Tips and Ideas for Treating & Healing Sunburns
Have you ever had a sunburn? Sure you have, or else you would not be reading
this article. Here are some tips to help relieve that painful feeling.
1. Soak in cold water. Add oatmeal to the bath. Aveeno colloidal oatmeal added to a bath is very
soothing to sunburned skin. Most drugstores carry Aveeno.
2. If a cold bath is not practical at the moment, wrap a cold wet towel around the sunburned
area.
3. Also try wrapping a bag of frozen corn or peas in a towel and apply. Do not apply the frozen
package directly to the skin.
4. Dip a wash cloth or gauze in some milk and apply to the burn. The milk should be at room temperature
or cool, but not refrigerator cold. Milk is a great remedy for any kind of burn.
5. Boil some lettuce in water, then strain the water out and let it cool in the refrigerator.
Apply to your skin with cotton balls or a towel. Certain chemicals in lettuce have been shown to provide relief
from sunburn.
6. Slice pieces of cucumber, potato, or apples and apply to the sunburn. These cool vegetables
can help reduce inflammation.
7. Take a dose of vitamin E. Not only is vitamin E good protection from heart attacks, but it
reduces the inflammation you get from sunburn.
8. Take a double dose of ibuprofen (Advil) or aspirin. They help block a chemical in your body
that causes pain. But, first check with your doctor since some people have adverse reactions to these medicines.
Remember not to give aspirin to children because of the risk of Reye’s syndrome.
9. The old standbys to remember are aloe, over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream, and moisturizers.
But the skin has to cool off first before applying the moisturizer or you will trap the heat under the skin.
10. Prevention is the best medicine, as always. Thanks to our depleting ozone layer, people today
are at a much greater risk for skin cancer. So, stay out of the sun between 10:00 A.M and 3:00 P.M. And always
wear sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15.
|
|