How to treat sunburn

Is it a sunburn?

Sunburn is skin damage caused by too much ultraviolet light, including light from tanning beds. The skin feels hot, sore or tender, and can swell. Redness is easier to see on lighter skin; on brown or black skin, a colour change can be hard to notice. Do not rely on redness alone to judge whether you have burned. A mild burn affects the outer layer of skin, while blistering means the damage goes deeper.13

What should you do first?

1. 1Move indoors as soon as you notice the burn. Start treatment immediately rather than waiting for the skin to become more painful.
2. 2Take a short, cool bath or shower, keeping shower pressure gentle. For a smaller area, use a clean, cool, damp washcloth. For a minor burn, cooling for about 10 minutes or until the pain eases is a useful starting point.
3. 3Gently pat the skin dry, leaving it slightly damp. Apply an unperfumed moisturiser; a moisturiser containing aloe vera or soy can help soothe discomfort.
4. 4Drink more water than usual. Sunburn draws fluid towards the skin and away from the rest of the body. Avoid alcohol while recovering.
5. 5If needed, take paracetamol, also called acetaminophen, or ibuprofen for pain, following the medicine leaflet. Do not give aspirin to children.
6. 6Cover the burned area from direct sunlight until it has fully healed. Choose loose, soft clothing rather than tight clothing that rubs.

Repeat gentle cooling when discomfort returns, and reapply moisturiser frequently during the first few days. Sunburn relief is about comfort while your skin heals.24

What are some ways to treat sunburn?

Aftersun cream or spray is an option, but an unperfumed moisturiser is also suitable, which gives the word aftersun less work to do on the bottle. There is no need to buy an aftersun product if you already have an unperfumed moisturiser, even if the bottle has dressed for a beach holiday. Aloe vera gel can temporarily soothe and cool the skin; choose one without added fragrance or irritants. Calamine lotion or a colloidal oatmeal bath can also ease discomfort. Colloidal oatmeal is finely processed oatmeal used in skin care.124

For itching, a thin layer of 1% hydrocortisone cream is an option. A pharmacist can help you choose a suitable sunburn treatment and decide whether you need medical care. Do not scratch the burn: scratching increases the risk of infection, inflammation and pain.14

What should you avoid putting on sunburn?

• Do not put ice or ice packs directly on burned skin. Ice can cause further cold injury.
• Avoid benzocaine or lidocaine products. These numbing ingredients can cause allergic reactions and make the burn worse.
• Avoid creams containing alcohol and use fragrance free options.
• Do not apply butter or toothpaste. These are not appropriate treatments for a minor burn and can lead to infection.
• Do not start topical antibiotics for a minor burn on your own.
• Avoid petroleum jelly as a general coating for hot, newly sunburned skin. Ask a clinician about its use for protecting blisters, where wound care needs differ.

How do you treat bad sunburn?

If a bad sunburn has blisters, get urgent medical advice rather than treating it as ordinary redness. Blisters indicate a second degree burn, meaning damage extends beyond the outer skin layer. Leave blisters intact, keep them clean and avoid rubbing them. Blisters protect healing skin from infection. A nonstick, sterile bandage can protect the area; very large or severely painful blisters need medical assessment. Do not pop, pick or peel away the blister covering.256

Peeling commonly starts a few days after a sunburn. Let loose skin come away on its own instead of pulling it off. Continue protecting the area from sunlight while it heals. Even a burn limited to the outer layer can hurt considerably, and redness can persist for weeks, particularly in darker skin tones.15

How do you treat severe sunburn?

Severe sunburn needs medical assessment, especially when accompanied by dehydration or heat illness. Seek emergency care for confusion, fainting, rapid breathing, a rapid pulse, no urine output, or pale, clammy skin. Nausea, dehydration or dizziness after sun exposure also warrant emergency assessment. Severe blistering or dehydration can require fluids given by a healthcare professional.346

Get urgent medical advice if you have:

• Blistering, significant swelling or extreme pain.
• Fever, chills, a headache, muscle cramps, or unusual tiredness after sun exposure.
• Eye pain or sensitivity to light.
• Pus or fluid draining from the burned area.
• A sunburn that is not healing or whose discomfort is not improving.

Get urgent medical advice for a baby or young child with sunburn. When cooling a child, take care not to let them become too cold. A very large burn, a burn in an infant or an older person, or a burn that seems more severe than a minor surface burn warrants emergency assessment.15

How long does sunburn take to heal?

A mild sunburn usually improves within a few days to a week. Deeper, blistering burns can take weeks. Symptoms can lag behind sun exposure: the full effect can take 24 hours or longer to appear, and pain is often worst between 6 and 48 hours afterwards. Feeling worse later does not automatically mean your cooling routine has failed, but new blisters or symptoms of illness change whether home care is enough.36

Can medicines make sunburn more likely?

Some medicines increase sensitivity to sunlight, including doxycycline, certain retinoids and some heart medicines. Check your sun exposure precautions if you take these treatments. If you receive PUVA, a light treatment used with psoralen medicine, follow your phototherapy team's instructions: psoralen makes skin more sensitive to light, and excess sunshine even through window glass can cause a reaction like sunburn.367

How do you protect healing skin?

Use shade and protective clothing, including a wide brimmed hat, long sleeves and sunglasses with UV protection. For exposed skin, choose a broad spectrum, water resistant sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher. Broad spectrum means protection against both UVA and UVB rays. Apply enough to cover exposed skin and reapply every two hours or as directed on the label, including after swimming or sweating. Clouds do not remove the need for protection. Symptom relief does not undo the skin damage: sunburn increases the risk of skin cancer and early skin aging.236