Surviving the WORST Sunburns
Please not that this is not medical advice, and is not being given by a medical professional. I simply want to recount my experiences for your education and reading pleasure, and hopefully pass along a few tips.
The Background
Three days in Cancun is enough time to seriously screw your body up. The equatorial sun is hot and direct, and the reflection of the sun off and in water will fry you as well. The dark-skinned mexicans aren’t to be emulated, because their bodies naturally protect them better.
The first day, we arrived around noon, and went down to the beach. I was wearing a shirt for some of the time, not for some of the time. I didn’t feel anything, and it was cloudy, but when I went back to the hotel, I had a bad sunburn. The next two days I tried to avoid the sun, wear clothes, and wear sunscreen. It worked, but the damage was already done.
The Pain
Intensely painful to move or touch, my entire upper body was covered in red, burnt skin, as well as parts of my foot, and my calves, the back of which were particularily tender. The etremities and my chest began to slowly heal first, my face gently peeling with the rest of them. However, my upper arms and shoulders developed severly burned skin and blisters, and seeped clear fluid for many days.
The Treatment
Aloe Vera gel and topical anaesthetic and anti-microbial agents help. Taking an anti-inflammatory such as Advil (ibuprofen) or Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) works well. Tylenol may not be as effective in relieving swelling and pain. Avoid scratching, tearing, or irritating the skin. Avoid more exposure to sunlight. Avoid alcohol or other drying agents. Eat and sleep well, and drink lots of water.
All in all, I think I’ll be ok, but it’s not an experience I want again.
| This entry was posted on Monday, May 22nd, 2006 at 1:40 pm and is tagged with aloe vera gel, topical anaesthetic, equatorial sun, wear clothes, reading pleasure, microbial agents, sunburns, advil, medical advice, blisters, calves, mexicans, tylenol, sunburn, aspirin, cancun, shoulders, reflection, sunlight, alcohol. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback. |
12 Responses to “Surviving the WORST Sunburns”
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i am in your same shoes in a certain aspect. I had a shirt on and I knew I did not have any sunscreen on. but I always do this and never been out in the sun too long or if so, usually a little sunburn that barely burns.
It was really hot that day so I took off my shirt because I was sweating. big mistake.
i was in th sun unprotected for almost 2 hours.it has been 48 hours and now my back is extremely red and itchy like crazy. i took advil and it has been 20 minutes since and no beter effects. i am getting spikes of itchiness here and there and it is driving me crazy!!!!!
I was at the beach this past saturday, prior to previosly burned a week ago I got burned again. The first time, I did not have a sunscreen or me but the second time I did and to even out my previosly burned white skin, I only used sunblock on the spots where I did not need sun. I got burned in a shape of my one piece bathing suit, even the part I did put the sunblock on got burned and imflammed. My thighs are the worst, hence the skin is very sensitive and has never been exposed to sun before. It is terrible. This kind of tan is not worth the pain I am going through. The aftermath, the itching, scratching and peeling is the next step.
I was on my cousin’s boat with my husban during an entire day.. We took off our t shirts big mistake… now we have a terrible sunburn the aloe vera , the advil , drinking lots of water make us to feel a little better so I talked with a pharmacist and she gave me a cream : silver sulfadiazine 1% that’s really realives us…
this past sunday me my sister and some friends decided to go down the river….we i did put sun block on but i decided not to put it on my legs and thighs……HUGE MISTAKE….we were out in the water for 4 hours and i started to burn like crazy….it hurt so bad and still im awake because the pain is so horrible that i cant get to sleep..and this happened on sun day…i would say that i have gone almost 3 days without getting a good night sleep…and im only 18 years old…this truely sucks ….the redness has gone down a lot but the pain is what is killing me…i just recently put mustard on the burn and it removed the heat from it….and then i put a lot of Aloe vera on….that made the pain stop for about 30 minutes and then it started up again….i swear i am never going down the river again without a tshirt jeans and lots of sports sunscreen…yeah it will turn into a tan but i have to tell ya…being a teenager and having to go through this kind of pain is BRUTAL…lucky for me im almost finished with it..and thank God summer is over! Life lesson ALWAYS PUT SUNSCREEN ON! not just in one place but every place that is exposed to the sun! trust me…i felt like i was gonna die the first night…..but i got through it …and i got through yesterday and today…but it hurt worst than hell!
After a beautiful vacation out in Hawaii with my College BF i came home 3 weeks later, took my first shower in my new apartement and knew something was wrong. I realized it was a sunburn and it was not gonna get any better just worse. After realizing i had forgotten to put on sunscreen the first week of our romantic vacation because i will admit i forgot to bring it along. My whole back was like it had been on fire it was like a third degree burn. I had to go to the hospital but i found out i was going to be fine after trying some great relaxing cream my pharmasist recommended. I truly learnt my lesson and will always carry sunscreen since i am a model and have to have perfect skin!
PEOPLE!!!!! ITS NOT WORTH THE PAIN AND THE ITCHING!!! I have always wanted to have nice tan skin when in reality i am fair complected and should always be wearing like spf 400. But i get a bad burn once a year and i have to learn my lesson over and over again. The worst part of a sunburn is the itching. It drives me crazy. just remember, the minute you get out of the sun or out of the tanning bed, start applying the moisturers several times a day. this will help the sunburn heal faster and will minimize the itching. i know it hurts to touch the sunburn, but you have got to lather the moisturizers on. i took 4 advil pms and drank a half bottle of whiskey to knock myself out because i was itching so bad. not good!!
A week ago stayed out in the sun for like 4 hours. I had no sunscreen on. Now my whole body is still red and the area where my bra rubs is a nasty brown peeling color and it hurts like heck. Aloe lotion only makes the pain worse because my skin is so dry. I have no clue what to do. WEAR SUN SCREEN!
I went to California for a week and got so burnt that my all of my shoulders, neck and face peeled .. I don’t know what to do now because it looks like I have cancer everywhere. I just have been exfoliating and using lots of aloe vera. Any help on how to even out your skin would be great! I feel your pain!
yes sunburns are really a pain.. when you sleep, when you move etc. The climate in Cancun is really hot in some periods so is better to put sun cream before exposure and repeat it every 2-3 hours to avoid the problems you posted here. Thanks for the tip about aloe vera.
Dude your lucky that dont look as bad as mine i was mowing for 4 hours yesterday and even my thighs got burned and the thighs are the worst part i didnt know i was burned this bad untill about 3hours later and it sucks but you just have 2 deal with it drink water and keep moisturizers on the burn and use aloe.
Today is Saturday. Spent Wednesday with the family at the beach. Screwed up and didn’t put any sunscreen on me (I’m the only one who made that mistake). My entire back is lobster red.
The itching started late last night. I experienced the worst itching in my life both last night and this morning. I tried Aloe Vera, but it only seemed to aggrevate it more. Tried the vinegar — Did nothing at all. Tried some Renew lotion — still going crazy with the itch. The only thing which made it feel any better was a warm shower, but even that was wearing off.
So I finally decided to go to Walgreens and get whatever I could find. I bought 3 different products, but I tried the Gold Bond Anti-Itch Lotion first. It has Dimethicone 5%, Menthol 0.5%, and Praoxine hydrochloride 1%.
Had my wife lather that on my back, and took 600 mg of Ibprofen. It worked like a charm. Lasted about 3 hours. The itch is starting to come back (3 hours later), but I will just do another treatment and then go see Wicked the play with my wife. That should do the trick!
THANK YOU KURT!!!! omg, spent a weekend at the lake and it was exact same situation. that iitch was horrible and i took like 4 showers but it would come back.