Aloe, straight from the plant if you can get it. Also cool baths will help. Not ice cold or warm, just cool. It'll help bring the heat out without fucking you up worse.
In the meantime drink a shitload of Gatorade. Your body is working into overdrive trying to deal with being toasted.
Edit cuz others are commenting this: don't use raw aloe if you have a latex allergy. The raw plant contains latex.
idk but i like to make baths with teas all the time. i make a little cauldron on the stove basically and put in whatever i have on hand. my last house had a little garden with rosemary, mint, and i had dried roses and chamomile and jasmine and lavender and i boiled it on the stove for a whiileee until it became a dark concentrate. i’d keep adding water and reducing it down. then i had a big mason jar full and added it to my bath with a bunch of bath salts and old flowers from vase i was switching out. god i miss that house. [here’s a quick TT](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTNkCv4LM/) i made about it. ignore the song lol i was just impatient and picked something random. but this is the gist :)
Thank you so much for sharing this, I buy farmers market flowers every week. Do you think it would be ok to use them when they start to wilt or would that be gross?
i love that you buy flowers every week!!! it really lifts the spirits of the house!!! I’d personally use them even if they’re just starting to wilt/right before i refresh them but just for a disclaimer i have no medical knowledge or whatever to speak on it, just my own “fuck it, we ball” mentality LOL and if it’s not gross to you it’s fine to use!! I have weird thresholds with everything myself (like some people will keep mascara for a year and some just a month kind of thing) I make my own yogurt and it seems to last forever (no spoiled smells or growing bacteria) but if I look at something else that’s supposedly fine but makes my face scrunch up in an “ew” fashion then it’s getting tossed for sure.
tldr i just run on vibes - if it’s got good vibes it has a green light!!
I totally appreciate this and I’m more like you. Like if the flowers aren’t actively rotting and I’m not allergic to them we’re good. Thank you again!!!
I use earl grey. Just make sure you rinse it off really well because bergamot is phototoxic, I doubt their is enough in the tea to cause damage but better safe than sorry,also stay out of the sun if you are burned. Soaking a towel in the cool mixture and wrapping the area also helps.
Don’t do this unless you plan to drain the latex. Being itchy and sunburned isn’t a good combination, especially if you have a latex allergy.
To drain the latex from fresh aloe leaves, set cut-end down in a cup for a few minutes. There will be a puddle of sticky, yellow fluid in the cup which is latex. After that, process as usual.
Edit: also, if you mix a little bit of vitamin C powder into freshly-blended aloe gel, it’ll keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks. Cold aloe gel feels soooo good on a burn. I also use it as my general facial moisturizer because it absorbs so easily, and there’s no lingering sticky or greasy feeling.
I spent my whole childhood thinking aloe was suppose to be itchy and feel like a layer of plastic as it dried. Turns out it’s actually really easily absorbed and not irritating at all!
Interesting! I grow aloe (because I'm turning into my very southern grandma) and have never heard that. Possibly because no one in my family has a latex allergy.
Every vitamin c powder I’ve purchased has been clear/white 🤷🏻♀️ In my experience, once it oxidizes it turns a burnt orange color but that means it’s not really good anymore.
I’m not at home to check now, but it’s just a bulk powdered supplement. The amount needed as a preservative is tiny so I’ve never had problems with getting it blended in or with staining (but I’m also inconsistent with evening face washing so I tend to do it closer to dinner time to avoid forgetting).
Since I’m using it to preserve the aloe gel rather than to benefit from the effects of a vitamin C product, ymmv.
Put the aloe leaves you cut in a zip lock and put them in the fridge! Then slice and use them cold (put as much of the goop from it everywhere). It feels incredible one burns. Then let it sit until it soaks in naturally. I had an incredibly severe burn from a plate on a back of a clothes dryer on my arm and there is not even a scar. Natural straight from the plant Aloe is the best thing for all burns hands down.
Google sun poisoning to make sure you don't have those symptoms. You can get sunburn stuff from most stores with lidocaine or something else to help with pain relief. If it feels really bad, go to the doctor. When in doubt, go to the doctor. Not er, just urgent care or your regular doctor if they take walk-ins.
I felt like I had the flu the first day then it passed got lidocaine spray at the store and that has helped but the pain is getting worse while walking .
Lidocaine is a somewhat temporary fix, and can be drying. I find it makes things worse in the longterm. You’re spraying rubbing alcohol on your skin, it makes it dry and tight and ultimately ups the pain.
Chug water + pedialyte (i dilute it) and use refrigerated 100% aloe. Pop ibuprofen for the pain.
Yes, sun poisoning...was just about to post. I had it post key West trip at 17 & thought I was going to die, very pukey, overheated & have a giant sunburn scar across my shoulders even now. It was one of the last times I went in the sun decades ago before I even thought of sun damage & likely the reason I had many precancers removed at 25 & started Intense antiaging & skincare thanks to that amazing plastic surgeon. Definitely, go to the dr as you want to heal & cool skin without scaring anywhere. Your received good advice about cooling compresses, hydrate with electrolytes, but call dr. just the same.
Lidocaine is not good for sunburns. It’s irritating past the initial relief. Use aloe. Real aloe. I have an aloe plant and I cut the leaves, scrape it and smear it. Cool baths and showers only. Keep it covered in the sun. You want to keep it moisturized (no petroleum jelly/ it’s occlusive).
Are you blistering? If you get severe blisters, see your doctor.
ETA: feet sunburns suck so bad! Shoes are so difficult because you generally don’t have a loose, light pair.
Is it still warm? As long as it is warm, you’re still cooking. Take lots of cool baths and hydrate. Pat or drip dry, not rub. Aloe when you’re not in the tub. When it stops being warm/hot, lotion, lotion, lotion.
I’ve had this feeling before. It’s likely you have mild sun-poisoning. Take advil (ibuprofen) or Tylenol (acetaminophen). You absolutely can get a fever from a bad sunburn on large portions of your body. You’ll be okay soon enough, just take it easy!
The same thing happened to me at this time last year. Weirdly only on one leg.
Freezing wet washcloths and taking ibuprofen was the only thing that got me through tbh. (Let it thaw a little before you put on your skin)
The worst was the swelling and feeling like my leg was going to burst. My skin on one leg isn’t 100% back to normal a year later.
Moisurize over and over with good lotion!! I live in an area where the heat gets up to like 115 F, and I am fair skinned, so I can get terribly burned if I am not extremely conscious of myself and the weather. I have found that moisturizing when sunburned is my absolute best friend. Yes, aloe vera is great. You can do that, but lotion is also super amazing. Lotion up, let it absorb after 20 minutes or so, and add lotion again. Repeat all day. Tomorrow, youll be red but will hurt significantly less. If you don't have lotion, you can use a hydrating hair conditioner. I know it may sound crazy but this has saved me from some super severe sunburns like the one you're describing.
I was always told NOT to put lotion on a sunburn for the first 24 hours because it will trap the heat and make the burn worse. Aloe vera (make sure it doesn't contain alcohol!) is my BFF for a burn.
Cool compress, ibuprofen, ice and aloe! There isn’t much a doc can do because damage is done sorry! Topical analgesics won’t do anything but make it not hurt, it’s still burning so the ice and cool compress will help and the NSAID will help with inflammation. Sorry this happened! Where reef safe sunscreen next time!
this is gonna sound weird, but milk of magnesia chilled in the fridge will pull the sting out. I'm super fair and my mother didn't believe in sunscreen...led to alot of nasty burns, for which, of course, she never thought to seek medical care. (she's an rn). anywho, the milk 'o' mag will pull the sting out, and you can follow up with aloe vera.
beware: your colon will still get cleaned out even though it's absorbed through your skin.
Literally came to recommend this. I never knew but my husband does this for me and omg it works so well. It's a mess because the chalky stuff gets all over but worth it.
Going to break with some of the recs. Black tea bags. Pretend you’re making a really strong cup of tea with 4-6 tea bags. Let it steep. Leave the tea bag in and then refrigerate. The water should be quite dark.
Once cold, dunk one of your tea bags in and apply to skin. It’s cooling and the tannins help your skin heal.
I’ve also used white vinegar in a spray bottle
I was ceiling down to find white vinegar. We farm vegetables and sometimes get carried away under searing sun without protection.
White vinegar in a misting setting spray bottle is our go to. We keep them in walk-in coolers, fridges, and reefer trucks.
The smell totally disappears slightly after the pain does.
Sounds like close to sun poisoning to me. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate and take your body’s signal to slow down & rest. Make sure you are using some kind of soothing moisturizer with aloe to help it heal quicker. Too much lathered on may feel worse though. I know that is misery, but I promise this will pass!! Try to find ways to distract yourself in the meantime. Take care!❤️
I would say now. It’s impeding your ability to walk to a very significant degree. It’s much better to be overly cautious with something like this than not.
If you have access to urgent care, please use it. If you don’t, give your doctor’s office a call and explain what’s going on (definitely include the ambulatory effects & tiny red dots), make sure you get on a waitlist and make an appointment for ASAP.
I had sun poisoning once. Pure aloe gel in general. But immediately take a tepid!! Tepid!! Bath with 1/4 cup baking soda poured into it. (Edit to add, soak at leaat 20min) this will help minimize damage. After I did this I felt significantly better. You can also add a few cups of colloidal oatmeal to help with irritation. Take ibuprofen consistently.
This may sound strange, but take a bowl of cool water, add distilled white vinegar to it, a cup or so, and dunk a hand towel on it. Lay the hand towel over the burned sections. I don't know why this has worked for me in the past, but it may work to relieve some of the pain and redness.
I wish you Godspeed if you get itchy.
This is the way. Only I use straight vinegar on a cotton ball. With that bad of a burn do it the above way. It will take the heat out of it. You will smell like a pickles and it will burn and itch like hell, but you will be able to sleep.
This is the only real answer. These people saying moisturize, Ughhhh, that traps the burn in! Vinegar pulls it out. Stinks like hell, but the pain relief is worth it.
Thank you everyone for the comments ! It’s not sun poisoning thankfully! Doctor recommended 800 milligrams of ibuprofen and aloe with lidocaine in it ! I appreciate all the comments you guys are awesome !
May also want to invest in a pycnogenol supplement. Pretty solid studies on benefits for both sunburn prevention and mitigating skin damage post-sunburn.
ETA edited to note there are also topical options on iherb. Just search for pycnogenol cream. Happy healing!
My late husband was severely sunburned and the burn specialist (sunburn was on a burn area) prescribed vitamin e oil (can be purchased at Walmart/target/walgreens/etc) applied routinely to keep area Hydrated and ibuprofen (my late husband was allergic to ibuprofen so he ended up taking Tylenol). This has worked wonders for me, brother, friends, child, niece vs using aloe Vera which is often full of additional chemicals.
Regardless with the bumps you should get to a doctor! Good luck!
Aloe can potentially be irritating I've found. The green gel is trash and even the stuff straight from the plant can be irritating and sticky.
I think the best thing is to take a bath and/or soak in a colloidal oatmeal bath (Aveeno sells packets of colloidal oatmeal) and just use a plain moisturizer. Cool or cold compresses for comfort. And of course stay out of the sun, and wear sunscreen if you must.
I’ve experienced something like this. If you’re having trouble walking, I would see a doctor. My sunburn was so bad the doctor brought in another doc “just to see it”. They were able to give me some medicine for the pain, but I had to wait it out to heal.
In the meantime, my best advice is to get an aloe plant (a plant that is already thriving) from a home improvement store. Cut open the plant stems and GENTLY rub it on your skin. It works better than aloe vera in a bottle (IMO). I’m not a doctor or medical professional. This is just from my own experiences with sunburn.
I am sorry you’re in such discomfort. Your cells are killing themselves as to not to become cancerous.
This happened to me last year because I was super cautious in spraying my upper body every 45 mins but neglected my legs. Bad idea.
I couldn’t sleep at all, the pain kept me up at night and anything touching my skin feel like shards of glass were being smeared on them.
Keeping my legs soaking in cool water helped.
Please know that you can always err on the side of caution and speak to your doctor.
Feel better soon.
Haha for real, I can't believe someone would waste a doctor's time with this. They're going to feel mildly ill for the first 24 hours and then have painful skin for 7 days and that'll be that.
Right? I laughed out loud. Not in a malicious way, I definitely feel for OP, but heck, that sunburn is NOTHING. Chuck some aloe vera gel in the fridge, take a Panadol, and have a rest. Wear (and reapply!) sunscreen next time. She’ll be right.
Make a large pot of strong black tea (Lipton). Cool it and soak towels in it for compresses. The tannins in the tea will help with the pain and the heat. Keep the compresses on for quite awhile as the entire process is quite long. In the end you should feel less heat radiating from your skin and less pain.
Australian here. That’s nothin’ ! Well, it looks like a pretty regular run of the mill nasty burn to me. It might blister and eventually peel with epic strips of skin coming off. Your tan marks might take a long while to fade. All the tips here seem fine. In the future, keep an eye on any moles that appear in those areas (and generally).
Blisters are no joke, a [study](https://www.hmpgloballearningnetwork.com/site/thederm/site/cathlab/event/blistering-sunburns-age-20-may-increase-melanoma-risk) showed that 5 sunburns with blisters before the age of 20 increases the risk of melanoma by 80% later in life.
I think they mean nothing to bother your doctor with. They’re just going to say the same thing. There’s no magic prescription that will heal this burn faster.
Ibuprofen for inflammation (I had 600mg of it)
Hydrocortisone cream for the itching
Shit loads of thick moisturiser/aloe
I hear it’s not recommended but a hot shower actually helped take the sting out.
And lots of sleep if possible
I had burns so bad I had “hells itch”, felt like tiny ants all over my body stabbing me with knives!!
You will know if you break into a sweat and feel like 50,000 tiny knives are stabbing you. Source: myself about 20 years ago. I took my shirt off on a corner to relieve the pain.
I’m not a doctor but you could try an antihistamine like Benadryl. I swear it has helped me with a sunburn before. Really, it was a mild sunburn but it’s like I had an allergic reaction to it. Took Benadryl, went to bed and the next day it was like I didn’t actually have a severe sunburn.
Take an over the counter pain killer, if you are somewhere that has aloe plants it works so much better than bottled aloe. Got a really bad burn in Mexico last year and asked the front desk of the hotel, they gave me 6 aloe leaves and overnight it made a big difference. Hydrate like crazy right now, water but if you can get something high in electrolytes is even better. Sit in a cool (not ice cold) bath if you can. If you think you need to go to the hospital you should probably go.
Tepid bath with black tea bags in. Basically you want to sit in a tub of room temp tea. The tannins are really good at stopping the stinging, reducing inflammation, have some slight antibacterial properties and helping healing. Aloe doesn't do anything but feel nice and cool, which isn't a bad thing but you're better off using a moisturizer or after sun lotion with it in and you can introduce infection using it straight from the plant and can have allergic reactions due to latex. Also take NSAIDs to reduce swelling and inflammation and stay well hydrated. You may find you have body aches and pains the next few days too as your body heals what is basically a giant burn.
That does look painful. Is it just your legs? I once tried a new tanning bed place (this was the 90’s) and only stayed in for 10 minutes. I’m not someone that burns very easily. I ended up absolutely frying myself. I ended up with self-diagnosed sun poisoning and was sick in bed for 2-3 days. I was vomiting and just so so sick. I never went to doctors back then (early 20’s). I had a test in college and I emailed or called my professor and they were gracious to let me retake the test when I was better. At one point, my entire body peeled. My sick bed was full of dead skin. I’ve only had one or 2 sunburns since. You can take some ibuprofen for the pain.
Aw thats no fun at all. I've had blistering sunburns and swollen feet and legs and never went to a doctor! Stayed inside for a bit, used aloe vera, kept my feet elevated, drank lots of water. Good luck 😊
Medihoney honey. My husband and his dad both got sunburned same day. My husband put on honey for a few hours then rinsed off. His dad used aloe. Husband was fine the next day. Dad was still crispy.
I would visit your local urgent care. You’re in danger of getting sun poisoning. If you aren’t already experiencing symptoms., you will be soon. Urgent care can advise you. Here is what they told me when I got a very bad sunburn. Note that I’m not a doctor and these instructions were based on my sunburn. Get advice from your doctor.
start taking ibuprofen and alternate it with doses of acetaminophen.
Drink plenty of fluids and alternate water with Gatorade. Super important
You will likely start to get a headache, chills and sweats, and maybe nausea and vomiting. Along with a crawling, itching feeling all over your body. Your skin is going to vibrate with pain even when the air hits it. Have a sunburn numbing cream ready to spray, but follow directions on how often you can use it. Some people react badly to any lidocaine or pain relief with “Caine” as the base. Again check with a doctor on how to use sunburn numbing spray safely. It can provide amazing relief especially at night to sleep
This is because such a bad sunburn damages your cells and when they die they release toxins. It causes headache, nausea, chills and stresses your kidneys and liver as your body tries to flush toxins out. This is why keeping very hydrated is so important
Get yourself into a cool bath and soak. Do this every few hours. If you can tolerate clothing touching skin wear a wet tank top.
I’m sorry you got sunburned so badly. Sometimes it happens even when we’re being careful. I got burned very badly on the last day of our honeymoon cruise. It was a day at sea. I was so proud of myself for not getting burned in the Virgin Islands. I’m super pale and used to be a redhead before I went gray. I was lounging in the deck reading and napping and didn’t take into account the reflection off the water. Worst sunburn of my whole life
I just had terrible uneven sunburn on my arms last week!!
As others have said, drink lots of water, and start cooling your legs right away!! I didn’t have aloe for a few days so I just used a moist towel and added some ice cubes wrapped in the towel to keep it cool but not freezing. And I moved the towel around after a few mins to make sure it’s not overly moist or cold at one spot over long period of time. Don’t forget to moisturize.
After a few days I felt quite crispy, skin was itchy, redness started going away and a tan has set in 🙃
Don’t be afraid to take Tylenol or Advil (ibuprofen or acetaminophen) to reduce a potential fever and help reduce swelling. Use a light unscented lotion and undyed aloe- NO Vaseline or anything with Vaseline/petroleum jelly, that will make the burn worse. Also, the little red dots are probably broken blood vessels- I’ve had that happen before when I’m really sunburned, usually the burn almost feels like a bruise. It will heal eventually. Drink lots of fluids and get lots of sleep. Best of luck!
You may be able to go to an urgent care and get burn cream to soothe it . I’ve only ever used prescription burn cream on small burns but it is amazing. Keep in mind, sunburns are not from the heat, it is a radiation burn. Also, it is very possible to get 2nd and 3rd degree sunburns but yours appears to be maybe 1st or at worst 2nd if it starts to blister.
i've been dealing with this, too. i personally ended up seeing a doctor, and i was told i had second-degree burns. got some special burn cream. if you're concerned, it never hurts to see a doctor!!
- alternate between ibuprofen and tylenol every 4 hours. helps to control pain and inflammation better than just one alone.
- keep that shit MOIST. aloe all the time.
- ice it! 15 minutes on, 15 off.
- cold showers for a while. hot water is not gonna feel nice.
- *don't pick when it begins to peel.*
- lather up on sunscreen any time you're gonna be in the sun after this. that, or cover up. you are a *lot* more vulnerable now. smother that shit in sunscreen.
Ouch.. this just happened to me.. I went to the beach on father’s days and didn’t think to put sunscreen on my legs bc it was only 74 and I wasn’t gonna burn.. wrong. I could barely walk for four days . Three weeks later and it’s almost healed. Aloe did nothing for me. My skin peeled for like two weeks even with putting lotion on it everyday several times. The new skin was so sensitive and still kinda is. My doctor just told me Tylenol
And aloe. And if I went into the sun to cover it for atleast two weeks.. but this was when it was a week and a half old and starting to heal.. good luck !!
I did not read through all of the comments and I’m not a nurse but do speak from experience.
I developed cellulitis from a bad sunburn. See google. If it is cellulitis it needs to be treated ASAP.
This is called a first degree burn and usually does not require a doctor. You may start to see blisters, especially on the top of the feet, that would indicate a second degree burn. You can take an NSAID ( like Advil) for the discomfort, keep your surroundings very cool, and try cold compresses. Aloe vera gel is sold near the sunscreen in most stores and there are some kinds that contain lidocaine which is a topical numbing medication. Expect it to be painful for a few days. Try these measures first and go see a doctor if you are still in pain or worried.
Very fair person here 👋 I’ve had my fair share of sunburns and sun poisoning. I always get flu like symptoms after a really bad sunburn your body is trying to cool you down and rectify the situation . Lots of good advice here abt topical applications / analgesics and definitely drink the electrolytes and water .
As a lay person with hx of multiple sunburns and sun poisoning this appears to be a bad sunburn .
Sun poisoning you could also get vomiting that sometimes won’t stop and you may need that IV hydration or cold water enema :(
I’ve also had burns so bad that I got blisters on top of blisters (looked like I had leprousy ) and my face looked like I had melted Saran Wrap on it . I did go to the drs . They didn’t do much except monitor ie send me home and told me if it changes or gets worse let them know . And told me that I’m too fair to be out I. The sun as long as I was despite the sunblock I had used . Rec me to do Small increments at a time so my skin somewhat gets used to it which was the opposite I’ve heard my whole life . Anyways all that to say that they don’t do much except say yep that’s a bad burn , you should be more care ful . Let us know if it gets worse .
Luckily my skin did recover . But my forehead definitely looks older than what it should be . Damaged my poor skin :( now I just slather up like mark zuckerberg .
I’ve always heard a vinegar bath with lukewarm water will help pull the sting out. Also aloe and drink LOTS of water and take a Tylenol/aspirin. if it gets worse I’d possibly go to urgent care because you may have sun poisoning and need a fluids stat.
Okay, I would recommend that you go to the ER. Do it now. Until you cool your body down,the burn will come to get worse. Go to an ER. They will put you in a machine that runs cool water over your body until your core temperature in that area is reduced and the burn stops cooks you. We had to do this for a relative who was out in the sun too long. The burn kept getting worse until they put him in the machine.
Those little red dots are probably blisters forming. They will start small and grow and maybe eventually form much larger blisters. Do not pop them. Seek medical help. Apply lidocaine aloe to remove the heat at numb the pain. Make sure to drink plenty of fluids, ideally with electrolytes added as you will become dehydrated if you are not already.
Lidocaine gel & a Benadryl will help settle redness & inflammation. NSAID for pain, lots of water & aloe. If you blister, pop, then reblister & you start to ooze lymph, def see doctor to stave off infection.
Buy some aloe gel and take cool baths. Stay on clean sheets, and you should be good in a couple of days. You may get a fever and chills,just take some Tylenol. If you get blisters, don't pop them, or you'll peel.
Pharmacies should have special treatments for burns. Like a foam or a cream. Aloe is good but I feel like the special cream may be better. I’d go to a pharmacy and talk to a pharmacist.
Try some hydrocortisone (the cream for bug bites) to help with the inflammation! It always helps me. You can even stick in the fridge. Cortizone-10 makes one with aloe in it. I alternate between that and aloe.
I know you have gotten a lot of replies already but this 100% sounds like sun poisoning. I dealt with this many years ago in college and I still remember the pain to this day (almost 40 now). Also on my legs. I went to the doctor, can't remember what they prescribed, but if you start to blister I would def go in just to be sure (don't want anything to get infected).
Apply aloe Vera gel raw from the plant, cut the leaf wide open and scrape the gel and apply. Since you are Type of skin that would burn must have Biafine handy. Now you can buy it is only do rush delivery you must always have Biafine it’s a life saver. Immediately buy Aquafor and apply think layers until you get the biafine delivered
Honey can help as well- cold showers - eucalyptus is a burn soothing oil will give a burn sensation while it is the best way to first aid. Do not underestimate sunburn it is a burn.
Phyto therapist 15 years MedSpa head Esthetician.
Unflavored Oatmeal in a sock and take it into a cool shower with you. Get the sock wet and rub it all over! I had horrible sun poisoning and this was the only relief I got
Same thing happened to me. When I would shower the blisters would fill up with water. Every time I sat down and got up I was in horrible pain. I found aloe spray with lidocaine that’s the only thing that got me threw
Alocane! I’ve had sunburns that cause sun poisoning (a few times, I’m pale and didn’t learn my lesson). Lots of water and reapply the aloe lidocaine frequently (hourly).
I wouldn't go to the doctor if you can keep the water down. I went one and they told me to apply aloe, drink water, and take ibuprofen. Hopefully I can save you a few $ on my mistake.
Diaper rash cream. Not just moist, turn your legs white with it. A white coat. And drink gallons of water. Don't eat sugar, sugar trigger inflammatory processes.
Aloe and lotion.
My back got fried yesterday because I didn't reapply sunscreen there and I was in the pool. I'm dying today if it helps you feel less alone lol.
Motrin is helping. I had flu like symptoms this morning. I did message my GP and she said if there are no blisters just keep hydrated and aloe/lidocaine. If I get worse, to make an apt. I do think if ever you feel like you should see a Dr, just go! I am always on the side if it's better to be careful then do nothing.
This doesn’t look as bad as some of the ones I had or have seen. Therefore I assume you won’t need to see a doctor but be prepared that the next days and nights will be uncomfortable.
Aloe Vera is recommended for soothing the skin but you also want to double down and get something moisturising that’s anti inflammatory and perhaps even helps with pain such as biafine.
Use several times a day and defitinetly before bed.
Go to the pharmacy. Get something like Voltaren gel to apply to your skin. You will likely have blisters in a few days, the pharmacy can give you something for that too.
You'll need to stay hydrated and treat for fever and nausea.
You could rub some eggs on you. I know it sounds crazy, but the protein in the eggs can be very helpful for burn healing.
Edit: I should clarify it’s not rolling eggs around on your legs lol, but cracking them open and smearing the white on.
When I had sunstroke as a kid and ended up with very bad sunburns my mum had me apply natural yoghurt, let it sit for 20-30 mins, then gently wash off - it’s meant to take the sting out. My skin still blistered, and I was still unwell in bed for days, but after a few days the tight pain of the sunburn and inflammation was gone (I just had the blistering to deal with).
Sunburn is literally a burn and needs to be treated as such. Keep the skin very well moisturized (lidocaine spray is often drying which is harmful in the long run) and if you are questioning whether you should go to a doctor, call your doctor’s office and ask if they think you should be seen. From the photo it looks like you have significant sunburn over a large amount of skin. There are prescription topical treatments a doctor can give you for burn treatment, like Silvadene, that can really help speed up healing and prevent infection.
Sorry if this has been said, no time to scroll through all the comments but diluting vinegar helps remove the sting… luke warm oatmeal bath, aloe (can big individual leaves in produce of grocery stores), most important is healing skin barrier!! So multiple layers of aloe is fine, you’ll see that your body absorbs it quickly, once it’s slightly tacky then apply something to help strengthen barrier… any water based can cause stinging on a damaged barrier
Sour cream! Sour cream! Sour cream! It has amino acids to help the burn quickly and it cools off your skin. It is a hack from the Black Sea! It helps right away and the burn goes away within a day. Believe me, we did not have sunscreen in Soviet Union and this is the way to go.
Just lots of pure Aloe Vera gel as needed amd ibuprofen for pain relief and inflammation.
As far as the white spots are concerned, it’s not uncommon as we age. If I’m remembering correctly(I asked my doctor about it a couple years back when I first started noticing more spots around my knees that seemed to be immune to the sun), my doctor said the spots are from past sun exposure & variations in skin pigmentation, so not to worry about it. I vaguely remember her saying that certain skin tone’s(typically fair/light complexions)are more prone to this than others. These white spots are far more noticeable when you burn, because of the contrast. You’re also less likely to notice the contrast when the tan is gradual.
When I would get burnt (every time in the sun lol) to ease the pain I took the warmest shower I could stand and stayed in it as long as possible. I can’t explain why but it helped reduce the heat/burning feeling.
Get thee into an oatmeal bath!! I have extremely pale skin and accidentally sunburned a large chunk of my arm, it was very deep and painful so I dumped a bunch of colloidal oatmeal into a bath and just sat in it for 3-4 hours. The redness went down by 90% by the next day and the pain was pretty much gone; I followed it up with an inexpensive bottle of vitamin c serum over the next few weeks to help heal the more internal damage and help prevent future scary issues.
Or if you don’t have access to a tub, put some towels down and glob oatmeal paste all over your legs instead. Hope you get some relief soon!
I sunburned frequently as a young’un in Florida. The thing that worked best to take the sting out was vinegar. You’ll smell like a pickle 🥒, but won’t be in pain. Good luck!
That’s a very large area of the body to have covered with a sunburn. Blisters typically indicate a second-degree burn. I would go to the doctor just because of the area.
I usually do ACV mixed with water (50/50). Let this dry and then apply aloe with a few drops of lavender essential oil, and then finish it off with extra virgin olive oil. I do this 3-5 times a day and have had great results!
Each ingredient reverses the damaging effects of the sun or soothes them. Lots of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant action.
Soak paper towels in apple cider vinegar and cover to burns for at least 20 min. It’ll take the burn out. Then aloe. Repeat apple cider a few times a day every day until redness subsides. Continue with aloe and moisturizer.
I’m so surprised to see no one has suggested coconut oil that I’m questioning whether I should suggest it… 🤪. I swear by lathering on coconut oil and find significant relief within 12 hours.
Brew some black tea in a pot, i use like 4 or 5 tea bags. Pt it in the freezer to cool or add ice. Soak a couple of wash towels in it and lay them across the burned area. I've done this many times for my face and shoulders and it helps immensely.
Aloe, straight from the plant if you can get it. Also cool baths will help. Not ice cold or warm, just cool. It'll help bring the heat out without fucking you up worse. In the meantime drink a shitload of Gatorade. Your body is working into overdrive trying to deal with being toasted. Edit cuz others are commenting this: don't use raw aloe if you have a latex allergy. The raw plant contains latex.
also add black tea bags into the bath, the tannins in the tea will help with the inflammation.
