I got smoked yesterday!

[GuerrillaWon]

Spent the morning from about 6 A.M. to 12 noonish fishing on a boat.

No sunscreen or anything. I am absolutely fried at the moment.

I really, really should have taken the time to put some sunscreen on. Now I feel like a hot coal and have to sleep as stiff as a mummy to prevent myself from rubbing the sunburn and waking up on fire.

The only thing I'm using to treat my skin at the moment is an Aloe Vera cream.

Anyone have any suggestions or general knowledge on sunburn?

From what I know moisturizers are only able to alleviate pain and time is the only thing that will heal sunburn. Basically you have to wait it out.

I also have heard that using hot water in a shower or bath immediately after the burn will help to speed up the peeling process and in turn the recovery time.

 

[janiepopps]

Mad dogs and Englishmen!! (Not that I can talk - I did my BCU1* a few weeks ago, out on the water from 9-4 & got burnt to a frazzle!)

Try soaking flannels/cloths in very cold water and lay them on the burn until you can't feel the cold any more & resoak. Keep doing this all day if you can. Its so effective that I have seen the redness disappear within a few hours and the next day the skin wasn't sore or even pink (the key is to do it as soon as you know you've been burnt) If nothing else you should get temporary relief

Also really important to keep hydrated, drink loads. If you're feeling nauseas/headachey try taking some rehydration salts (dioralyte) with a pint of water too.

Hope you feel better soon!

PS - the hot shower theory must have been invented by a madman!!

j

 

[janiepopps]

Aha! Mad dogs, Englishmen & the odd American too!

 

[GuerrillaWon]

Yea that hot water thing struck me as odd too.

It's a whole day later since I got cooked, but I think I'll try soaking some washcloths in cold water and throwing them on top of my shoulders because that's the only part that really hurts.

I got really hydrated with some vodka and sodas last night, and the occasional Gatorade.

I do have to admit the mixed drinks offered some temporary relief, but I believe the gallon of water / Gatorades etc. feel like they have made a definite improvement. I noticed the irritability of my skin seems to increase as my body loses water.

For some reason, I'm starting to think sunscreen isn't as uncomfortable or as much of a hassle as sunburn damage control.

 

[stone]

I've actually used sunscreen on a burn after the fact, and it helped to keep it moist...

 

[Bisamratte]

Im in the same boat (no pun intended)

I went canoeing the other day and im a bit lobster coloured.

This link may help, I have tried the camomile tea and its quite soothing.

Andy

 

[Nigel]

Spent the morning from about 6 A.M. to 12 noonish fishing on a boat.

No sunscreen or anything. I am absolutely fried at the moment.

I really, really should have taken the time to put some sunscreen on. Now I feel like a hot coal and have to sleep as stiff as a mummy to prevent myself from rubbing the sunburn and waking up on fire.

The only thing I'm using to treat my skin at the moment is an Aloe Vera cream.

Anyone have any suggestions or general knowledge on sunburn?

From what I know moisturizers are only able to alleviate pain and time is the only thing that will heal sunburn. Basically you have to wait it out.

I also have heard that using hot water in a shower or bath immediately after the burn will help to speed up the peeling process and in turn the recovery time.

You should try some Aloe Vera. cools and heals the skin, you can buy it as a gel from health shops or if you have the plant just cut off one of the leaves and rub the juice onto the sore area's.

Nigel

 

[g4ghb]

Firstly, Love the term 'Smoked' - it is 'Larried' in our house as in Larry the lobster!

Best cure is prevention - esp if you get the sympathy my wife (an ex nurse) gives to getting sunburnt - no ammout of aftersun dulls that pain!

having said that any cheapo aftersun / moisturisor seems to help (I particularly like the ones with coconut in them, but I think it's more to do with the smell! )

 

[Goose]

Don't know if you get it over there, but we have stuff called magicool it is a very fine water/alchohol? spray and it really cools well. Used it on ourselves and the kids in Lanzarote last year and it eases it for a while to allow you to settle a little.
You can use it over the aloe vera to give it an initial boost.

