Preventing and Treating Sunburn

Sunburns are one of the skin related conditions that are caused due to excessive exposure of the skin to the sun. The sun produces the harmful ultra violet rays which damage the skin, thus resulting in sun burns. The area of the skin that is affected by sun burns would be painful and red.

An individual would feel warmness on the sun burn areas of the skin. Sun burns of mild nature would fade in few days; however, if the sun burns are severe, healing of them may take few weeks.

In order to guard against sun burns, it is recommended to protect the skin from the harmful ultra violet rays of the sun. Just spending fifteen minutes in the sun can damage the skin and may lead to sun burns. Areas of the skin such as ears, scalp and lips should be taken special care of.

Preventing sun burns

Sun screen lotions should be used on the skin every time while going out in the skin, use of sunscreens helps a great deal in protecting the skin from the UV rays of the sun. Sun screens with Sun Protection Factor of at least 30 should be selected. Also, if possible try to stay away from the sun in between 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M., when the sun’s rays are at their highest peak.

The scalp should be covered with lightweight cap, specially designed for sun protection.

Long sleeved shirts should be worn so that the arms are protected from the sun burns.

In order to prevent the eyes from getting damaged, it is recommended to wear sun glasses with ultra violet protection.

Treating sun burns

In spite of taking effective measures of preventing sun burns, if they still occur, then the following remedies can be of great help.

Application of cool compressors on the affected areas would help in treating sun burns.

Aloe vera gel helps in treating sun burns in a great way.

An individual can also opt for hydrocortisone creams to treat sun burns.

Drinking lot of fluids is a very good treatment for dealing with sun burns.