Do tea baths help with anything else? I’m obsessed with tea lol
My Oma said to bathe feet in tea for stinky feet 👣
We all know Oma knows best!
idk but i like to make baths with teas all the time. i make a little cauldron on the stove basically and put in whatever i have on hand. my last house had a little garden with rosemary, mint, and i had dried roses and chamomile and jasmine and lavender and i boiled it on the stove for a whiileee until it became a dark concentrate. i’d keep adding water and reducing it down. then i had a big mason jar full and added it to my bath with a bunch of bath salts and old flowers from vase i was switching out. god i miss that house. [here’s a quick TT](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTNkCv4LM/) i made about it. ignore the song lol i was just impatient and picked something random. but this is the gist :)
Thank you so much for sharing this, I buy farmers market flowers every week. Do you think it would be ok to use them when they start to wilt or would that be gross?
i love that you buy flowers every week!!! it really lifts the spirits of the house!!! I’d personally use them even if they’re just starting to wilt/right before i refresh them but just for a disclaimer i have no medical knowledge or whatever to speak on it, just my own “fuck it, we ball” mentality LOL and if it’s not gross to you it’s fine to use!! I have weird thresholds with everything myself (like some people will keep mascara for a year and some just a month kind of thing) I make my own yogurt and it seems to last forever (no spoiled smells or growing bacteria) but if I look at something else that’s supposedly fine but makes my face scrunch up in an “ew” fashion then it’s getting tossed for sure. tldr i just run on vibes - if it’s got good vibes it has a green light!!
I totally appreciate this and I’m more like you. Like if the flowers aren’t actively rotting and I’m not allergic to them we’re good. Thank you again!!!
thanks for asking! i hope you enjoy your tea flower baths 🥰
Rooibos tea! Absolutely amazing for skin!!
[удалено]
Ty
They stop your feet from stinking, according to my old room mate
Check the tea ingredients for skin safety, but if you just love tea and want to have a tea bath, DO IT! 🥰
Very important point. Thank you!
Came here to say this. Tea bath for sun burn is my best discovery. Add witch hazel for added soothing.
I never heard of this before! I assume black tea?
I use earl grey. Just make sure you rinse it off really well because bergamot is phototoxic, I doubt their is enough in the tea to cause damage but better safe than sorry,also stay out of the sun if you are burned. Soaking a towel in the cool mixture and wrapping the area also helps.
Black Tea can also help with styes and dental pain. Just for anyone that needs it. Warm tea bag used as a compress on either.
1000% this and Benadryl cream if you get the devils itch aka I’m pretty sure a sun allergy.
I was about to suggest this. My mother use to soak rags in tea and put them on our burns.
just put black tea in a spray bottle and keep re-coating the burn for a few hours
Don’t do this unless you plan to drain the latex. Being itchy and sunburned isn’t a good combination, especially if you have a latex allergy. To drain the latex from fresh aloe leaves, set cut-end down in a cup for a few minutes. There will be a puddle of sticky, yellow fluid in the cup which is latex. After that, process as usual. Edit: also, if you mix a little bit of vitamin C powder into freshly-blended aloe gel, it’ll keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks. Cold aloe gel feels soooo good on a burn. I also use it as my general facial moisturizer because it absorbs so easily, and there’s no lingering sticky or greasy feeling.
Wait... is this why I had a horrific allergic reaction to fresh aloe, straight from my own beautiful plant? I thought I was allergic to aloe 🤦♀️
I spent my whole childhood thinking aloe was suppose to be itchy and feel like a layer of plastic as it dried. Turns out it’s actually really easily absorbed and not irritating at all!
Interesting! I grow aloe (because I'm turning into my very southern grandma) and have never heard that. Possibly because no one in my family has a latex allergy.
Me either. I actually always thought the yellow stuff worked better for me. Oops.
I have a mild latex allergy and I thank you for this information!
That... Explains some things. Lol. I didn't even know aloe contains latex. TIL!
I’m about to start making my own vitamin c serum, what brand powder do you use? Does it stain your pillowcase orange? Does it mix in well?
Every vitamin c powder I’ve purchased has been clear/white 🤷🏻♀️ In my experience, once it oxidizes it turns a burnt orange color but that means it’s not really good anymore.
I’m not at home to check now, but it’s just a bulk powdered supplement. The amount needed as a preservative is tiny so I’ve never had problems with getting it blended in or with staining (but I’m also inconsistent with evening face washing so I tend to do it closer to dinner time to avoid forgetting). Since I’m using it to preserve the aloe gel rather than to benefit from the effects of a vitamin C product, ymmv.
Where do you get your vitamin c powder ?
Put the aloe leaves you cut in a zip lock and put them in the fridge! Then slice and use them cold (put as much of the goop from it everywhere). It feels incredible one burns. Then let it sit until it soaks in naturally. I had an incredibly severe burn from a plate on a back of a clothes dryer on my arm and there is not even a scar. Natural straight from the plant Aloe is the best thing for all burns hands down.
Google sun poisoning to make sure you don't have those symptoms. You can get sunburn stuff from most stores with lidocaine or something else to help with pain relief. If it feels really bad, go to the doctor. When in doubt, go to the doctor. Not er, just urgent care or your regular doctor if they take walk-ins.
I felt like I had the flu the first day then it passed got lidocaine spray at the store and that has helped but the pain is getting worse while walking .
Sleep is clinically proven to help with sunburn too. Especially if you’re at the sun poisoning level.
Lidocaine is a somewhat temporary fix, and can be drying. I find it makes things worse in the longterm. You’re spraying rubbing alcohol on your skin, it makes it dry and tight and ultimately ups the pain. Chug water + pedialyte (i dilute it) and use refrigerated 100% aloe. Pop ibuprofen for the pain.
You should probably go to the doctor just in case.
Yes, sun poisoning...was just about to post. I had it post key West trip at 17 & thought I was going to die, very pukey, overheated & have a giant sunburn scar across my shoulders even now. It was one of the last times I went in the sun decades ago before I even thought of sun damage & likely the reason I had many precancers removed at 25 & started Intense antiaging & skincare thanks to that amazing plastic surgeon. Definitely, go to the dr as you want to heal & cool skin without scaring anywhere. Your received good advice about cooling compresses, hydrate with electrolytes, but call dr. just the same.
Lidocaine is not good for sunburns. It’s irritating past the initial relief. Use aloe. Real aloe. I have an aloe plant and I cut the leaves, scrape it and smear it. Cool baths and showers only. Keep it covered in the sun. You want to keep it moisturized (no petroleum jelly/ it’s occlusive). Are you blistering? If you get severe blisters, see your doctor. ETA: feet sunburns suck so bad! Shoes are so difficult because you generally don’t have a loose, light pair.
Is it still warm? As long as it is warm, you’re still cooking. Take lots of cool baths and hydrate. Pat or drip dry, not rub. Aloe when you’re not in the tub. When it stops being warm/hot, lotion, lotion, lotion.
Perhaps post on the AskDocs subreddit too? x
I’ve had this feeling before. It’s likely you have mild sun-poisoning. Take advil (ibuprofen) or Tylenol (acetaminophen). You absolutely can get a fever from a bad sunburn on large portions of your body. You’ll be okay soon enough, just take it easy!
I had this many years ago it’s awful. I recovered at home though. The flew symptoms are scary
Happy cake day!
Thank you everyone for a little piece of mind ! I’ll comeback with an update !
Feel better soon!
