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Sunburn Help

The weather has been fantastic over the past few days, however did you get caught out like many people and are now suffering from sunburn? Read Checkout Spy’s guide to sunburn to find out what causes it, how to prevent it, and how to ease the pain.

What is Sunburn?
The sun produces two main types of light – Ultraviolet A (UVA) and Ultraviolet B (UVB). UVB is the one which causes your skin to turn red.In the short-term UVB will cause a reaction in your skin that releases chemicals turning you skin sore and red. In the longterm, UVB will damage the DNA in the skin and this is what can help to cause premature ageing and possibly even skin cancer.

Sunburn doesn’t always show itself immediately – in fact it can take up to eight hours for the skin to become inflamed and red. Experts believe this is because it takes some time for the chemicals in the skin to be released.

Too Much Sun?
If you think you have caught the sun and may be at risk of sunburn, you might like to take some aspirin or Ibuprofen as these may help to block the formation of the chemicals which cause the skin to become red and inflamed.

Sunburn Symptoms
If a child or baby gets sunburnt, or you find your skin is starting to blister or you have a high fever, seek medical advice imnmediately. Otherwise, the best thing to do is to start moisturising heavily. Calamine lotion is a good moisturiser as it helps to cool the skin down. Also look for products that contain Vitamin E or Aloe Vera as these deliver a lot of moisture to the skin.

Antihistamine products will not help as the swelling in the skin is not a histaming reaction.

Home remedies such as vinegar are not recommended as vinegar is mildly acidic and has a slight astringent effect meaning it will dry out the skin rather than moisturise the area.

The pain from sunburn is likely to be at it’s worst for around 12 – 24 hours after exposure. Unfortunately, once the pain starts, painkillers are unlikely to help. This is because for something like Ibuprofen to work, you’ve damaged the delivery system to the area so there is little relief other than the placebo effect. If the pain is severe, you should seek medical advice anyway.

You may find that a cool bath or shower helps to ease the pain a little as it constricts the blood vessels and will make your skin feel more comfortable. Although some people swear by hot showers for sunburn, part of the reason for the redness is that there is increased blood flow to the skin and a hot shower will just increase the blood flow further.

Peeling
If the skin is going to peel, it is going to peel and there is little you can do to stop it. The skin underneath is likely to be very tender to keep it protected from the sun and keep the area well moisturised.

Sunburn Products
Checkout Spy’s favourite products for soothing and calming sunburnt skin are: