Remedy for sunburn: the best pharmacy ointments and creams + folk remedies

A sunburn is a skin injury that is symptomatically similar to a thermal burn, but has a different nature. The damaged area of ​​the body turns red, slightly swells, becomes hot and very sensitive to touch. With deeper damage, the skin swells with watery blisters, the victim feels a strong burning sensation, pain, chills, and body temperature rises. To quickly cope with excruciating pain, it is better to find out in advance which sunburn remedy really helps, and does it quickly and effectively.

How to treat sunburn?

You can get a sunburn not only by sunbathing on the beach. Such skin damage can easily be earned while sightseeing or working in the country or on a construction site. The danger of sunburn also lies in the fact that it accumulates gradually, and a person notices the damage too late, when the skin is already severely damaged.

The main symptoms of a sunburn are severe redness and inflammation of the skin. In especially severe cases, blisters appear on the skin, it itches and peels, weakness, nausea or headache appear. Fever or chills may also occur.

Probably everyone knows that sour cream or fresh aloe juice will help relieve the symptoms of sunburn. A cool bath or wet compress will also help.

But it also happens that folk remedies are not available or do not help. And then the path of the sufferer lies in the pharmacy. The modern pharmaceutical industry offers a wide variety of ointments to relieve symptoms and quickly treat sunburn. Each sunburn remedy has its own characteristics. Therefore, it is necessary to select a cream for sunburn individually, paying attention to the characteristics of the body and indications for use. Properly selected and timely used products will help relieve pain, prevent further complications, moisturize the skin, restore the structure of the skin and return it to a healthy appearance, and disinfect damaged areas.

Typically, such creams contain hydrocortisone (relieves inflammation and itching), analgesics (fight pain), panthenol (covers the skin with a protective film, promotes rapid regeneration).

Any remedy for sunburn can be bought at the pharmacy without a prescription, and the price is quite affordable for any wallet. However, you should not self-medicate in case of severe skin lesions; in this case, it is better to immediately consult a doctor.

The essence of the problem

Sunburn is an inflammatory process in the upper and sometimes lower layers of the epithelium, caused by excessive exposure to UV rays, leading to trophic disorders of the skin.

Interesting ! Most often, sensitive, dry skin suffers from ultraviolet radiation. That is why you should control the time infants spend in direct sunlight.

Signs

It is not difficult to understand that the skin is “burnt” - a person experiences painful sensations of varying intensity, depending on the degree of damage. On palpation, local hyperthermia is noticeable.

The following signs are also possible:

• redness;
• swelling;
• the appearance of blisters;
• peeling;
• itching

There may be general malaise, manifested by fever and headache.

Degrees of burns

Depending on the degree of exposure to UV rays on the epithelium, symptoms may vary.

Experts distinguish three stages of skin injury from the sun:

1. Easy. Only the upper layers of the dermis are damaged. In this case, the victim feels moderate pain, which goes away within 2-3 days without any specific medical intervention.
2. Average. The condition of the body is much worse than in the first case: the pain is severe, swelling and redness are significant. The resulting blisters add even more discomfort.
3. Heavy . Occurs in 7% of all cases of sunburn. Ultraviolet radiation causes a strong allergic reaction, in this situation the whole body suffers, possible dehydration, fever, problems with the cardiovascular system.

If large areas of the epithelium are damaged, the symptoms may become more significant; a person, even with a mild burn, cannot sleep peacefully, severe itching begins, and the temperature rises.

Interesting ! Some medications may make your skin more sensitive to sunlight.

What is the danger?

The effects of the sun can be detrimental to the body, especially for children and people with weakened immune systems.

Large-scale skin damage can lead to general infection , the inflammatory process will cause dehydration, breathing problems and other problems.

Bepanten and D-Panthenol

Today, both drugs are positioned as the best remedy for sunburn. They are very similar in composition. Manufacturers offer a wide variety of products: ointment or cream, lotion or spray. Dexpanthenol, which is the main component of both products, perfectly moisturizes the skin and promotes rapid healing of damage. The products also contain natural ingredients that will effectively protect against infections and prevent skin inflammation. The products are very effective, but can cause allergic reactions.

For minor redness and a small area of ​​damage, use a spray or lotion. For more severe burns, it is better to use thick sunburn creams and ointments with an analgesic effect. It is recommended to use the product twice a day or more often (in case of severe irritation), the duration of treatment will be from 3 to 8 days.

