How to treat Sunburn?: Check out the leading causes of Sunburn and some home remedies to treat them!

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Home remedies for Sunburn
Image Credits: Derma Essentia

Are you unable to flaunt your beautiful skin? Does it make your skin tone look darker and uneven? Is Sunburn the reason you are unable to wear your favourite bodycon dresses? Are you scared to go outside in your shorts because of the Sunburn? Well, here is good news for you! Now, wear your favourite dress or shorts and walk in the sun boldly flaunting your style and say NO to Sunburn. Here, in this article, we will discuss Sunburn and its effects on the skin. Also, we will discuss some home remedies to treat Sunburn. Let’s first discuss what a Sunburn is and how it looks like?

What is Sunburn?: Effects and Home remedies for sunburn treatment!

Home remedies for sunburn
Image Credits: Janam TV English

Sunburn is a result of radiation burn affecting the living tissue or skin. It usually occurs due to the skin’s overexposure to Ultraviolet rays(UV rays), causing redness and irritation and other skin problems.

Other Common symptoms of Sunburn are:- Reddish skin, hotness and pain to touch skin, fatigue, dizziness etc. Moreover, excessive exposure to the sun may also cause life-threatening disease such as non-malignant skin tumours, skin and blood cancer etc.

UV radiation triggers the direct DNA damaging cells, which in turn damages the tissue, causing inflammation. This inflammation is the response to the damage and causes Sunburn on the affected area of the skin. Once the UV radiation damages the direct DNA, type 1 cell death gets triggered by replacing the tissue. Thus, we advise you to take protective measures to avoid or cure the damage. Sunscreens and clothing protecting from the sun are the ideal choices for the treatment of Sunburn.

Sunburn: Causes

home remedies for sunburn
Image Credits: MedlinePlus

Multiple factors are causing Sunburn; let us discuss all of them one by one in this “Sunburn” based article!

Sun emits three main types of rays:- UVA( Ultraviolet A), UVB( Ultraviolet B), UVC (Ultraviolet C)

1.UVC (Ultraviolet C) are the strongest but have the shortest wavelength, and thus, atmospheric ozone absorbs it and cannot touch the human body.

2.Ultraviolet B or UVB reaches the earth but can only contact the outer layer of the human skin.

3.However, UVA(Ultraviolet rays) have the longest wavelength, and they can penetrate deep into the inner layer of human skin.

Sitting too long outside under the sun is the leading cause of Sunburn. Sunburn is not always visible to the human eye. Instead, Ultraviolet rays can affect your body from the inside. They penetrate and alter your DNA and can cause premature ageing. With time, UV rays can also result in some deadly skin-related diseases such as deadly melanoma.

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The intensity or effect of Sunburn depends on various factors like your skin type, intensity of the heat and how long your skin is exposed to the sun.

People with thin or white skin tend to get Sunburn faster than those with brown or dark skin. In addition, People living in places with heavy sun heat have more intense Sunburn than those living in cold areas. If you sit for hours in the sun, you will get the Sunburn than any of those discussed above.

Sunburn: Signs

Home remedies for Sunburn
Image Credits: Derma Essentia

1.Well, you lie under the sun with the hope to get a beautiful golden-coloured tan which you can flaunt to others. Instead, you get a sunburn which makes you look like a lobster that has been left under the heat for too long. It is the first sign that you have Sunburn.

2. Redness in the affected area over the skin is the initial sign. With the redness comes the pain. The severity of the pain and redness depends on how long you were sunbathing. In most critical circumstances, pain and redness start increasing depending upon the intensity of the heat.

3. Other common symptoms of Sunburn are:

Blisters

 Oedema (swelling)

Itching (medical term “Pruritus”)

Desquamation(peeling of the skin)

rashes, fever, nausea, Syncope, Fainting, chills etc. 

Also, the warm feeling on the affected area is the result of the healing process. 

Moreover, Blistering by Sunburn is a sign of second-degree burns.

Signs and Symptoms:

Image credits: Melanoma Prevention

4. Typically, minor Sunburn causes no damage to the human body. Slight tenderness and redness is the sign of minor Sunburn on the affected area. However, if the Sunburn is acute (depending on the intensity of the sun and how long you were out in the sun), it may cause blisters on the skin. And if the Sunburn is extreme, it can cause severe pain and debilitation on the affected area to the point that you may get hospitalized.

5. There is no such committed time limit in which you can get Sunburn. Again, it depends on the heat’s intensity and how long you have been out under the sun. However, usually, Sunburn does not start instantly; it starts affecting your skin within 15 mins under the heat. Redness starts appearing on the skin within 30 minutes, or it may take 2 to 6 hours. Usually, pain starts occurring after Sunburn and is strongest 2 to 6 hours after exposure.

