What To Do After Getting Sunburned!

This probably sounds familiar – laying on the beach, feeling the sun on your face, not a care in the world. However, a few hours later you wish there had been a care in your mind. In all of the thought you put into planning your day of fun in the sun, you completely forgot about applying (and reapplying!) sunscreen. You’re left with pain and a lobster red burn awkwardly outlining whatever clothing you were wearing.

Other articles in this portal have spoken about the importance of applying sunscreen, but that isn’t so helpful to read after the fact. Now, the important thing to do is take care of your skin so that you minimize the consequences of this burn. Here are some steps to take to help minimize the pain of a sunburn.

1. Get out of direct sunlight! Whether this means putting on layers of clothing, moving under an umbrella, or relocating inside, your focus when you feel your skin burning is to stop the sunburn from getting any worse.When it’s a hot day, the last thing you may want to do is put on lots of clothing. Good options to cover up but still staying cool and beachy include big hats, long flowy pants (it is the summer of linen after all!), a button-up shirt over your swimsuit, or even a light long-sleeved dress you don’t mind getting a bit wet/sandy!
2. Cool off the skin! Your skin will be warm to the touch, though the deep cherry-red may take some time to develop. Take a cool shower, jump in the ocean/pool for a moment (make sure to put back on your layers afterwards!), or even put on a cold compress to stop the burn.
3. Hydrate! Burned skin loses so much water (I’m betting you can feel the dryness already through the burn), drink more water to make up for this water loss. More likely than not, while you were out sweating in the sun, you also could have gotten dehydrated. Drinking more water will also help rehydrate you if you are feeling dehydrated. Tip: on a hot day when I don’t want to drink anymore water, I find popsicles are the perfect solution to getting more fluids in me and staying cool!
4. Apply aloe vera! Once the sun has set or you are certain you aren’t going to be in the sun anymore, apply aloe vera gel liberally to the area that was burned (and maybe any area that was in the sun, just to be careful!). Aloe vera is a natural gel that comes from inside an aloe vera plant leaf, and it works magic in treating sunburns. Fresh aloe vera gel is the best of all for a natural sunburn remedy, but in a pinch most supermarkets and convenience stores will carry some sort of post-sun aloe vera gel. Apply it every night until the sunburn is gone, but don’t wear it in the sun because it will cause the skin to further burn!
5. Don’t scratch/peel the sunburn! Depending on the degree of sunburn, your skin will get red, scaly, itchy, and eventually peel. Itching will only make it itchier, and peeling will expose skin that is still healing and not ready to be out in the real-world yet! Give your skin the time it needs to heal by staying gentle with the area and letting the burn peel off at its own pace. Especially if there are blisters in the region, definitely don’t pop them; they’ll go away on their own and you create an opportunity for scarring or infection by popping them!
6. Put on sunscreen! If your skin is already burned, it is even more important to slather on the sunscreen. Skin is more fragile and sensitive when it is burned, and especially more prone to re-burning. Do yourself a favor and avoid this by reapplying sunscreen!
7. Seek help! Depending on the degree of burn, this could be from a parent or a medical professional. For mild burns, a parent might be able to help reach your back to put on fresh sunscreen or help find you shade. In the case of a fever, severe blistering, shaking, altered mental state, loss of consciousness, or more severe symptoms, definitely seek help from a medical professional.

When you go out in the sun, you should always cover up and remember to apply sunscreen. A day in the sun doesn’t necessarily have to mean scorching burns afterwards, but in the case that you forget a reapplication (or two!), there is still much that can be done to lessen the pain.