Imagine you’re in the following scenario…
You’ve had an amazing day in the sun, playing beach cricket with your family and friends, taking a dip in the blue ocean, fish and chips on the grass, truly living the Australian dream. But sooner or later it dawns on you that you forgot to apply your sunscreen! As much as you would like to jump in a time machine to go back a few hours, we’re not quite there yet.
So, once the sun has done it’s damage already, what can you do?
The Skin Cancer Foundation gives us some great tips to help with a sunburn:
- Don’t peel! We know it’s tempting but do not peel at the dead skin your body is trying to get rid of naturally
- Wear loose clothes to let your freshly burnt skin breathe
- Avoid more exposure to the sun
- Drink lots of water; burns draw fluid, so keep replenishing your fluids so you don’t get dehydrated while healing
- Bathe with cold water, but don’t be in the water for excessive amounts of time
- Use a moisturizer on your damp skin, but not an oil based one, or one with petroleum in it so you don’t risk trapping the heat
Medication-wise, “If it is safe for you to do so” (https://www.skincancer.org/risk-factors/sunburn/) :
- Soon after receiving the sunburn use an anti-inflammatory steroid cream
- If you catch it quick enough (within the first few hours of receiving your sunburn) “Medicines like Advil […] ‘nonsteroidal anti-imflammatory drugs’ or NSAIDS, will help” (https://www.skincancer.org/blog/treat-sunburn/)
“Prevention is the best medicine”
The Skin Cancer Foundation Blog
“Prevention is the best medicine”, so make sure to always protect your skin using slip, slop, slap, seek, and slide method. And after a sunburn, if you have any concerns please book an appointment with our clinic so one of our skin check GP’s can help you.
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