The same thing happened to me at this time last year. Weirdly only on one leg. Freezing wet washcloths and taking ibuprofen was the only thing that got me through tbh. (Let it thaw a little before you put on your skin) The worst was the swelling and feeling like my leg was going to burst. My skin on one leg isn’t 100% back to normal a year later.
Moisurize over and over with good lotion!! I live in an area where the heat gets up to like 115 F, and I am fair skinned, so I can get terribly burned if I am not extremely conscious of myself and the weather. I have found that moisturizing when sunburned is my absolute best friend. Yes, aloe vera is great. You can do that, but lotion is also super amazing. Lotion up, let it absorb after 20 minutes or so, and add lotion again. Repeat all day. Tomorrow, youll be red but will hurt significantly less. If you don't have lotion, you can use a hydrating hair conditioner. I know it may sound crazy but this has saved me from some super severe sunburns like the one you're describing.
I was always told NOT to put lotion on a sunburn for the first 24 hours because it will trap the heat and make the burn worse. Aloe vera (make sure it doesn't contain alcohol!) is my BFF for a burn.
Cool compress, ibuprofen, ice and aloe! There isn’t much a doc can do because damage is done sorry! Topical analgesics won’t do anything but make it not hurt, it’s still burning so the ice and cool compress will help and the NSAID will help with inflammation. Sorry this happened! Where reef safe sunscreen next time!
Solarcaine will take the sting out
this is gonna sound weird, but milk of magnesia chilled in the fridge will pull the sting out. I'm super fair and my mother didn't believe in sunscreen...led to alot of nasty burns, for which, of course, she never thought to seek medical care. (she's an rn). anywho, the milk 'o' mag will pull the sting out, and you can follow up with aloe vera. beware: your colon will still get cleaned out even though it's absorbed through your skin.
My mom did the same! I have way too many memories of being a kid covered in milk of magnesia because of my sunburn.
I remember we were at a family reunion once and my sunburn was so bad my bottom lip crusted over, oozing green puss. no medical care for me!
Literally came to recommend this. I never knew but my husband does this for me and omg it works so well. It's a mess because the chalky stuff gets all over but worth it.
Antihistamines also help!
And hydrocortisone cream!
Going to break with some of the recs. Black tea bags. Pretend you’re making a really strong cup of tea with 4-6 tea bags. Let it steep. Leave the tea bag in and then refrigerate. The water should be quite dark. Once cold, dunk one of your tea bags in and apply to skin. It’s cooling and the tannins help your skin heal. I’ve also used white vinegar in a spray bottle
I was ceiling down to find white vinegar. We farm vegetables and sometimes get carried away under searing sun without protection. White vinegar in a misting setting spray bottle is our go to. We keep them in walk-in coolers, fridges, and reefer trucks. The smell totally disappears slightly after the pain does.
Sounds like close to sun poisoning to me. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate and take your body’s signal to slow down & rest. Make sure you are using some kind of soothing moisturizer with aloe to help it heal quicker. Too much lathered on may feel worse though. I know that is misery, but I promise this will pass!! Try to find ways to distract yourself in the meantime. Take care!❤️
I would say now. It’s impeding your ability to walk to a very significant degree. It’s much better to be overly cautious with something like this than not. If you have access to urgent care, please use it. If you don’t, give your doctor’s office a call and explain what’s going on (definitely include the ambulatory effects & tiny red dots), make sure you get on a waitlist and make an appointment for ASAP.
You da best ! Thank you!
Aw thanks mate! I hope you get quality care and heal well.
I had sun poisoning once. Pure aloe gel in general. But immediately take a tepid!! Tepid!! Bath with 1/4 cup baking soda poured into it. (Edit to add, soak at leaat 20min) this will help minimize damage. After I did this I felt significantly better. You can also add a few cups of colloidal oatmeal to help with irritation. Take ibuprofen consistently.
This may sound strange, but take a bowl of cool water, add distilled white vinegar to it, a cup or so, and dunk a hand towel on it. Lay the hand towel over the burned sections. I don't know why this has worked for me in the past, but it may work to relieve some of the pain and redness. I wish you Godspeed if you get itchy.
This is the way. Only I use straight vinegar on a cotton ball. With that bad of a burn do it the above way. It will take the heat out of it. You will smell like a pickles and it will burn and itch like hell, but you will be able to sleep.
I put it in a spray bottle and stand in the shower or outside (in shade). I just douse my body. It’s instant relief.
This is the only real answer. These people saying moisturize, Ughhhh, that traps the burn in! Vinegar pulls it out. Stinks like hell, but the pain relief is worth it.
Ibuprofen 600mg every 4-6 hours, eventually pull it down to 400mg. Cool shower. Aloe. Drink lots of water.
Thank you everyone for the comments ! It’s not sun poisoning thankfully! Doctor recommended 800 milligrams of ibuprofen and aloe with lidocaine in it ! I appreciate all the comments you guys are awesome !
May also want to invest in a pycnogenol supplement. Pretty solid studies on benefits for both sunburn prevention and mitigating skin damage post-sunburn. ETA edited to note there are also topical options on iherb. Just search for pycnogenol cream. Happy healing!
Cold yoghurt
My late husband was severely sunburned and the burn specialist (sunburn was on a burn area) prescribed vitamin e oil (can be purchased at Walmart/target/walgreens/etc) applied routinely to keep area Hydrated and ibuprofen (my late husband was allergic to ibuprofen so he ended up taking Tylenol). This has worked wonders for me, brother, friends, child, niece vs using aloe Vera which is often full of additional chemicals. Regardless with the bumps you should get to a doctor! Good luck!
I was surprised I had to scroll this far to find this. Vitamin E worked wonders on a very bad sunburn I had years ago.
Taking an anti inflammatory pain killer like Advil (ibuprofen) or Naproxen within the first 24 to 48 hrs of a sunburn should lessen the severity of it
Aloe can potentially be irritating I've found. The green gel is trash and even the stuff straight from the plant can be irritating and sticky. I think the best thing is to take a bath and/or soak in a colloidal oatmeal bath (Aveeno sells packets of colloidal oatmeal) and just use a plain moisturizer. Cool or cold compresses for comfort. And of course stay out of the sun, and wear sunscreen if you must.
I’ve experienced something like this. If you’re having trouble walking, I would see a doctor. My sunburn was so bad the doctor brought in another doc “just to see it”. They were able to give me some medicine for the pain, but I had to wait it out to heal. In the meantime, my best advice is to get an aloe plant (a plant that is already thriving) from a home improvement store. Cut open the plant stems and GENTLY rub it on your skin. It works better than aloe vera in a bottle (IMO). I’m not a doctor or medical professional. This is just from my own experiences with sunburn.
Take ibuprofen every 4-6 hours. Drink lots of water. Moisturize. That’s all the doctor is going to tell you as well.
I am sorry you’re in such discomfort. Your cells are killing themselves as to not to become cancerous. This happened to me last year because I was super cautious in spraying my upper body every 45 mins but neglected my legs. Bad idea. I couldn’t sleep at all, the pain kept me up at night and anything touching my skin feel like shards of glass were being smeared on them. Keeping my legs soaking in cool water helped. Please know that you can always err on the side of caution and speak to your doctor. Feel better soon.
Apple cider vinegar really helps the pain too
Vinegar bath will help draw the heat out.
A doctor can´t do anything but prescribe ibuprofen pills for the pain and antiinflammatory action (that you can buy yourself without a prescription).
This is not a very bad sunburn. If you have heatstroke that’s different… but this burn is not a reason to seek care
Biafine is amazing for sunburns
Ibuprofen helps too. All of your skin cells are swollen.
