How to Relief from Sunburn?
Your day of summer fun is winding down and what do you know? You got burned and now you need a sunburn remedy. You know that UV exposure can cause skin to age quickly and trigger skin cancer, but despite your best efforts to protect your skin from sun damage with sunscreen, you've gotten this painful, itching, and swelling sunburn. Along with redness, peeling, and pain, sunburns can also cause itchiness. Sunburn damages the top layer of your skin, which is full of the nerve fibers that are responsible for that itching sensation. The sun damage causes the nerves to fire, making you feel itchy until the burn has healed.
Try these home solutions recommended by experts to quell the discomfort and reverse the day's rays:
Spray the sunburn with apple cider vinegar
Vinegar is a weak acid that is sometimes used as an antiseptic. It balances your skin's pH, which in turn promotes faster healing and can relieve itchiness. Vinegar does have a strong smell, but it should dissipate after a few minutes. Spray the vinegar on the sunburned skin, allowing it to drip-dry. Do not rub it into your skin.
Take a warm oatmeal bath
Oatmeal moisturizes dry skin and will normalize the skin’s pH, which is often at a high level when skin is dry and itchy. You can use colloidal oatmeal, which is ground and will float in the bathwater, increasing the exposure to your skin. Otherwise you can put 3/4 cup uncooked oatmeal in a clean pair of panty hose and tie it.Run a lukewarm bath (hot water may dry out your skin and cause more itching).
Use .5%-1% hydrocortisone to relieve pain and itching
Hydrocortisone is an over the counter steroid cream that is often very successful at reducing inflammation, redness, and itching. It stops your cells from releasing inflammatory substances, which calms the skin. Apply hydrocortisone to your sunburn 4 times daily, rubbing it into your skin. Use hydrocortisone very sparingly on your face and for no more than 4 or 5 days.
Cool milk compress
A cool milk compress is one of the quickest, simplest and low-cost ways to treat sunburn. It doesn’t get much easier than just heading to the refrigerator for relief-and easy is good when treating anything. The initial coolness of the milk will ease the heat, while it also creates a layer of protein to protect your skin, help it heal, and further soothe discomfort.
Cool off with mint & tea
Mint naturally cools and soothes whatever it touches, and sunburns are no exception. The tannic acid and theobromine found in green tea also helps relieve pain and heal damaged skin when applied topically.
Indulge in some aloe
Aloe Vera gel is many peoples go-to when they have sunburn. It’s cool, soothing, and seems to suck the sting and redness right out of your sunburn. Because aloe is useful for a number of other ailments (such as acne or heartburn) it’s handy to have a plant growing in your house.
Sunburns are damaging to your skin and can cause significant itching alongside other symptoms such as pain and inflammation. See these remedies for pain, inflammation, and sunburn itch relief.
