Sunburn

Skin that feels hot to the touch and is red and painful and emerges a few hours after sun exposure is known as sunburn. Intense sun exposure can increase your risk of complications and related skin disease. Try not to get sunburned too many times you may suffer wrinkled skin, liver spots, actinic keratosis, dry skin and skin cancer. Watch out; sun burn can cause melanoma.

Symptoms

Pinkness and redness of your skin plus skin that is warm to the touch, if you have pain or tenderness and swelling you have a moderate sunburn. Small and fluid filled blushes can also form on red and damaged skin after sun exposure.

Any part of your body can sunburn. Earlobes, scalp, lips and even your eyes can suffer from burn. It does take a few hours for sun exposure to reveal itself as a burn, and it may take a couple of days to realize how severe your sunburn really is.

As you skin heals, the upper layer of burned skin will peel. You may have irregular patterns and colors to your skin after it peels and do expect it to take several days to completely heal.

Within a few days, your body starts to heal itself by “peeling” the top layer of damaged skin. After peeling, your skin may temporarily have an irregular color and pattern. Subject to the severity, it may take quite a few days for your sunburn to mend.

You Need a Doctor ” ¦

Most sunburns heal in several days; just keep the hydrated. However it you find blistering covering a large portion of your body or you have a high fevers and headaches see your doctor. Sunburn that is accompanied by nausea, chills and extreme pain will be symptoms of heat or sun stroke. You may need medical care to remedy sun or heat strokes.

Sunburn that begins to swell or if there is yellow drainage form an open blister this can be signs of infection. Broken or ruptured blisters make you susceptible to bacterial infection that can lead to internal problems. Red steaks that lead away from a blister can indicate spreading infection. Definitely see your doctor.

Aging Complications

Repeated sunburns accelerate the aging process of your skin. You may find that you appear older than you really are. If you experience photoaging you will also experience weakening of connective tissues, thinner and more translucent skin plus deep wrinkles. Your skin will be dry and rough to the touch and you will find that red veins on your cheeks, nose and ears suddenly appear.

Freckles on your arms and shoulders can be “cute” but they are signs of over exposure to the sun. Watch for actinic keratosis or rough and flaking patches on your face, arms or shoulder. These patches will vary in color from light brown to dark patches. Look for actinic keratosis on your face, lower arms, ears and back. These patches are actually damaging the DNA in your skin and will lead to skin cancer.

Treatment

Treatments will not heal the damage to your skin, but it does reduce swelling, discomfort and pain. Try using a few simple home remedies to bring comfort to hot and burned sunburns.

Apply cold compresses that are dampened with cool water to the affected skin. Take a cool bath or shower; that will definitely help.

Use a cream containing aloe vera or hydrocortisone to the sunburn. Hydrocortisone may decrease pain and swelling.

If you find you skin blistering, do not break the blisters. Blisters contain body fluids and serums and really are a protective layer. If you break blisters you risk infections. Cover lightly with gauze to prevent accidental bursting.

Drink cool water. Sunburn and sun exposure cause fluid loss though your skin. Replenish those fluids to prevent hydration.

Treat your skin gently. Use moisturizing cream, wear loose clothing, and always use sun protection.

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HealthStatus has been operating since 1998 providing the best interactive health tools on the Internet, millions of visitors have used our blood alcohol, body fat and calories burned calculators. The HealthStatus editorial team has continued that commitment to excellence by providing our visitors with easy to understand high quality health content for many years. Our team of health professionals, and researchers use peer reviewed studies as source elements in our articles. Our high quality content has been featured in a number of leading websites, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, Live Strong, GQ, and many more.

Written by HealthStatus Team
Medical Writer & Editor

HealthStatus has been operating since 1998 providing the best interactive health tools on the Internet, millions of visitors have used our blood alcohol, body fat and calories burned calculators. The HealthStatus editorial team has continued that commitment to excellence by providing our visitors with easy to understand high quality health content for many years. Our team of health professionals, and researchers use peer reviewed studies as source elements in our articles. Our high quality content has been featured in a number of leading websites, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, Live Strong, GQ, and many more.

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