Help with a sunburn?

Question

I got a pretty bad sunburn on my back and shoulders yesterday after a day at the pool.

I have medium colored skin, and I rarely burn. I just sort of neglected my skin yesterday. This is probably the worst sunburn I've had in years. I've only had a couple of bad sunburns in my life. It's not that bad compared to other people, but I'm not used to it.

My question is, how long will it take until it stops hurting? And what can I do to ease the pain? I put aloe vera lotion on it...but what else?

Answer 1

I know that you've probably heard the aloe vera thing A LOT...believe me...but it really does help if you keep reapplying it. If you store it in the fridge, it can give you more of a relief when you first put it on.

Mix a half-water, half-vinegar solution and apply it to the burn with a spray bottle or soaked cloth. This will sting a little bit at first, but it definitely pulls the burning sensation out of your sunburn.

Ice packs (in small amounts of time) and cold cloths or compresses will also help to minimize the length of time that you have redness and should help with the swelling.

Take lukewarm (room temperature) BATHS. Taking showers with too high of a water pressure could increase your pain. Taking a too-cold bath won't help, and will make you freezing. And a too-hot bath runs the risk of burning you even more, or irritating the burn that you already have.

Make sure that you drink PLENTY of water, in order to keep your body hydrated so you don't develop a fever. If you do develop a fever, take an acetaminophen or an ibuprofen to help get rid of the fever and to minimize inflammation and swelling.

If your sunburn is really bad and seems to be very painful, you may want to go see your doctor and get a prescriptive treatment.

Answer 2

Speaking from experience, there's not much more you can do but wait it out.  Depending on how bad it is, it could take anywhere from a couple days to a week before it stops hurting.  If it blisters, it will take longer, and you're probably not currently feeling as bad as you will be.

They actually sell sprays that numb your skin.  But really, it's not worth paying for, as it's not really a permanent fix, and it doesn't stay numb very long.

So my recommendation is aloe vera and wearing clothes that aren't going to rub against it too much.  Oh, and being in the sun makes it feel like your skin is on fire, so probably try to avoid that too... :)

Answer 3

put aloe vera on it like CRAZY.itll help. =]

Answer 4

Ooh sorry.

I am allergic to the sun, if you can imagine that and it would seem nothing would help.  

If it hurts, you can get one of those spray bottles and add cold water and cool off your skin, it helps a lot, aside from the aloe.  Also, calamine helps me, even for just minor sunburn.

Answer 5

vinegar water takes out heat

avoid lotion

and keep applying aleo vera gel