6. Moreover, it takes 1 to 3 days for the burn to start reflecting on your body, and pain usually lasts 3 to 8 days. In case of extreme sunburns, itching and peeling can continue for several weeks.

7. Sunburn is also one of the causes of increased risk of different skin cancer types like- Melanoma, Basal-cell Cancer(Basal-cell Carcinoma or BCCs) and Epidermoid carcinoma(Squamous-cell Carcinomas or SCCs). The melanoma’ risk increases with the episodes of Sunburn. Moreover, In the United States and Australia, over ⅓ of the Melanomas could be prevented with the use of regular sunscreen.

8. Exposure to Sun increases the risk of wrinkles and dark spots too. Sunburn is very common, and there are more than 10 million cases of Sunburn each year.

HOME REMEDIES FOR SUNBURN
Sunscreen, pain relievers to relieve the pain and creams to shield the skin are ideal for Sunburn. Before we discuss the home remedies for sunburn, let us first find out what Severe and Mild Sunburn is.

Mild Sunburn’s symptoms are:

  • Redness.
  • Pain which may last 3-5 days.
  • Skin peeling for a couple of days as the skin regenerates.
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Mild Sunburn lasts for a couple of days and is very common. It is treatable at home.

However, Severe Sunburn causes a lot of damage to the skin and requires immediate professional help. Severe Sunburn’s symptoms are Skin blisters, burnt skin, Dehydration, Infection, Severe pain and electrolyte imbalance etc.

To avoid Sunburn, you should follow several rules- 

Say No to the sun, and stay away from the heat is a must.

Say NO to outdoor games during the heat

Cover your skin or wear sun-protective clothing

Use sun-shielding goggles during the heat

Use good quality sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher 

Drink lots of fluids to stay hydrated 

Keep the temperature of your house cool so that your body can relax and burn fades away.

Now the question is, what home remedies are effective on Sunburns? Let us now answer that too. Below is a few home remedies that can help the burn to fade and make the pain go away:-

1. Burow’s Solution is the best way for immediate relief from Sunburn. It is cool compress helps to soothe the inflamed skin and stop bacterial or fungi growth. Burow’s solution is a liquid made with 5% of aluminium subacetate and water available in supermarkets and pharmacies without a prescription.

2. Taking a cold water bath helps the skin as it provides relief to the heat over the skin.

3. You can also try some bath therapies to treat Sunburn; let us discuss some of the therapies in this article:
  1. Apple Cider Vinegar bath therapy: Did you know? Adding Apple cider vinegar can help to lower the pH balance of burnt skin. Thus, for the treatment, add one cup of apple cider vinegar to the water and enjoy the bath! It helps to reduce the pain and make the healing process faster.
  2. Oatmeal Bath: The oatmeal bath is the best way to get rid of the itching. For this, soak a large quantity of oatmeal in the cold water and take a bath to eliminate the itchy feeling on the affected area.
  3. Essential Oil bath: Adding essential oils such as lavender and chamomile can help reduce the pain and the burning sensation.
  4. Baking soda therapy: Baking soda is the best recommendation for the treatment of pain and redness. Adding this to your bath can help the skin to heal faster.
  5. Soap and Perfumes: During Sunburn, the skin gets dry and irritating. Thus, professionals advise not to use soaps and perfumes as it can make the situation worse.
Some other home remedies to relieve sunburn pain are:-
  1. Apply milk to the affected area. The benefit of applying cool(not cold) milk is that it forms a protective protein layer over the burnt skin that helps relieve pain and discomfort.
  2. Similarly, yoghurt is very effective over sunburnt skin because of its calm nature, as it has the potential to make the pain go away and fuel the healing process.
  3. Vitamin E is the best medicine to treat inflammation. Thus, the consumption of Vitamin E supplements and the use of Vitamin E essential oils regularly can help reduce the inflammation in the affected area. Also, rubbing the Vitamin E oil over the peeling skin can boost the skin regeneration process and improve the skin’s quality.
  4. Cucumber, boiled potatoes and Cornstarch are the best antioxidants and help in skin-soothing. Blend the cucumber and make a thick paste and apply it over the affected skin. Similarly, boil, cold and mashed potatoes and spreading them over the sunburnt skin can help. Moreover, You can make a paste of Cornstarch and water by mixing them and apply it to the burn for the best results!
In the end, I advise you to stay away from the sun if possible or remain covered while you are outside to avoid Sunburn. However, Sunburn is self-treatable, self- diagnosable, and may resolve within days to weeks.I hope the article will help you in case you get Sunburn. Take care and make a habit of using SPF in this tremendous heat or you can use some of the home remedies for sunburn!