Sunburn can range from mild to life threatening depending on the amount of exposure one has had, and it can just be reddening of the skin with itchiness to big blisters on the skin accompanied with fever and nausea. Sunburn can occur even from exposure to any intense heat source like a furnace, sun tanning lamps and welding arcs. The major cause of sunburn is of course the sun and too much exposure to it can be harmful for the skin. People lie in the sun to get a tan, but trying to get an innocent tan can turn into sunburn. There is no quick fix relief from sunburn. If the sunburn is mild it can be treated at home and in case of a severe attack one would need to be taken to a hospital.

Recently cases of sunburn have increased as more people are going on vacations to sunny places and not taking proper precautions against exposure to the sun. Skin cancer cases have also increased due to sun exposure and other then people not taking proper precautions there are other reasons associated with it. Most people are aware that there is depletion in the ozone layer for which mankind is responsible and this allows the harmful UV rays to cause sunburn.

For sunburn relief, first one needs to determine how severe the case of sunburn is. If the skin is pink in color and one feels a burning as if the skin is hot, then it’s a mild case of sunburn. Taking frequent cool showers or applying cool compresses will help in relieving the sunburn. One can also mix equal quantities of cool milk and water and applying it on the skin areas that have been sun burnt. If the skin is red and there are visible strap lines on it, plus there is itching, burning and stinging sensation, and then this a case of medium sunburn and one must follow the sunburn relief for light sunburn and can take aspirins and apply any over the counter steroids on the affected skin areas. If the skin has red blisters and fever and chills then this is a case of severe sunburn and one must seek medical attention immediately.

For sunburn there is no immediate sunburn relief and recovering from sunburn will take time. So what one must do is to avoid sunburn in the first place. One should wear suitable clothing, a wide brimmed hat, and sun glasses and apply sunscreens and sun block and drink plenty of water. In case one does suffer from sunburn after getting sunburn relief one should avoid going out in the sun and if one cannot avoid it one should wear loose natural fabric clothes, proper head gear and sun glasses.

There are a number of home made remedies for sunburn that involve a variety of ingredients from vinegar to cornstarch and one can get these remedies one just needs to go on the internet and find them. When using a home made recipe to relieve sunburn just make sure that the person who has the sunburn is not allergic to the ingredients being used. Children are especially prone to getting sun burnt as they can spend hours outdoors unattended or playing a game or involved in any outdoor activity. So before a child gets sun burnt make sure that they are wearing the proper clothes and apply sunscreens and make sure that they don’t remain outdoors for too long.

After any portion of the skin gets sun burnt it takes time for the new skin to take over and the burnt skin to peel and slough off. So till it does one can apply Aloe Vera or a low dose hydrocortisone cream on the skin.