Both “Bepanten” and “D-Panthenol” are quickly absorbed and do not leave greasy marks on clothes.

First aid

If you do become a victim of the aggressive rays of a heavenly body, it is worth remembering the rules of first aid:

• Hide from the sun indoors;
• To relieve fever and pain, apply a cold compress or take a cool shower;
• If the pain is intense, take a pain reliever (“Analgin”, “Paracetamol”, “Tempalgin”);
• Apply anti-burn agent (“Panthenol”);
• If there are small blisters, apply a bandage to prevent infection;
• If you have symptoms of severe sun damage, call a doctor.

You should immediately consult a doctor if:

• The skin of the face is affected - such injuries often heal with difficulty and may be accompanied by the formation of scars or other defects in the dermis;
• There is a widespread lesion with large watery blisters anywhere on the body;
• Damage to the dermis is accompanied by the formation of blisters with bloody contents.

When providing first aid, it is important to remember that it is strictly prohibited:

• Treat the affected areas with alcohol-containing products, which will increase not only the pain, but also the affected area;
• Treat the injury area with soap or gel-based hygiene products; the chemical compounds they contain can cause allergies;
• Use fatty creams to treat the burned area, since fats will prevent the skin from cooling and will only increase the affected area.

The best folk remedies for children and adults

Sunburn is always painful; your body temperature may immediately rise and your general health will worsen. Among folk remedies, there are many that will help solve the problem quickly and without going to the doctor. The most popular, affordable and effective non-drug methods for solving the problem of sunburn include:

• Dairy products . Most often they use sour cream or kefir, sour milk. The proteins present in the composition coagulate on hot burned skin and form a fairly dense protective layer. In this way, it is possible to prevent the evaporation of moisture from the dermis, problem areas calm down and do not dry out, and a crust does not form on them, which tears or bursts when moving, causing discomfort to the patient and increasing the risk of infection.

Official medicine believes that this method is categorically unacceptable. The acids contained in these products only irritate the burned skin, worsening its condition and slowing down the healing process.

• Potato . It is used in two versions: raw and boiled. In the first case, you need to peel the tubers and grate them on a fine grater, and then wrap the resulting mass in gauze and apply it to the sunburn areas. If your face is burned, then you should squeeze the juice out of already chopped raw potatoes and wipe the problem area with it every 15-20 minutes.
• Boiled potatoes are used as a puree with the addition of sour cream or kefir. The result should be as homogeneous and creamy as possible. It is applied, evenly distributed over the skin and left for 20 minutes.

If it is possible to use potato flour, it will help solve the problem of severe burns on the face. It is enough to powder it harder and repeat the procedure every 1-2 hours. Redness, discomfort, burning and tightness will disappear.

• Black tea . You need to brew the drink at the rate of 1 teaspoon per 250 ml of boiling water, leave for 20 minutes and strain. Use it for warm compresses. Moistened gauze is applied to the desired places. The procedure is carried out once an hour; after 15 minutes, the compresses are removed.

Tea should be of high quality, without any flavoring additives or aromas and, of course, unpackaged.

• Aloe leaf juice . The thickest, fleshiest leaves are cut off, crushed and squeezed through gauze or a bandage. The resulting juice can be used immediately after receiving, but it is better to dilute it with water in equal proportions. This will reduce the risk of developing allergies because already damaged skin is overly sensitive.
• Gauze wipes are soaked in the juice, lightly wrung out and applied to problem areas for 10 minutes. The procedure is performed 2 times a day for 60 minutes at a time. That is, the compress is on the body for 10 minutes, then wetted again.

If sunburns have formed on the face, then you just need to lubricate them with juice every 10 minutes for an hour, then take a break of several hours and repeat the manipulation.

A good option for saving burnt skin would be infusions and decoctions of various medicinal herbs. You can prepare them according to the following recipes:

• 1 tablespoon of dried St. John's wort per glass of water, boil for 3 minutes, cool and strain;
• Pour 10 g of fireweed leaves (dry and without flowers) into 200 ml of boiling water, leave in a sealed container for 30 minutes, strain;
• Infuse 2 tablespoons of chamomile flowers in a glass of boiling water for half an hour;
• Pour 1 tablespoon of calendula flowers into 250 ml of water and bring to a boil in a water bath, immediately set aside to steep for 30 minutes.

The finished decoction or infusion is used in the form of compresses; you can add them to a regular moisturizer (1 teaspoon per 50 ml of cosmetic product) and lubricate mild sunburns.