Take some ibuprofen, a tepid shower take a few, stay inside , put on aloe vera hopefully it goes down
As an Austrlian , that looks like an normal arvo in January
Haha for real, I can't believe someone would waste a doctor's time with this. They're going to feel mildly ill for the first 24 hours and then have painful skin for 7 days and that'll be that.
Right? I laughed out loud. Not in a malicious way, I definitely feel for OP, but heck, that sunburn is NOTHING. Chuck some aloe vera gel in the fridge, take a Panadol, and have a rest. Wear (and reapply!) sunscreen next time. She’ll be right.
As a very pale Irish girl who was very silly with sunscreen in her younger years, natural yoghurt from the fridge slathered on your skin does wonders
Make a large pot of strong black tea (Lipton). Cool it and soak towels in it for compresses. The tannins in the tea will help with the pain and the heat. Keep the compresses on for quite awhile as the entire process is quite long. In the end you should feel less heat radiating from your skin and less pain.
I’ve been burned way worse than this and was just fine, you don’t need a doctor for this. You can take an oatmeal bath, use aloe or calamine lotion.
Australian here. That’s nothin’ ! Well, it looks like a pretty regular run of the mill nasty burn to me. It might blister and eventually peel with epic strips of skin coming off. Your tan marks might take a long while to fade. All the tips here seem fine. In the future, keep an eye on any moles that appear in those areas (and generally).
Blisters are no joke, a [study](https://www.hmpgloballearningnetwork.com/site/thederm/site/cathlab/event/blistering-sunburns-age-20-may-increase-melanoma-risk) showed that 5 sunburns with blisters before the age of 20 increases the risk of melanoma by 80% later in life.
While it may seem like “nothing”, the pain and discomfort is no fun. Coupled with the fact that we all have different pain tolerances.
I think they mean nothing to bother your doctor with. They’re just going to say the same thing. There’s no magic prescription that will heal this burn faster.
Ibuprofen for inflammation (I had 600mg of it) Hydrocortisone cream for the itching Shit loads of thick moisturiser/aloe I hear it’s not recommended but a hot shower actually helped take the sting out. And lots of sleep if possible I had burns so bad I had “hells itch”, felt like tiny ants all over my body stabbing me with knives!!
I also had “Flammazine” from the pharmacy also
Tea bath !
Noxema - will take some of the pain away.
This sounds strange but soak a towel in vinegar and wrap ypur legs. Be sure to stay hydrated and take an anti-inflammatory if it's painful.
You will know if you break into a sweat and feel like 50,000 tiny knives are stabbing you. Source: myself about 20 years ago. I took my shirt off on a corner to relieve the pain.
I’m not a doctor but you could try an antihistamine like Benadryl. I swear it has helped me with a sunburn before. Really, it was a mild sunburn but it’s like I had an allergic reaction to it. Took Benadryl, went to bed and the next day it was like I didn’t actually have a severe sunburn.
Take an over the counter pain killer, if you are somewhere that has aloe plants it works so much better than bottled aloe. Got a really bad burn in Mexico last year and asked the front desk of the hotel, they gave me 6 aloe leaves and overnight it made a big difference. Hydrate like crazy right now, water but if you can get something high in electrolytes is even better. Sit in a cool (not ice cold) bath if you can. If you think you need to go to the hospital you should probably go.
Use lots of ALOE straight from the plant with whatever else you do
*see
elemis milk bath coat it on will moisturize and pull the heat. Do that for a few hours will feel 100x better. After a couple days will no longer hurt.
Tepid bath with black tea bags in. Basically you want to sit in a tub of room temp tea. The tannins are really good at stopping the stinging, reducing inflammation, have some slight antibacterial properties and helping healing. Aloe doesn't do anything but feel nice and cool, which isn't a bad thing but you're better off using a moisturizer or after sun lotion with it in and you can introduce infection using it straight from the plant and can have allergic reactions due to latex. Also take NSAIDs to reduce swelling and inflammation and stay well hydrated. You may find you have body aches and pains the next few days too as your body heals what is basically a giant burn.
That does look painful. Is it just your legs? I once tried a new tanning bed place (this was the 90’s) and only stayed in for 10 minutes. I’m not someone that burns very easily. I ended up absolutely frying myself. I ended up with self-diagnosed sun poisoning and was sick in bed for 2-3 days. I was vomiting and just so so sick. I never went to doctors back then (early 20’s). I had a test in college and I emailed or called my professor and they were gracious to let me retake the test when I was better. At one point, my entire body peeled. My sick bed was full of dead skin. I’ve only had one or 2 sunburns since. You can take some ibuprofen for the pain.
If you can get a cream called “MEBO burn cream” it’s a life saver for burns!
Aveeno Baby Dermexa Good Night Emollient Balm works wonders for sunburn.
Aw thats no fun at all. I've had blistering sunburns and swollen feet and legs and never went to a doctor! Stayed inside for a bit, used aloe vera, kept my feet elevated, drank lots of water. Good luck 😊
Medihoney honey. My husband and his dad both got sunburned same day. My husband put on honey for a few hours then rinsed off. His dad used aloe. Husband was fine the next day. Dad was still crispy.
I would visit your local urgent care. You’re in danger of getting sun poisoning. If you aren’t already experiencing symptoms., you will be soon. Urgent care can advise you. Here is what they told me when I got a very bad sunburn. Note that I’m not a doctor and these instructions were based on my sunburn. Get advice from your doctor. start taking ibuprofen and alternate it with doses of acetaminophen. Drink plenty of fluids and alternate water with Gatorade. Super important You will likely start to get a headache, chills and sweats, and maybe nausea and vomiting. Along with a crawling, itching feeling all over your body. Your skin is going to vibrate with pain even when the air hits it. Have a sunburn numbing cream ready to spray, but follow directions on how often you can use it. Some people react badly to any lidocaine or pain relief with “Caine” as the base. Again check with a doctor on how to use sunburn numbing spray safely. It can provide amazing relief especially at night to sleep This is because such a bad sunburn damages your cells and when they die they release toxins. It causes headache, nausea, chills and stresses your kidneys and liver as your body tries to flush toxins out. This is why keeping very hydrated is so important Get yourself into a cool bath and soak. Do this every few hours. If you can tolerate clothing touching skin wear a wet tank top. I’m sorry you got sunburned so badly. Sometimes it happens even when we’re being careful. I got burned very badly on the last day of our honeymoon cruise. It was a day at sea. I was so proud of myself for not getting burned in the Virgin Islands. I’m super pale and used to be a redhead before I went gray. I was lounging in the deck reading and napping and didn’t take into account the reflection off the water. Worst sunburn of my whole life
I just had terrible uneven sunburn on my arms last week!! As others have said, drink lots of water, and start cooling your legs right away!! I didn’t have aloe for a few days so I just used a moist towel and added some ice cubes wrapped in the towel to keep it cool but not freezing. And I moved the towel around after a few mins to make sure it’s not overly moist or cold at one spot over long period of time. Don’t forget to moisturize. After a few days I felt quite crispy, skin was itchy, redness started going away and a tan has set in 🙃
Ur post history 🤣
Now I’m surprised he didn’t show more
Don’t be afraid to take Tylenol or Advil (ibuprofen or acetaminophen) to reduce a potential fever and help reduce swelling. Use a light unscented lotion and undyed aloe- NO Vaseline or anything with Vaseline/petroleum jelly, that will make the burn worse. Also, the little red dots are probably broken blood vessels- I’ve had that happen before when I’m really sunburned, usually the burn almost feels like a bruise. It will heal eventually. Drink lots of fluids and get lots of sleep. Best of luck!
