One of the worst things about summers apart from the all the sweat and feeling of tiredness is the sunburns and sun spots that people gets. The rays of the sun contain certain harmful rays like the infrared rays, ultra violet rays or the UV rays and visible light that affect the skin. What follows next is a series of pain, blisters, redness and itchiness. However, to stay away from the sun is impossible. What is possible is to cure the sunburns and stay pre cautioned. The below section therefore answers what are sunburns, provides various sunburn remedies and every other details one needs to know about it.
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What are sunburns?
Avoiding the sun when it comes to maintaining the everyday life is extremely difficult and so are the sunburns that people get when they are too much exposed to the sun. But the common question to answer before knowing the sunburn remedies is what sunburn is and what the symptoms of it are. Sunburns or sun spots are a kind of burns through radiation. These forms of burn generally affect any living tissues such as the skin. The sunburn usually takes place if the person is exposed to the rays of the sun for too long or is exposed to it repeatedly.
There are various ways the rays of the sun affects the skin. Some of these are skin cancers, dark spots, sun spots, sunburns, wrinkled skin and dry skin.
What are the symptoms of sunburn?
Sunburns are one of the most common things that people get especially during the summers by constant exposure to the harmful rays of the sun. The harmful ultra violet rays of the sun can cause the skin of a person within just fifteen minutes of them being exposed to the sun. However, the signs and symptoms of the sunburns vary from one person to another depending on the type of their skin.
Hence, to mention, a few of the symptoms that suggest sunburns are:
- Hot or warm areas on the skin
- Redness or pinkness
- Swelling of the skin or Edema
- Blisters
- Fever and chills
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Headache
- Peeling
- Rashes
- Weakness
- Fainting
- Mild dizziness
- Itching or pruritus
- Low blood pressure
What are the home remedies for sunburn?
Sunburns are one of the most inevitable things that the summers bring with it. Therefore, we need to be equipped with various sunburn remedies to lessen the effect of the sunburn. To the rescue are various sunburn remedies that are present at the home of every individual that they can use when it comes to treating these sunburns. These home remedies could be used to treat mild effects the ultra violet rays of the sun causes to the skin.
Hence, some of the home remedies for sunburn are:
Cool Bath
A bath in a cool water can so wonders to the sunburn area of the skin. The cool water tends to provide a soothing effect to the burnt area providing some relief to it and take down the inflammation. However, the temperature of the water should be cool and not be cold. Chlorinated water must also be avoided since it tends to increase the inflammation. Adding baking soda to the cool water also increases the soothing effect to the sunburnt area of the skin. This is since the baking soda helps the skin to gain back its natural pH level. However, staying in the water that contains baking soda for more than 5 minutes can cause the skin to become dry.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Another sunburn remedies that is easily available at everyone’s home is apple cider vinegar. The apple cider vinegar has natural antifungal, anti microbial and antiseptic properties that helps to take down any kind of infection. It therefore helps the skin to regain back its pH level and helps to reduce the blisters and peeling of the skin. In addition to that, it also helps to cure any kind of itching, inflammation and pain that the sunburn causes. The apple cider vinegar should be mixed and diluted with bath water and applied to the burnt area. However, before applying a bit must first be applied in a small area to track any serious reaction it causes.
Aloe Vera
The aloe vera plant has several positive health benefits that is been traditionally used since decades now. One of the health benefits of aloe vera is that it helps to treat sunburn and serves as one of the sunburn remedies. For the aloe vera to treat the burnt area effectively, take an aloe vera leaf and cut it in half to extract the oil present inside of it. Apply the gel directly to the area of the skin which is been affected by the sun. Applying the aloe vera gel on the sunburnt area helps to reduce the inflammation and provide a soothing effect to the skin. In cases, where people do not have an aloe vera plant, aloe vera ointments that are available in the pharmacy also serves the purpose.
Ice or Cold Packs
Applying cold compression like ice packs or frozen vegetable packs on the sunburnt area helps to provide instant relief to the burns. It helps in absorbing the heat and pain of the burnt area and provides a cooling and soothing effect to it. However, the ice must not be applied directly to the area of the sunburn. This is because applying the ice directly to the skin might worsen the effect of the burn. Instead, the frozen vegetables or the ice must be wrapped in a clean towel and placed on the area of the sunburn.
Oatmeal
Applying finely grounded oatmeal mixed with bath water on the area of inflammation can work wonders to sooth the burnt skin. This is since the oatmeal naturally contain anti inflammatory properties. For applying the oatmeal to the affected area it is must to ensure that the oatmeal is mixed with water and blended into a fine paste. It must be ensured that the grainy oatmeal is not directly rubbed into the burnt and sensitive skin.
