How to Soothe a Sunburn

First things first, it’s important to use sunscreen to prevent skin damage when you’re swimming or otherwise spending any length of time outside. Ultraviolet radiation from the sun can damage your skin cells, leading to sunburn, blistering, wrinkles, age spots, and even cancer.

It’s also true that swimmers and other athletes who spend time outside close to water may be at higher risk of developing a sunburn because the sun’s rays reflect off the water’s surface, increasing exposure to the potentially damaging effects of too much sun.

So, although you should be carefully applying sunscreen before every swim and reapplying every 40 to 80 minutes to stay protected while in the water (sunscreen is not waterproof and needs to be reapplied regularly to reduce the risk of burning), it can still happen; sometimes you end up with a sunburn.

It’s always better to prevent a sunburn before it happens, but if you do end up with a bad sunburn, there are a few things you can do to soothe it:

1. Get out of the sun. The very first thing you should do is seek shade or shelter to prevent additional exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays. The longer you’re exposed to the sunlight, the more damage those UV rays can impart. Head inside or find another way to cover up your skin.
2. Hydrate. Overexposure to the sun can dehydrate you, but your body is going to need fluids to repair the damage you’ve incurred in your skin. Drink plenty of cool water to help replenish what you’ve lost.
3. Apply a cool compress. As with any other type of burn, cooling the skin is an important initial step to aiding recovery. A soft washcloth soaked in cold water and applied to the skin can help bring down the heat and inflammation of a sunburn and provide some pain relief.
4. Apply aloe vera gel. Aloe vera is an old-school remedy for burns, and it works especially well for sunburns. Aloe contains anthraquinones, compounds that have anti-inflammatory properties that can soothe the redness and burning and promote healing. Anthraquinones also have antiviral and antibacterial properties, which can help prevent infection if your skin blisters from the sunburn.
5. Apply a commercial after-sun product. If you don’t have aloe vera at the ready, you can also use a commercially available after-sun product, which may contain aloe vera and other ingredients that can soothe the pain of sunburn while keeping the skin hydrated to promote healing.
6. Use an over-the-counter pain reliever. If your sunburn is causing a lot of pain, you can try taking an over-the-counter pain reliever such as Tylenol or Advil. Acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, helps dull pain, while ibuprofen, the active ingredient in Advil, cuts pain but also reduces inflammation. Both can have significant side effects, however, so be sure to check with your health care provider before taking any medication.
7. Moisturize. Excessive sun exposure dries you out, and that means your skin, too; sunburn can lead to very dry, patchy, itchy skin. Alcohol, perfumes, and dyes can further dry the skin, so avoid products that contain these common ingredients. Slather on your favorite fragrance-free, nonallergenic body lotion to help restore the moisture balance your skin needs to recover.
8. Wear loose clothing. Sunburn damages your skin’s cells, and, in some cases, this can lead to weeping—the expression of a thick serum from those damaged cells on the skin’s surface. This viscus substance can get stuck to clothing and be very painful when you remove the garment, so it’s best to wear very loose, lightweight cotton clothes while you’re recovering from a sunburn. That same fluid can create blisters on the skin, and it’s best to not pick at or pop those blisters. Rather, allow them to be reabsorbed into the body as your skin heals.
9. Don’t touch! Once the worst of the burn has subsided, it might be tempting to pick at the blisters or peeling skin, but don’t touch! It’s easy to transfer bacteria into such openings in the skin, which can lead to all kinds of additional problems including infection, delayed healing, and scarring.
10. Avoid heat, steam, and sun. Until your skin has fully healed it’s best to stay away from hot, humid, and sunny environments. Cover up, seek shade, and avoid steam rooms and saunas.
11. Talk to your doctor. In cases of severe sunburn, it’s always a good idea to speak with your health care provider about what they recommend you do to speed healing and reduce the chances of infection and scarring. Particularly if you develop symptoms that could be related to heatstroke, such as fever, chills, dizziness, loss of consciousness, or extreme pain, seek emergency care as soon as possible.
12. Take more care next time. Once you’ve recovered from your sunburn, learn the lesson. Next time, to avoid getting burned, use liberal amounts of a high quality sunscreen, wear sun-protective clothing, avoid the outdoors between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. when the sun is strongest, and reapply a water resistant sunscreen every 40 to 80 minutes (as directed on the label) when you’re swimming, sweating, caught in the rain, or otherwise exposed to water that can rinse off that protective layer.