Please call 911 immediately if you are having chest pain, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding, sudden weakness or numbness, or if you think you have a medical emergency.

Sunburn Treatment

Self-Care at Home

Home care starts before a sunburn. If you are prepared before going out in the sun, you probably won't need these tips and techniques.

• Immediate self-care is aimed at stopping the UV radiation.
  
  
  • Get out of the sun
    
    
  • Cover exposed skin
    
    
  • Get out of the tanning bed
  
  
  
• Relief of the discomfort becomes important.
  
  
  • Medications such as aspirin, ibuprofen , and naproxen are useful, especially when started early.
    
    
  • For mild sunburn, cool compresses with equal parts of milk and water may suffice. You may also use cold compresses with Burow solution. You can buy this at a drugstore. Dissolve 1 packet in 1 pint of water. Soak gauze or a soft clean cloth in it. Gently wring out the cloth and apply to the sunburned area for 15-20 minutes. Change or refresh the cloth and solution every 2-3 hours.
    
    
  • Anyone raised in a beach community knows the secret of aloe-based lotions. There are many commercially available types. Ask the pharmacist at your local drugstore. Tearing apart your aloe plant in the yard and applying the cool jellylike substance inside the leaves is no longer necessary.
    
    
  • Cool (not ice cold) baths may help. Avoid bath salts, oils, and perfumes because these may produce sensitivity reactions. Avoid scrubbing the skin or shaving the skin. Use soft towels to gently dry yourself. Don't rub. Use a light, fragrance-free skin moisturizer.
    
    
  • Avoid lotions that contain topical anesthetic medications because you can become sensitized and then allergic to that medicine.
    
    
  • Obviously, stay out of the sun while you are sunburned.

Medical Treatment

Silver sulfadiazine (1% cream, Thermazene) can be used for treatment of sunburn with appropriate cautions about use on the face.

• If your case is mild and not life threatening, the doctor may simply suggest plenty of fluids, aspirin, or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs).

• Additional topical measures such as cool compresses, Burow solution soaks, or high-quality moisturizing creams and lotions may be prescribed.

• If your case is severe enough (sun poisoning), oral steroid therapy (cortisone like medications) may be prescribed for several days. Steroid creams placed on the skin show minimal to no benefit.

• Stronger pain-relieving medication may be prescribed in certain cases.

• If you have blistering, steroids may be withheld to avoid an increased risk of infection. If you are dehydrated or suffering from heat stress , IV fluids will be given, and you may be admitted to the hospital. People with very severe cases may be transferred to the hospital's burn unit.

Sunburn  Sunburn Treatment 

Home treatment measures may provide some relief from a mild sunburn.

• Use cool cloths on sunburned areas.
• Take frequent cool showers or baths.
• Apply soothing lotions that contain aloe vera to sunburned areas. Topical steroids (such as 1% hydrocortisone cream) may also help with sunburn pain and swelling. Note: Do not use the cream on children younger than age 2 unless your doctor tells you to. Do not use in the rectal or vaginal area in children younger than age 12 unless your doctor tells you to.

A sunburn can cause a mild fever and a headache. Lie down in a cool, quiet room to relieve the headache. A headache may be caused by dehydration, so drinking fluids may help. For more information, see the topic Dehydration.

There is little you can do to stop skin from peeling after a sunburn-it is part of the healing process. Lotion may help relieve the itching.

Other home treatment measures, such as chamomile, may help relieve your sunburn symptoms.

Care of blisters

Home treatment may help decrease pain, prevent infection, and help the skin heal.

Small, unbroken blisters [less than 1 in. across] usually heal on their own.

• Do not try to break the blisters. Just leave them alone.
• Do not cover the blisters unless something such as clothing is rubbing against them. If you do cover them, apply a loose bandage. Secure the bandage so the tape does not touch the blisters. Do not wrap tape completely around a hand, arm, foot, or leg because it could cut off the blood supply if the limb swells. If the tape is too tight, you may develop symptoms below the level of the tape, such as numbness, tingling, pain, or cool and pale or swollen skin.
• Avoid wearing clothes or shoes or doing activities that rub or irritate the blisters until they have healed.

Large or broken blisters usually heal without problems. Most large blisters will break on their own and then heal.

• Wash your hands with soap and water before touching blisters. Blisters can easily become infected.
• If you have a large blister, you may want to drain it depending on where it is. If you decide to drain it:
  • Clean a needle with rubbing alcohol or soap and water, then use it to gently puncture the edge of the blister.
  • Press the fluid in the blister toward the hole you made.
  • Wash the blister after you have drained it, and pat it dry with clean gauze.
• Do not remove the flap of skin covering the blister unless it tears or gets dirty or pus forms under it. If the blister has just a small puncture or break, leave the flap of skin on and gently smooth it flat over the tender skin underneath.
• Apply an antibiotic ointment, such as polymixin B or bacitracin, if you are not allergic to it. The ointment will prevent the bandage from sticking to the blister and may help prevent infection. Do not use alcohol or iodine on the blister because these may delay healing. Do not use an ointment if you know you are allergic to it.
• Loosely apply a bandage or gauze. Secure the bandage so the tape does not touch the blister. Do not wrap tape completely around a hand, arm, foot, or leg because it could cut off the blood supply if the limb swells. If the tape is too tight, you may develop numbness, tingling, pain, or cool and pale or swollen skin below the level of the tape.
• If the skin under the bandage begins to itch or develops a rash, stop using the antibiotic ointment.
• Change the bandage every day and any time it gets wet or dirty. You can soak the bandage in cool water just before removing it to make it less painful to take off.
• Avoid wearing clothes or shoes or doing activities that rub or irritate the blisters until they have healed.