Tea
One of the several benefits of the tea is that it serves one of the easiest sunburn remedies that are easily available at home. Black tea contains anti inflammatory properties that helps to take down the inflammation and irritation caused by the heat of the sun on the skin. It thus also helps to provide a soothing effect on the burnt area. To apply it, the tea first needs to be brewed normally. Once done, take a fresh cloth and soak the tea in it. Apply the cloth to the burnt area and let it some time.
Stay hydrated
Since the summer sun tends to take all the water out of the body, there are high chances that the body would be dehydrated. A large amount of moisture is also lost from the cells of the skin in times they are burnt by the heat of the sun. This is since the sun ray causes the blood vessels of the skin to dilate. Therefore it is a must for the people to consume a large amount of water, which is a minimum of eight glasses, after they face sun burns. However they must ensure to not consume products that contain caffeine and alcohol.
Essential Oils
There are a number of essential oils that could be used to treat and provide some relief to the sunburnt area on the skin. Certain essential oils such as the sandal wood oil, lavender oil and eucalyptus oil amongst others contain anti bacterial, anti fugal properties that works wonders towards easing the pain and providing some relief to it. These essential oils help to cool the burns on the skin and reduce the burning effect and the inflammation. Due to their anti bacterial properties, these essential oils also help to prevent the burnt area against any kind of infection that it might face.
Witch Hazel
The liquid that is extracted from the witch hazel plant is known for serving as a cure to the sunburns. This is mainly because the oil that the extract of the witch hazel contains natural inflammatory properties. This property thus helps the tissues of the skin to improve and heal at a faster pace. Along with that, it also helps to get some relief from the itching and the pain that the sunburns bring along with it. For the witch hazel to work effectively, soak it on a fresh wash cloth and apply the cloth to the burnt area. The process needs to be repeated for a minimum of four times through out the day.
Yogurt
Although yogurt does not contain any healing property and applying it on the wounds would not work towards decreasing it, the feeling of a cold yogurt on the burnt area is unparalleled. Therefore, the yogurt could be treated as one of the sunburn remedies. For the yogurt to provide some relief from the inflammation and pain for a while, take a jar of frozen yogurt and apply it evenly all over the area where the sun has left a burn.
Sunburn Remedies: How to treat sunburn?
In cases where the skin of a person has been affected by the sun, it takes a minimum of two days for the sunburns to be visible. After that, it requires a considerable amount of time and regular and proper care at home for the inflammation, swelling, itching and pain to subside.
Hence, here are some sunburn relief and answers to how to treat sunburn:
Consider taking frequent cold baths
Taking frequent showers in cool water helps to relieve the person from the burning and inflammation that the sunburns cause. Hence, it is suggested to take frequent baths, after taking a bath, it must be ensured that the water is patted dry with a soft cloth.
Apply lotions and moisturizer
The skin after being exposed to the loses out on a lot of moisture. Hence, the skin become extremely dry and causes irritation. Therefore, it becomes important to treat the skin and keep it hydrated using a moisturizer or a lotion frequently. This helps to lessen the irritation and also boosts the soothing of the skin.
Peel dry skin gently
The body would try to dispose of the dry skin with in a certain days of the burn and the skin would start to peel off. It is suggested to not be rough and try to peel the dry skin on its own but let the skin to heal naturally. Any good moisturizer or lotion must be applied continuously to keep the skin moisturized and skin to heal faster.
Don’t touch the small blisters
Blisters appear when there is a second degree burn on the skin. It is a must to ensure that these blisters are not messed with or popped with the nails. It is best to leave them alone since these ensures and protects the skin from any infection. Instead they should be allowed to heal naturally and covered with a bandage.
Stay away from the sun
Once the person is already affected by sunburn it remains a must to stay indoors and away from the sun. This is since exposing the burnt skin to sun, worsens the situation. However, if one has no choice but to go out in the sun, it is must to cover them properly with proper full sleeve clothing to protect the skin. The cloth must be of a fabric that does not let the sun rays pass through it.
Even though in the initial stages, a kittle sun burn on the skin is not extremely harmful, continuously exposing the skin to the harmful rays of the sun for a long period of time can prove extremely harmful. This is for the fact that it can then make way for more serious damage like skin cancers and more. Therefore, to prevent such things from happening, a must go through and get certain sunburn relief.
