Preventing and Treating Sunburn: Tips and Remedies

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How do you know if you have a sunburn?

Symptoms of sunburn depend on how severe your burn is. Symptoms may include: Redness on lighter skin. People with dark skin can get sunburns, but they can be harder to see unless they peel or blister. Skin feels hot or tight. Pain or tenderness. Swelling. Peeling skin (after several days). You may also experience: Fatigue. Fever. Headache. Nausea.

What does a sunburn look like?

Inflamed skin, which looks pink or red on white skin and may be harder to see on brown or Black skin Headache, fever, nausea and fatigue, if the sunburn is severe Any exposed part of the body — including the earlobes, scalp and lips — can burn.

Is a sunburn a cancer?

Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 06/07/2023. Learn more about our editorial process. A sunburn is actually a radiation burn to your skin. It’s caused by UV ray exposure from the sun or tanning beds. Frequent sunburns can lead to skin aging or cancer.

What happens if you get a sunburn?

Intense, repeated sun exposure that results in sunburn increases your risk of other skin damage and certain diseases. These include premature aging of skin (photoaging), precancerous skin lesions and skin cancer. Sun exposure and repeated sunburns speed the skin's aging process. Skin changes caused by UV light are called photoaging.

What causes a sunburn?

Sunburn is a radiation burn, caused when the ultraviolet (UV) rays of sunlight damage DNA in the upper layer of skin cells. The sun emits three kinds of UV radiation - UVA, B and C. UVC is mostly absorbed by the earth's atmosphere, but UVA and B rays reach the ground and can penetrate unprotected skin.

What is sunburn & how does it affect your skin?

Sunburn is an inflammatory reaction to ultraviolet (UV) radiation damage to the skin’s outermost layers. At the heart of it all is melanin, a pigment that gives your skin its color and defends it against the sun’s rays. Melanin works by darkening your unprotected sun-exposed skin.

Why do I get a sunburn if I eat too much sunlight?

Sunlight contains ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Too much UV radiation causes sunburn. UV radiation causes your skin to make more of a pigment called melanin to protect itself. This causes the skin to change colour. When you are exposed to more UV radiation than your skin’s melanin can cope with, you get a sunburn.

Can you get a sunburn from sun exposure?

When you are exposed to more UV radiation than your skin’s melanin can cope with, you get a sunburn. You can be exposed to UV radiation from the sun and also from a solarium (tanning bed). It is also possible to get sunburn while swimming or in the snow.

What Is Sunburn

1. https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/sunburn
2. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sunburn/symptoms-causes/syc-20355922
3. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21858-sunburn
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunburn
5. https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/ConditionsAndTreatments/sunburn
6. https://mcpress.mayoclinic.org/living-well/the-science-of-sunburns-why-they-happen-and-how-to-treat-them/
7. https://www.msdmanuals.com/en-au/home/quick-facts-skin-disorders/sunlight-and-skin-damage/sunburn
8. https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/sunburn

Sunburn Information

1. https://www.cancer.org.au/blog/what-happens-to-your-skin-when-you-get-sunburnt
2. https://www.skincancer.org/risk-factors/sunburn/
3. https://patient.info/skin-conditions/sun-and-sunburn