What does sunburn feel like?

What sensations are typical?

The affected area can feel warm to the touch, irritated, itchy or swollen. Heat and pressure can make it more uncomfortable. Skin can start to flake or peel after several days, while a more severe burn can develop painful blisters. Blisters indicate damage beyond the skin's outer layer.123

On white skin, sunburn usually looks pink or red. On brown or black skin, a colour change can be difficult to notice, so warmth, pain and tenderness matter even without obvious redness. Any skin tone can burn.34

When does sunburn start hurting, and how long does it last?

The first signs can take a few hours to appear, and the full effect can take 24 hours or longer. Pain is usually worst between 6 and 48 hours after exposure. A mild sunburn generally improves within a few days to a week. Deeper, blistering burns can take weeks to heal.15

Sunburn can happen during gardening, a walk or a lunch break outdoors. By the time the skin feels painful, the damage has already happened; waiting for soreness is not a reliable way to judge when to leave the sun.15

How can you ease the discomfort?

1. 1Get out of the sun, preferably indoors, as soon as you notice symptoms.
2. 2Cool the skin with a cool shower, bath or clean, damp cloth. Do not apply ice or ice packs directly.
3. 3Gently pat yourself dry. For skin without blisters, apply an unperfumed moisturiser. A moisturiser containing aloe vera or soy can soothe discomfort; apply it while the skin is still damp and again when uncomfortable.
4. 4Drink extra water and avoid alcohol. Sunburn draws fluid towards the skin's surface, increasing the risk of dehydration.
5. 5For pain, consider paracetamol, also called acetaminophen, or ibuprofen, following the medicine's leaflet. A pharmacist can help you choose a suitable option.
6. 6Wear loose clothing and protect the burned area from direct sunlight until it has healed.

Do not scratch, pull off peeling skin or pop blisters. Avoid numbing products containing benzocaine or lidocaine, which can cause allergic reactions and worsen the burn. Keep blisters clean; gently wash them with mild soap and water, and cover broken blisters with a sterile dressing.235

When is it more than a sore patch of skin?

Get urgent medical advice for blistering or swollen skin, fever, chills, headache, muscle cramps, or feeling very tired, dizzy or sick after sun exposure. A baby or young child with sunburn also needs urgent advice. Severe sunburn can accompany heat exhaustion or heatstroke.3

"Sun poisoning" is an informal name for a severe sunburn reaction, not literal poisoning. Symptoms can include intense pain, a blistering rash, nausea and dehydration. Seek immediate medical help for confusion, fainting, shortness of breath or extreme thirst with no urine output. Bleeding, oozing, pus or red streaks around blisters also need medical attention.457

How do you avoid another burn?

Use shade, covering clothing and sunscreen together, which makes sun protection a group project with unusually clear roles. Broad spectrum sunscreen protects against both UVA and UVB rays, which is useful work for a phrase that sounds like a broadband package, although the coverage is not measured in bars. Choose SPF 30 or higher and reapply every two hours and after swimming or sweating. UV rays still reach you on cloudy and cool days, which is a fairly rude interpretation of an overcast sky.45

Some medicines and skincare ingredients increase sensitivity to sunlight, including certain antibiotics, retinoids and exfoliating acids. Check your medicine's sun precautions. Although the soreness fades, sunburn increases skin cancer risk.4