by Ou Young Foon

Created on: February 20, 2010

Sunburns are damages to the skin caused by over exposure to the harmful rays of the sun.  You can tell that you have sunburn when your skin develops mild redness, swelling, pain or blisters.  The earth's ozone layer can only eliminates some harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun.  UV rays can penetrate our skin deeply, causing our skin to wrinkle, age, sag and dry.  It can tan our body, cause sunburns and even damage our skin cells, cause them to mutate over the long term and form skin cancers.

Reactions to sunburn start three to six hours after exposure and become maximal by a day.  All types of skin can burn, regardless of the skin colour.  Fair-skinned people have less melanin in their skin and are more susceptible to sunburn.  Melanin are the pigment cells in people with darker skin that help absorb UV rays and reduce sun damage.  Dark-skinned people will still get sunburn if their exposure is intense and prolonged.

Mild sunburns can be red and painful.  You may feel uncomfortable because the skin feels hot and tender to touch.  Sunburn is basically a heat injury where the skin as an outer protective layer is damaged and dried out.  The main objective for treatment is to keep the skin cool and moist.  Firstly, you can bath in lukewarm water with a cup of baking soda or apple cider vinegar.  Do not apply soap on the area as commercial soaps contain chemical compounds that irritate the skin.  Shower frequently can help to shed the permanently damaged skin earlier, thus freeing the irritation quickly.  You may add essential oils to your bath water such as chamomile, lavender, Eucalyptus, rose hips and Buck thorn.  These oils have calming effect and can be directly applied to the skin.

Next, you can apply over the counter cream that contains one percent hydrocortisone as early as possible and apply several times a day for two days to reduce swelling and pain.  You may also purchase aloe vera containing lotions and moisturising cream to cool the skin and seal the water in.  Alternatively, you may apply fresh aloe vera gel to the damaged skin to help the epidermis to heal faster.  The sterols in this plant are anti-inflammatory and thus prevent skin swelling.  The nutritive mineral zinc can enhance tissue regeneration.  Avoid ointments or greasy substances that block the sweat glands and skin pores and keep heat from escaping.  Avoid any

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>