So, you fell asleep while on the beach, and toasted lying in the scorching sun for well past 4 hours. You cannot lie down, stand, or sit very comfortably. Viewing your image in a mirror it’s a color of cartoonish red. You’re nursing a severe case of sunburn. Now, your only option is to baby your searing skin back to it’s original state. Here’s some methods to treating and preventing sunburn to keep your healthy skin.

How awful is it? The first step when soothing burnt skin is to assess the level of damage. Even though any burned skin is damaged skin, burns arise in multiple degrees. Is your skin hot while touching it and a red or pink tone? You may be experiencing a mild burn that will likely respond to most any at-home treatment. Has blistering come up on your skin? If the burn is quite serious you will likely discover blisters coming up on the sunburned area. Nausea, chills, and headaches may follow soon after. If this is your case, seek medical attention because this will likely worsen with no intervention by professionals.

Soothe the sunburn. Time is all that can completely heal sunburn. Damaged skin needs to be substituted with new, healthy skin which lies underneath. Waiting is all that can be done during this time. However, certain types of treatment can get rid of most of the pain. If a doctor visit was necessary, you’ll be written a prescription of NSAIDS. The medicine will give you some relief from pain and swelling with greater efficacy than than over the counter drugs. Cold compresses and Aspirin will help with inflammation for cases that are less serious.

Keep well hydrated. Any exposure to hot temperatures makes the body lose fluids as a result of sweating. Sun burn elevates the temperature of skin and acts in the same way. Make sure you drink plenty of water so that your body does not dehydrate and your body has enough fluid to perform its usual functions.

Begin the process of healing. Putting on a low-dose hydrocortisone cream or lotion that contains aloe to the damaged area can reduce healing time dramatically. However, don’t apply on broken or blistered skin because this may irritate the area further. Once skin peeling begins, continue applying moisturizing cream because this will help new skin to stay healthy as well.

Know your skin type. Everyone under the sun is affected by the suns rays. Some feel the burn stronger than others. People with fair skin are more likely to burn whenever they step outside. The fairer the skin the less you should get out into the sun. Take an umbrella or hat to the beach so that you can enjoy the beach and keep your skin healthy. However, even people with darker skin can burn every now and then and some types of medicatios can cause the risks to increase.

Old reliable. Too much sunscreen is never the problem when applying sunscreen. The first application should be put on 30 minutes before going out the door and then reapply every two hours. It’s always the best to buy a separate formula made if you have the tendency to have facial break outs. Do not be fooled by overcast skies, the sun is still shining above the clouds and sunscreen is a necessity even then.

Guest author: Karen likes writing about topics on health like sunburn and also loves the comfort of wearing urbane scrubs as well as urbane pants.

Tags: severe case of sunburn, Soothe the sunburn, soothing burnt skin, treating and preventing sunburn