sunburn aftermath treatments?
 

so a couple weeks ago i got a very bad sunburn on my arms. i'm talking blistering, peeling of multiple layers of skin, and extreme dryness. i've been putting on aloe moisturizing lotion everyday since and the peeling is almost complete. my problem is that now there is some very tender, reddish skin exposed and i don't want it to turn into scar tissue. is there any over-the-counter product i can use to prevent this or any other product that you can recommend i use (besides sunblock, obviously :p)?

(edited for spelling)

I beleive Vitamin E lotion keeps skin from scarring. I would double check with a dermatologist tho.

Yep, vitamin E lotion.

Also be sure to put on sunblock while it heals. Even slight exposure to the sun can irritate the new, tender skin.

I feel for you. I had a sunburn that severe once. Blistered and peeled 3 times.

Only thing that gave me much relief from the constant burning was the sunburn spray with Bensocain in it. Called Solarcain and available at your Walmart or pharmacy. They have some other similar products. I would go ahead and get the least expensive with the same amount of the active ingredient Benzocaine. It stings when you apply it simply because of the spray and anything touching that burned skin is painful.

I have heard good about Mederma I don't really know how much it helps.

I had red scar looking skin for the rest of the summer and some of that winter but it eventually healed and left freckles all over. I think my mom prevented some scarring but putting cool wet towels over my back when I first started to blister. I kept it from causing as much damage I believe. Now you are past all that though.

You will need to be extra careful to watch for moles on that area of skin in the future. My sunburn that peeled 3 times like that was back in 1993 or 94. Since then I've had 2 moles removed. One was benign but the other was Stage 2 or 3 cancerous - It just hadn'e grown "roots" yet or branched out enough. No more have been found since so I'm lucky. I still need to watch for them though.

Good Luck.

If you get sunburned, pop some vitaming E capsules and rub it on ASAP. I prevented blistering, but not peeling this way several times. The blistering is what you have to worry about. Peeling is bad, but blisters are a sign of cancer-causing damage.

aloe vera!

& also this conditioner you can buy only at a salon called
Nioxin Scalp therapy- they recommend it for conditioning the skin & also for sunburn relief.

thanks to everyone who replied, i was going to go buy a bunch of stuff at the store yesterday, but when i woke up my arms looked so much better i decided to just stick with the aloe lotion. i can barely tell that it ever blistered, and there are barely any new freckles... so i'm very happy and very lucky. i won't be going out in the sun unprotected anymore, that's for sure. :)

Aloe is the best, I live in arizona and that is the only way to go. I used to walk into my backyard and cut off a leaf to rub on my shoulders, arms, etc. It works great, but it has an aweful chicken soup smell.

Viscous lotion. Not the watered-down stuff. Just keeping it moist is important. The reddish skin that's there now is normal in the process of wound healing.

If the burns are anywhere around joints make sure you do range-of-motion exercises so the skin doesn't get a chance to contract up in those areas.

Sunscreen is a good idea, but keeping the skin out of direct sunlight is an even better idea for the time being.

If you find yourself with a sunburn again try vinegar. After spending a day at the lake I'd end up with a sunburn and I applied regular old vinegar to a cloth and just laid the cloth over my arms, shoulders, thighs, etc. It seems to take the heat out of the sunburn. After that I apply some aloe vera lotion and the next day I'd still be a little red, but there was no pain and no blisters.

I'm going to bump this thread as I lay in my bed admitting that I am a Total Idiot and beg for help. I've tried the vinegar, and the yogurt (which usually works awesome) and I'm covered in aloe and sticking to the sheets. but I'm shaking like a leaf and I've got goosebumps.

I'm allergic to lidocaine/benzocaine so that's out, but does anyone have any remedies for the pain? I'm getting ready to drench myself in hemp lotion for moisture, but I'm on fire. Also popped a few ibuprofen. I have a feeling I'm SOL as well as stupid, but it never hurts to ask.

