What do you put on sunburn?

[Barnacle Battlefront]

Last week I got quite sunburned, as my new job requires a lot of time outside. So everyone around me started offering advice as to what is the best thing to treat a sunburn.

Some of the suggestions included aloe Vera (my usual choice), sliced cucumber, and a mixture of milk and vinegar.

So I'm sort of wondering what everyone else's go to remedy is

[IamsSon]

Aloe Vera. I generally don't sunburn, but my wife does, and she uses it and it soothes her immediately and seems to cut down the time when the sunburn hurts over all.

Edited December 7, 2014 by IamsSon

[keithisco]

Aloe Vera (which grows everywhere here) - but it must be squeezed out of the plant directly onto the sunburn. I live in an area of Spain (Mediterranean coast) where sunburn is a way of life (unless you are a vampire!!). Take a frond of the plant and squeeze out the juice. It will give almost instant relief, and the heat on the skin will reduce in 2 - 3 minutes so preventing any more burning. If aloe Vera plants are not available then a slightly dilute Vinegar and water solution is the next best thing. Milk does nothing to help.

[Daughter of the Nine Moons]

mix a few drops tea tree oil with the aloe vera gel

[Bendy Demon]

Strangely. swabbing apple cider vinegar on it helps reduce the sting of a sunburn.

[spartan max2]

I kind of just let myself suffer through it

Now poison ivy on the other hand I nuke that with everything I can

[SHaYap]

Prepare the aloe vera by chilling it in the fridge ~ much more pleasant and lasts longer in open air ~ and its the only thing I use with sunburns ~

[Stubbly_Dooright]

Last week I got quite sunburned, as my new job requires a lot of time outside. So everyone around me started offering advice as to what is the best thing to treat a sunburn.

Some of the suggestions included aloe Vera (my usual choice), sliced cucumber, and a mixture of milk and vinegar.

So I'm sort of wondering what everyone else's go to remedy is

Well, I hope you can be careful, my uncle got skin cancer from constant sun at his job eons ago. Don't worry, he is still alive.

I try a little trick myself. Putting sunblock, not suntan lotion, but sunblock or sunscreen on your burn. I think it cools it off for a bit. I have done this and I think it works. That's just me.

[Ashotep]

I keep an aloe plant around just for sunburns and other skin irritations like poison ivy. It does seem to soothe it. I've heard olive oil is also good for that and potatoes.

[Barnacle Battlefront]

Apparently the milk is supposed to help moisturize the skin. I think it just makes it smell funky

My usual go to method is aloe Vera that's been chilled in the fridge, then moisturizer that's high in vitamin e, but has no perfumes or anything in it. Also, a cold bath

[Aus Der Box Skeptisch]

Vinegar... then leave it to air out. Creams dont let it breathe and bacteria can grow unddr any wraps. Its kinda an open wound. Tried vinegar once and ever since

[Frank Merton]

Vietnamese swear by butter for all burns, but they almost never get sunburn -- the optimal beauty here is to be as white as possible so they go around (women especially) all covered up in scarves and long sleeves and hats and no one ever goes to the beach until after sundown. (Hint to tourists looking for nearly empty but beautiful beaches).

Of course any oil or butter is absurd. That is folk medicine of the worst sort. If the stuff is cold it will provide a slight relief but then make it worse. The only good treatment for burns is to stop the burn progression -- ice. I suppose things like aloe will help later after the burn has begun to heal or if there are blisters or peeling.

[Likely Guy]

Fresh burn yes, go with ice or snow. It'll draw the heat out

After that, another vote for aloe vera for a sunburn, and yes, in a fridge it's the best.

[+Link of Hyrule]

My best suggestion is Tiger Balm, that's the best thing for it.

NAWWWW!!!!

Aloe Vera is what everyone's said because it's the obvious and correct answer

[Lilly]

Hydocortisone cream works well (just not near ones eyes). Aloe vera gel is helpful as well. This is one of those things where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure...stay out of the sun as much as possible.

[SHaYap]

This is proper Aloe Vera :

~

~

... not something out of a tube or container ~

~

[Daughter of the Nine Moons]

My best suggestion is Tiger Balm, that's the best thing for it.

NAWWWW!!!!

Oh evil!

*bows to PA*

I had to laugh because you reminded me of my grandma when I was a kid visiting Greece. My dad used to send her Rub A535 for her arthritis. My grandmother who swore that it was good for everything gave it to my teenage cousin to put on a heat rash. We told him not to do it.... Begged him not to and then killed ourselves laughing when he did.

[Barnacle Battlefront]

A guy I was dating a few years ago was putting deep heat on his ankles, then didn't clean his hands before going to the bathroom. From the yelling, I assumed he wouldn't be making that mistake again

Chilled slices of cucumber actually worked awesomely for reducing the burn feeling. I think I'd use that next time, with some aloe

[Sakari]

I am going to give advice to many that have answered, and hopefully everyone reading.

Just over a year ago, I was diagnosed, and had surgery for, Melanoma stage 2.......Skin Cancer.

Before I had it, I would get sunburned once in a while, but mainly stay tan. I never thought anything of Skin Cancer. I heard about it, most likely like everyone here, occasionally. Never thought much else.

