Everyone can experience dark sunburn if they are exposed to too much sun without being protected by sunscreen or covered clothing. To help heal and soothe sunburned skin, it is important to start caring as soon as you notice. At the same time, it is necessary to follow the advice of a dermatologist to help take care of dark sunburn, alleviate discomfort.
1. What is sunburn?
Sunburn is essentially an inflammatory reaction of the skin before the exposure factor is ultraviolet (UV) radiation to the outermost layers of cells of the skin. The center of all cells is melanin, a type of pigment cell that gives color to the skin and protects against the sun's rays. The amount of melanin produced is determined by genetic factors, which is why some people suffer from sunburn while others only get tanned when outdoors. These are all signs of cell damage on the skin, the skin becomes red, swollen and painful. Sun burns are a more severe condition of sunburn, with manifestations ranging from mild burns to blisters.
After sunburn, the skin may begin to peel off. This is a sign that the body is trying to remove damaged cells. However, never try to skin yourself, but let this layer of cells peel off naturally.
In addition, even without burns, exposure to the sun increases the risk of skin cancer. Accordingly, both tanned or brunette, the sun can still cause cell damage leading to cancer.
2. The risk of sunburn to the body
Repeated sunburn increases the risk of disease. For white people, especially those with less genetic predisposition, sunburn plays a clear role in the development of melanoma. Research shows that UV rays that harm the skin can also alter the tumor suppression gene, making injured cells less likely to repair before progressing to cancer.
So people who work or play sports outdoors are at risk of frequent sunburn, leading to skin cancer. Moreover, sunburned skin for a long time in the past also doubled the risk of developing melanoma in the future.
The more damaged the skin over time starts from the first sunburn and the more sunburned the skin, the higher the risk of skin cancer. Further UV damage can still occur even without obvious burns.
3. How to take care of dark sunburn?
For adults
Quickly cool down – If you're near a cold water pool or beach, take a quick dip in the water to cool your skin. Then continue to cool the skin burns with cold gauze, can use ice to apply cold but do not put the stone directly on the sunburn. If there is no compressing tool, a cool bath can also be maintained but not too long because it can dry the skin; at the same time, it is also necessary to avoid soaps with strong activity because it can cause more skin irritation.
Moisturize the skin – When the skin is still moisturized, use a gentle moisturizer (but do not use ointments because it can cause heat retention and make the burn worse). Repeated application to moisturize the burned skin or will proceed to peeling in the next few days.
Reduce inflammation – If the body allows, people experiencing dark sunburn can take additional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, naproxen or aspirin, when there are the first signs of sunburn to alleviate discomfort and inflammation until the burn is better. In addition, an over-the-counter 1% cortisone cream can also be used as directed for several days to help soothe redness and swelling. In addition, using aloe vera when skin is sunburned can also soothe minor burns and is generally considered safe, available at home. At the same time, it is necessary to continue applying cool compresses to alleviate discomfort, wear spacious, soft, breathable clothes to avoid further skin irritation and avoid the sun completely until the sunburned skin heals.
Drink plenty of water – Because sunburned skin tends to suck liquid in the body onto the surface of the skin to increase heat, the rest of the body will be prone to dehydration. It is important to rehydr the water by drinking additional fluids, including filtered water, juices, heat-purifying water or sports drinks that help replenish electrolyses immediately and while the skin is gradually healing.
Examination – Seek medical help if the sunburned skin becomes severely blistered on a large part of the body. At the same time, the person also has a fever, a feeling of chills or dizziness, confusion. Absolutely do not scratch or break blisters, which can lead to skin infections. Signs of infection include the appearance of red streaks or purulent discharge.
For children
The skin of young children is able to heal faster than the skin of adults. However, the skin of young children is also less able to protect themselves from damage, including sun damage.
Therefore, when the skin of young children is sunburned, parents or caregivers need to quickly follow these instructions:
- Bathe the young in cool water to reduce the temperature of the skin. Do not apply alcohol or alcohol on the child's skin because it can cool the skin excessively.
- For a baby under 1 year of age, sunburn should be treated as an emergency. Call your doctor immediately.
- For children 1 year and older, call your doctor if there is severe pain, blisters, infant separation, coma or fever above 38.3 ○ C.
- Sunburn can cause skin to dehydration. It is necessary to give the child additional milk for the child while breastfeeding completely, filtered water or juice, eat liquid food to replace the fluid in the body. Contact your doctor immediately if your child does not urinate frequently as it is an emergency.
- Apply a gentle moisturizer to soothe the skin
- Do not use any medical creams such as hydrocortisone or benzocain on the child's skin unless instructed by a pediatrician.
- Keep your child from the sun completely until the sunburn heals.
In summary, sunburn will damage the skin in many ways, which can initially be a pain, redness and discomfort in the short term; when the sunburn is gone, long-term lesions remain, including the risk of cancer. Because dark sunburn is completely preventable, people need to pay attention to ways to protect the skin, especially using sunscreen and skin cover measures, when outdoors to maintain skin health as well as youthful appearance, slow down the aging process.
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