Witch hazel will sting at first, but it will help with the pain and swelling. A cold bath is also good.

Avoid a heavy lotion during the first few days, as they can help keep heat in (just like you wouldn't put butter on a regular burn). Use aloe instead. Ice, ice, ice as much as possible.

Hope that helps...being allergic to that stuff must suck--my usual remedy is Dermoplast :)

i just figured out the lotion thing... hemp oil lotion + maroon legs = i'm still cooking! and being allergic to it stinks like you will never know... i'm trying tea baths to cut the swelling. thanks so much... i've been too chicken to try the ice thing, but i'm going to give it a shot now!

i've lived in florida all my life. you'd think i'd get it by now. :rolleyes:

Once in Jamaica, my Scottish skin got cooked So Bad the hotel maids brought me several pictures of ice tea & we soaked the towels in it and they covered me with those, as the tea draws the burn out & helps take away the pain. Directly after a sun exposure - it's true that your best bet really is the "fresh aloe squeezed from a plant" leaf. Don't do drugstore lotions. ....Too many preservatives for tender skin. Aspirin for the chills. Drink tons of water. After your skin get's it's second layer repaired, then start with the vitamin E capsules. I feel for you, as I have been burned badly at least twice in my life. I've learned that freckles are ok :) as I am not a tan-skin type. Take care my friend. Don't pick any of the scabs off or you will have non pigment spots in those places, which aren't very attractive.

Peace....

One other thing that used to work well is Noxema. And you can't beat those sunburn relief gells with aloe. they really seems to soak in well and provide cooling.

Honestly, Vit E isn't going to do much. As a rule of thumb I dont reccomend that to anyone. Vit E has gotten this mythic property that it cures everything and has no side effects.

However, a recent study showed that there is an increased mortality (death) with people taking Vit E supplements. Especialy those taking too much (defined as 150 IU/day).

Plus, it has never been showed to be of benefit however theorhetically it should work.

For bad sunburns, cool compresses will provide the most symptom releif. Like dirtyrascal7 found out, the skin will get better on its own. Though, do avoid any more sun. Sometimes I will give someone a quick steroid burst if the sunburn is extensive.

Oh, it's extensive alright. I called one of those Ask-A-Nurse things when I got out of bed on Saturday night and the muscles in my legs started shaking and felt like they were on fire. They said I was describing the symptoms of 3rd degree burns--shins, calves, shoulders, stomach and chest. Apparently, I burned all the way through the first layer of skin to the subcutaneous stuff and the pressure was doing something to the muscles. Stupid. But no steroids or Silvadine cream. Finished with the liquid aloe juice/gel. Just oatmeal baths and oatmeal lotion. Definitely staying out of the sun!

**Note--The Ask-A-Nurse stated that if aloe is used beyond the first few days it will end up drying out the skin. Switch to oatmeal or calendula based lotions. I thought the tattoo artist that told me that years ago was full of crap.

Oatmeal baths are some of the best things in the world, not to mention inexpensive. Anything you can do to hydrate your skin after a thermal injury/inking will speed up the recovery.

As for the oatmeal baths--

If you get a coffee grinder and put whole oats into it, you can pulse the oats into a fine enough powder under your own power to add to a bath or to create a poultice to apply directly to the burn. Just a tip :) I use fresh oatmeal frequently for facials, using the coffee grinder method.

Noxzema works wonder for me. I usually do yard work in my tank top and just two weeks ago the sun was pounding down on me as I mowed the lawn. After two hours of labor I was quite tanned, if you will.

The next day I took the kids to water park, I used sun block this time. Nevertheless I started to feel the burn around the fifth day. I had my wife rub Noxzema all over the exposed areas for immediate cool down. I also used my kids' Cetaphil, my skin didn't flake one bit and I have this deep copper tone tank top tan on me.

Thanks, I'll have to remember this techinque for getting the oatmeal into the bath! :)