 

[pteron]

Ibuprofen helps to bring down the inflammation.

There is a gel mentioned on equipped to survive that is a mixture of aloe and tea tree oil that has received rave reviews. I've not been able to find it here in the UK so can't give any first hand reports.

 

[GuerrillaWon]

Thanks for all the tips.

I got some spray stuff called solarcaine and it's supposed to work wonders.

It sure did.

After I sprayed it on it felt like I was hanging out in a campfire. I woke up this morning sore as ever and as of right now my skin gets really, really irritated very quickly.

Back to the gels, and the drawing board!

 

[jdlenton]

The best treatment for sun burn i have ever seen used and this may sound daft but it was sliced tomatoes!!!!!! basic slice as many tomatoes as you will need to cover the affected are in to 6mm 1/4 inch thick slices then apply evenly to cover as much of the area at once ( you may need some help from a friend or partner for this - adds to the fun ) and then leaven in contact with the skin for best results i would recommend between 1 and 2 hours but i have seen good results with 30 to 40 mins

If any of our medical members have an explanation to why this works please let me know i would be interested to find out

here's to turning your self into a human tomato salad

James

 

[GuerrillaWon]

I love tomatoes. I'd probably cut them up and then end up eating them with some salt.

I'm on my break from work trying to get as many effective aloe vera rubs in as I can before I go back.

You know you burned yourself something bad when you go from red to turning a purpleish like this guy

I'll probably force myself to stay inside for the next couple nights and keep company with a few drinks to take the edge off and get me to sleep a bit easier.

Thanks for all the suggestions and experiences.

:You_Rock_

I've come to the conclusion that the best way of dealing with sunburn is by not getting it in the first place.

If nothing take this as a humble reminder that sunscreen although a hassle and slightly sticky, is way more comfortable than getting toasted any day of the week.



*I also took some Ibuprofin as suggested here and that did seem to help take some of the edge off.

 

[Wayne]

buy a bottle of burneze and apply liberally.

 

[redcollective]

When I were a lad, we used to get burned to a crisp - lobster red in the Australian sun... used to be plastered in this foul yellow concoction called [size=-1]Butesin Picrate - good for superficial burns - a kind of topical anesthetic. I don't know if you can get that here or if it's still the right thing to use. Used to take the colour and sting out of sunburn very rapidly.

My current favourite method - and it's ever so simple - is a cool shower and a couple of aspirin at the recommended dose rate. Works a treat - try it. [/size]Acetyl salicylate is anti imflammatory and dead cheap.

You live and learn - I had my first melanoma off my back in high school.

 

[Goose]

I love tomatoes. I'd probably cut them up and then end up eating them with some salt.

If you are still sweating you won't need to add salt....... :tongue-ti :sulkoff:

 

[PJMCBear]

I was told it was cold shower after being 'smoked' . Maybe it was for something else.

It certainly helps with the pain and seems to hasten the onset of the peel for me.

 

[Joeri]

One thing that I know is in the same region as tomatoes... try cucumber. Once I was a child I had very very bad sunburns and after the cucumbers the burns were far less and no longer painfull.

Just slice cumumber lengthwise in strips of about 5 mm. Put them on your burned skin and put a wet (white) t-shirt over it. when it stops being refreshing, refresh the wet/cold shirt and put some new cucumber on it. I can imagine it gives a lot less mess than tomatoes and because cumumbers are bigger less work.

 

[GuerrillaWon]

Thanks for the suggestions etc.

Here's what I've learned...

It's impossible to un-do a sunburn.

It's probably easier to deal with a sunburn by never getting one in the first place.

I saw the best results with just plain old pure aloe vera (or close to it) and Ibuprofin, and a fan.

I tried solarcaine, lidocaine or whatever, tylenol, special moisturizing creams, soaking in a bath, aloe enhanced creams, etc. I however did not try the tomatoe or cucumber suggestions because by the time I finally was done trying everything else, I was finally recovering and stuck it out with the pure aloe.

 

[jdlenton]

glad to here your sorted and like youve said dont do it again