After getting it, and finding out just how serious it is ( I am checked every 3 months ) I am scared to death....If even one cell gets to a lymphnode, you can say hello to cancer in many organs in your body.

Survival rate of the patients who are suffering from Melanoma depend upon the stage of cancer and treatment given to them. Patients with Stage I can be as good as cured. A cure is also possible in most cases in Stage II cancer patients. With treatment, patients in Stage I have an approximate 95% chance of surviving beyond five years and an 88% chance of passing ten years. Stage II is associated with a 77-79% and 64% survival rate at five and ten years respectively. In stages III and IV when the cancer has spread to different parts of the body, survival rates fall sharply. With Stage III, 29-69% of patients live more than fifth year and only 15-63% of patients survive over ten years. Once the cancer reaches Stage IV, there is only a 7-19% chance of making it to five years.

So, instead of asking what to put on the burns, say " why am I not using sunscreen ? ".........IT WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE!!!!!!

So, I say let it hurt like hell, put nothing on it, so every time the pain hurts, you can think of how you just doubled your chances to get skin cancer.

What's the harm in sunburn? A person's risk for melanoma--the most serious form of skin cancer--doubles if he or she has had five or more sunburns.

Unfortunately, getting sunburned is much more common that it ought to be. In a recent survey conducted in partnership with iVillage, The Skin Cancer Foundation learned that 42 percent of people polled get a sunburn at least once a year.

Melanoma is different. The sun exposure pattern believed to result in melanoma is that of brief, intense exposure - a blistering sunburn - rather than years of tanning. (Some studies now indicate that basal cell carcinoma also may be triggered by this exposure pattern.)

http://www.skincance...and-skin-cancer

So, please check the links, and start avoiding sun burns, and dangerous situations like this. You can still go to the beach, wear shorts, etc. Just WEAR SUN SCREEN !!!!! ( and hats, etc. )

Hope I get to at least one person with this. Trust me, when you are told you have cancer, your life will change, and fear will become a real, breathing thing.

Here is part of the damage......

Edited December 12, 2014 by Sakari

[Barnacle Battlefront]

This is the first time I have been sunburnt in 4 years, so it's not like I do it every day. Most of the time, I'm not even tanned. I was askin out of curiosity, not because it was a regular occurrence.

I am well aware of the risks of skin cancer, and do everything I can to prevent it

[Electrika]

One of my regrets in life is not starting sunscreen as a young teenage girl..

I started wearing sunsceen at 23 kind of old.

Facial and body sunscreen is something i will not hesitate to splurge on..

[Barnacle Battlefront]

I've used sunscreen since I was very young, and currently use make-up containing sunscreen, and normal sunscreen on a daily basis. Just happened to be one day I forgot

[Sea Wolf]

I usually just yell at mine until it goes away.

[Electrika]

I am going to give advice to many that have answered, and hopefully everyone reading.

Just over a year ago, I was diagnosed, and had surgery for, Melanoma stage 2.......Skin Cancer.

Before I had it, I would get sunburned once in a while, but mainly stay tan. I never thought anything of Skin Cancer. I heard about it, most likely like everyone here, occasionally. Never thought much else.

After getting it, and finding out just how serious it is ( I am checked every 3 months ) I am scared to death....If even one cell gets to a lymphnode, you can say hello to cancer in many organs in your body.

Survival rate of the patients who are suffering from Melanoma depend upon the stage of cancer and treatment given to them. Patients with Stage I can be as good as cured. A cure is also possible in most cases in Stage II cancer patients. With treatment, patients in Stage I have an approximate 95% chance of surviving beyond five years and an 88% chance of passing ten years. Stage II is associated with a 77-79% and 64% survival rate at five and ten years respectively. In stages III and IV when the cancer has spread to different parts of the body, survival rates fall sharply. With Stage III, 29-69% of patients live more than fifth year and only 15-63% of patients survive over ten years. Once the cancer reaches Stage IV, there is only a 7-19% chance of making it to five years.

So, instead of asking what to put on the burns, say " why am I not using sunscreen ? ".........IT WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE!!!!!!

So, I say let it hurt like hell, put nothing on it, so every time the pain hurts, you can think of how you just doubled your chances to get skin cancer.

What's the harm in sunburn? A person's risk for melanoma--the most serious form of skin cancer--doubles if he or she has had five or more sunburns.

Unfortunately, getting sunburned is much more common that it ought to be. In a recent survey conducted in partnership with iVillage, The Skin Cancer Foundation learned that 42 percent of people polled get a sunburn at least once a year.

Melanoma is different. The sun exposure pattern believed to result in melanoma is that of brief, intense exposure - a blistering sunburn - rather than years of tanning. (Some studies now indicate that basal cell carcinoma also may be triggered by this exposure pattern.)

http://www.skincance...and-skin-cancer

So, please check the links, and start avoiding sun burns, and dangerous situations like this. You can still go to the beach, wear shorts, etc. Just WEAR SUN SCREEN !!!!! ( and hats, etc. )

Hope I get to at least one person with this. Trust me, when you are told you have cancer, your life will change, and fear will become a real, breathing thing.

Here is part of the damage......

That is bad.....

Is everything ok now?

[Sakari]

That is bad.....

Is everything ok now?

The biopsy from the lymphnode came back clear.

Just have to get checked every 3-4 months.