Home Remedies to Soothe a Sunburn

With summer upon us, it is a wonderful opportunity to remind everyone of the importance of taking sun-smart measures, which include wearing sunscreen and protective clothing and seeking shade during peak hours. But if you find yourself nursing a sunburn, you don’t need to head to the drugstore for relief. Here are six home remedies for sunburn to help soothe your symptoms:

Cool It Down
Minimize pain by taking cool baths or putting a cool, wet cloth on the affected area several times a day. Make sure the water is not too cold and avoid extreme temperatures. When sunburned, the skin’s ability to control temperature is compromised, making it easy to for you to get overheated or too cold.

Stay Hydrated
Drink 8 to 10 glasses of water per day to replace fluid loss and to prevent dehydration and dizziness. Try to avoid drinks that can dehydrate you even more, like soda, coffee, and alcoholic beverages.

Apply Moisturizer Immediately and Frequently
Look for creams and ointments like Lubriderm, Aquaphor, Eucerin, or Vaseline rather than lotions. Apply the moisturizer when the skin is wet (after bathing or soaking with cool compresses) as the moisturizer will serve as a moisture-blocking wall, trapping that water in your skin and helping it heal faster.

Some moisturizers, such as Cerave or Cetaphil Restoraderm, contain the good fats called ceramides that form the cement that holds the top layer of the skin, or stratum corneum, together.

Reach for Healing Superfoods
Some foods help heal and protect your skin further damage. These are foods rich in antioxidants, such as blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, plums, prunes, artichokes, beans, and pecans. Free radicals are formed from sun exposure and are the root of the problem, damaging the membrane of skin cells, and ultimately causing damage to DNA.

The antioxidants and other phytochemicals in these fruits and vegetables can protect the cells by quenching the high energy of these unstable radicals, so there is less chance for damage.

Protect — Don’t Pick At! — Blistered Skin
Blisters can serve as a natural bandage for healing raw skin underneath. Let them open on their own. When this happens, apply petroleum jelly two or three times a day to keep the wound moist, and cover it with a bandage. If you’re unsure how severe your blisters are or have concerns about infection, check with your healthcare provider.

Signs of infection include increased redness or pain and thick yellow discharge. One blistering sunburn doubles your risk for developing melanoma later in life, so if you have a history of one or more blistering sunburns, make sure to tell your dermatologist and be diligent about having your skin checked each year.

Stay Out of the Sun
Sunburned skin is even more susceptible to the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation than skin that has never or rarely been sunburned. Make sure to take extra precautions when going outdoors, including applying sunscreen and wearing sun-protective clothing.