There are several more, at first glance, unusual methods of treating burns from ultraviolet rays from the category of traditional medicine:

• Mix watermelon and fresh cucumber juice in equal proportions and make compresses from the mixture. This cools the skin, hydrates and soothes it, preventing cracking while healing;
• pour 100 ml of boiling water over 1 teaspoon of quince seeds, shake and stir for 10 minutes. The result is a mucous liquid that perfectly moisturizes burned skin and quickly relieves severe redness and swelling;
• Apply sauerkraut to problem areas, after squeezing it lightly. The procedure is carried out every 2 hours for 20 minutes.

Cucumber juice prevents cracking during the healing of a sunburn.
Traditional methods for treating sunburn are good only if the skin damage is not too extensive and non-critical, and there are no accompanying symptoms: fever to high levels, nausea and vomiting, headaches and dizziness, severe weakness and tremors of the upper and lower extremities. In all other cases, you should call a doctor to assess the condition and obtain prescriptions. However, you can always use pharmaceutical products for the treatment of burns, which are commercially available.

We recommend reading the article about creams that accelerate tanning. From it you will learn about budget creams that accelerate tanning from Eveline, oil-cream to enhance tanning, as well as folk remedies. Find out more about sun protection for the body here.

Preventive measures

It's good to know first aid for a sunburn, but it's even better if you never have to use it. To avoid the problems that UV rays cause to our skin, take note of the simplest preventive measures:

• dose your exposure to the sun;
• do not appear on the beach between 10 and 11 o’clock in the morning and 3–4 o’clock in the afternoon - at this time the light was especially active;
• choose a good cream with SPF filters, the index of which will correspond to your skin type;
• if you need to take a long promenade under the hot sun, cover your head with a wide-brimmed hat, take glasses with dark lenses and take care of a light cape that will hide your arms and legs;
• Keep a bottle of clean drinking water with you and take 1-2 sips periodically.

Video: dermatologist about sunburn and preventive measures

What is it, what are the symptoms?

We are talking about inflammation of the skin, which occurs after prolonged exposure to ultraviolet radiation on exposed parts of the body. The damaged area hurts, sometimes the skin swells, a crust or blisters form on it. Fever is also a symptom.

The damaged dermis is dry and hot to the touch, and pain appears when touched. With significant inflammation, blisters appear on the surface. Subsequently, the top layer begins to peel off.

It is important to understand that symptoms do not appear immediately. It is possible that redness and pain will make themselves felt only after 6-9 hours.

The pain goes away in 1-2 days, but redness and peeling may last for a week. It all depends on the degree of damage, the timeliness of first aid, the area of ​​skin damage, the level of immunity and age.

Child burns

How can you help a child who is sunburned? Mothers should know that sunburn causes great harm to children under one year old. If the baby is damaged by ultraviolet radiation, he must be hospitalized; the body's reaction to the burn can be unpredictable. Children must be protected from direct sunlight using clothing and umbrellas on strollers.

If your baby has a fever and chills, these are signs of sunstroke. The burn may be accompanied by swelling and blisters - carefully examine the child's skin. The first aid for severe burns and sunstroke is to wrap the body in a damp towel - wrap the child in a wet terry towel and repeat the procedure after half an hour.

The reddened area of ​​the baby's skin can be treated with panthenol - the drug is used only on dry skin. Make sure that bedding and clothing do not injure burnt skin. In case of burns, an increased drinking regime is indicated - do not forget about this.

How to choose a protective product for a child:

• SPF protection level must be above 50 units;
• the drug should not contain fragrances or preservatives;
• the product must repel moisture and be waterproof;
• It is unacceptable to apply sunscreen for adults to the baby’s skin due to the difference in pH values;
• The product must protect against all ranges of solar radiation.

High-quality skin protection products for babies are:

1. BABE Pediatric 50 lotion and spray;
2. cream Sanosan 50;
3. cream Babyline 35;
4. cream My sun 20 to 30;
5. cream La Roche Posay 50;
6. lotion Bubchen 50;
7. Mustela 50 cream.

Creams are preferable to lotions and gels for the skin, as they protect the skin from drying out in the active sun. The cream is deeply absorbed into the structure of the dermis, actively protecting it at all levels from ultraviolet aggression.

Among the listed products for babies, Mustela cream can be used for babies up to one year old. However, remember that UV protection does not protect against sunstroke, so do not allow your child to be exposed to directed sunlight for long periods of time. Children under three years of age need to be protected from ultraviolet radiation especially carefully.