Really bad sunburn... best remedies?

[AnnShh]

I had a complete brain fart last week and laid outside in a bikini in the sun for about 3 hours (we were on a cruise). Without sunscreen. BAD idea.
I got so sunburned that I actually felt physically ill that night and the next day. It hurt to move whatsoever, I couldn't eat because I felt sick, etc. I was sunburned everywhere from shoulders-knees (above and below those areas I didn't get burnt at all for some reason).

Immediately after I realized how badly I was burnt, I started applying aloe and took Ibuprophen to help with the pain. I am now in the ever-so-lovely pealing phase. Once again it hurts like heck. My skin feels incredibly dry and in the areas where it's already peeled it feels raw and burns when aloe is applied.

I've never been this badly burnt before and I don't know what I should do. Keep applying aloe? Apply lotion? Somethine else or nothing at all? Also, should I 'assist' the peeling or let it go on its own?

 

[fanofdmb84]

I'm burned to a crisp right now myself, so I totally feel your pain.

I just keep up with the aloe. I've found the real aloe, directly from the aloe plant, works better than the bottled stuff, but use whatever you have. I stay away from lotion because almost all of them have alcohol and fragrance of some kind in them, which just dries and irritates your skin.

As for peeling, its best to leave it alone, since sometimes if you peel it, you'll take some of the healthy skin with it.

If you're in pain, do like you are and take an OTC med. I've been taking one ibuprofen and one Tylenol each morning and that seems to take the edge off.

 

[Pleiades]

You can also take vitamin E capsules. They'll help your skin repair faster. You can even break them open and slather them on the worst parts, but it's good to take them orally too. Also, Omega-3 supplements do wonderful things for skin, so that couldn't hurt either.

 

[alpayton]

You can also take vitamin E capsules. They'll help your skin repair faster. You can even break them open and slather them on the worst parts, but it's good to take them orally too. Also, Omega-3 supplements do wonderful things for skin, so that couldn't hurt either.

This! (From the Nursing student and pharmacy technician standpoint)

 

[ChilliPepper]

To pull the heat out of the burn, I soak kitchen towels in apple cider vinegar and put them in the fridge. Then I wrap them around the painful parts. It really helps.

 

[Melissa]

Doing the above mentioned is going to help but you may also want to see a dermatologist. They will probably tell you the same thing but it sounds like you had sun poisoning. The way you describe it, these types of sun burns lead to skin cancer. So watch for abnormal patches of skin and new "beauty marks" or moles and go to the Dr right away if anything looks new or different.

 

[Chinmama]

Burt's Bee's After Sun Soother works really well for me.

 

[AK23]

This sounds weird but when I was in Italy my friend got really badly burnt. I'm talking blisters all over her legs. We went to a pharmacy and a lady there said to cut up tomatoes and put them on her burn. I'm not entirely sure of the details, but I guess there is something in the tomatoes that helps. It could be worth a try!

 

[Bostongirl'sChin75]

Soak in a lukewarm bath with vinegar in the water, it helps take the burning sensation out of the skin. You smell like a pickle, but it works!

This also helps for gnats and mosquitoes too! the vinegar keeps them away from you!

 

[Melissa]

This also helps for gnats and mosquitoes too! the vinegar keeps them away from you!

So do dryer sheets and you smell prettier!