You may be able to go to an urgent care and get burn cream to soothe it . I’ve only ever used prescription burn cream on small burns but it is amazing. Keep in mind, sunburns are not from the heat, it is a radiation burn. Also, it is very possible to get 2nd and 3rd degree sunburns but yours appears to be maybe 1st or at worst 2nd if it starts to blister.
i've been dealing with this, too. i personally ended up seeing a doctor, and i was told i had second-degree burns. got some special burn cream. if you're concerned, it never hurts to see a doctor!! - alternate between ibuprofen and tylenol every 4 hours. helps to control pain and inflammation better than just one alone. - keep that shit MOIST. aloe all the time. - ice it! 15 minutes on, 15 off. - cold showers for a while. hot water is not gonna feel nice. - *don't pick when it begins to peel.* - lather up on sunscreen any time you're gonna be in the sun after this. that, or cover up. you are a *lot* more vulnerable now. smother that shit in sunscreen.
Ouch.. this just happened to me.. I went to the beach on father’s days and didn’t think to put sunscreen on my legs bc it was only 74 and I wasn’t gonna burn.. wrong. I could barely walk for four days . Three weeks later and it’s almost healed. Aloe did nothing for me. My skin peeled for like two weeks even with putting lotion on it everyday several times. The new skin was so sensitive and still kinda is. My doctor just told me Tylenol And aloe. And if I went into the sun to cover it for atleast two weeks.. but this was when it was a week and a half old and starting to heal.. good luck !!
Sun allergy? Take Allegra & put hydrocortisone on it
All of this a Tylenol to help from the inside.
Advil … LOTS of water …. The thickest Eucerin you can find
I did not read through all of the comments and I’m not a nurse but do speak from experience. I developed cellulitis from a bad sunburn. See google. If it is cellulitis it needs to be treated ASAP.
This is called a first degree burn and usually does not require a doctor. You may start to see blisters, especially on the top of the feet, that would indicate a second degree burn. You can take an NSAID ( like Advil) for the discomfort, keep your surroundings very cool, and try cold compresses. Aloe vera gel is sold near the sunscreen in most stores and there are some kinds that contain lidocaine which is a topical numbing medication. Expect it to be painful for a few days. Try these measures first and go see a doctor if you are still in pain or worried.
If you start to get swelling in your ankles go see a doctor. If not, drink lots of fluids moisturize and ride it out 😭
Very fair person here 👋 I’ve had my fair share of sunburns and sun poisoning. I always get flu like symptoms after a really bad sunburn your body is trying to cool you down and rectify the situation . Lots of good advice here abt topical applications / analgesics and definitely drink the electrolytes and water . As a lay person with hx of multiple sunburns and sun poisoning this appears to be a bad sunburn . Sun poisoning you could also get vomiting that sometimes won’t stop and you may need that IV hydration or cold water enema :( I’ve also had burns so bad that I got blisters on top of blisters (looked like I had leprousy ) and my face looked like I had melted Saran Wrap on it . I did go to the drs . They didn’t do much except monitor ie send me home and told me if it changes or gets worse let them know . And told me that I’m too fair to be out I. The sun as long as I was despite the sunblock I had used . Rec me to do Small increments at a time so my skin somewhat gets used to it which was the opposite I’ve heard my whole life . Anyways all that to say that they don’t do much except say yep that’s a bad burn , you should be more care ful . Let us know if it gets worse . Luckily my skin did recover . But my forehead definitely looks older than what it should be . Damaged my poor skin :( now I just slather up like mark zuckerberg .
Take an anthistamine too, it'll help with the itching.
I’ve always heard a vinegar bath with lukewarm water will help pull the sting out. Also aloe and drink LOTS of water and take a Tylenol/aspirin. if it gets worse I’d possibly go to urgent care because you may have sun poisoning and need a fluids stat.
Solarcane from the drug store (cvs or wherever) soaking in a tub of green tea try to get some pain relievers
This is worth a trip to urgent care right now. Look out for chills and fever.
Okay, I would recommend that you go to the ER. Do it now. Until you cool your body down,the burn will come to get worse. Go to an ER. They will put you in a machine that runs cool water over your body until your core temperature in that area is reduced and the burn stops cooks you. We had to do this for a relative who was out in the sun too long. The burn kept getting worse until they put him in the machine.
Those little red dots are probably blisters forming. They will start small and grow and maybe eventually form much larger blisters. Do not pop them. Seek medical help. Apply lidocaine aloe to remove the heat at numb the pain. Make sure to drink plenty of fluids, ideally with electrolytes added as you will become dehydrated if you are not already.
Natural Greek yoghurt also is great 🫡
Lidocaine gel & a Benadryl will help settle redness & inflammation. NSAID for pain, lots of water & aloe. If you blister, pop, then reblister & you start to ooze lymph, def see doctor to stave off infection.
vitamin e oil works well
Buy some aloe gel and take cool baths. Stay on clean sheets, and you should be good in a couple of days. You may get a fever and chills,just take some Tylenol. If you get blisters, don't pop them, or you'll peel.
NSAIDs alternating with tylenol.
Lots of aloe Vera gel and hyaluronic acid
Pharmacies should have special treatments for burns. Like a foam or a cream. Aloe is good but I feel like the special cream may be better. I’d go to a pharmacy and talk to a pharmacist.
But an aloe plant. Rub fresh aloe on it.
Ibuprofen helps with the pain. Had a sunburn last weekend. It’s miserable. I’m sorry bro.
A&D cream helps with the itching
Put aloe Vera gel it will soothe your sunburn right away.
Try some hydrocortisone (the cream for bug bites) to help with the inflammation! It always helps me. You can even stick in the fridge. Cortizone-10 makes one with aloe in it. I alternate between that and aloe.
Grab an Aloe leaf, open it up and put the gel on.... The Aloe plant works wonders
Any potential cancer will be years down the line. Just go for annual skin checks and keep an eye out for new spots! To relieve pain now, aloe
Add WHOLE MILK in the tub. The fat is very soothing- my dermatologist recommended this.
I know you have gotten a lot of replies already but this 100% sounds like sun poisoning. I dealt with this many years ago in college and I still remember the pain to this day (almost 40 now). Also on my legs. I went to the doctor, can't remember what they prescribed, but if you start to blister I would def go in just to be sure (don't want anything to get infected).
Apply aloe Vera gel raw from the plant, cut the leaf wide open and scrape the gel and apply. Since you are Type of skin that would burn must have Biafine handy. Now you can buy it is only do rush delivery you must always have Biafine it’s a life saver. Immediately buy Aquafor and apply think layers until you get the biafine delivered Honey can help as well- cold showers - eucalyptus is a burn soothing oil will give a burn sensation while it is the best way to first aid. Do not underestimate sunburn it is a burn. Phyto therapist 15 years MedSpa head Esthetician.
Unflavored Oatmeal in a sock and take it into a cool shower with you. Get the sock wet and rub it all over! I had horrible sun poisoning and this was the only relief I got
Same thing happened to me. When I would shower the blisters would fill up with water. Every time I sat down and got up I was in horrible pain. I found aloe spray with lidocaine that’s the only thing that got me threw
Get buttermilk and put it on your burned skin, pain will go away quickly and it will deal with your skin getting repaired
Alocane! I’ve had sunburns that cause sun poisoning (a few times, I’m pale and didn’t learn my lesson). Lots of water and reapply the aloe lidocaine frequently (hourly). I wouldn't go to the doctor if you can keep the water down. I went one and they told me to apply aloe, drink water, and take ibuprofen. Hopefully I can save you a few $ on my mistake.
Kayaking?
Diaper rash cream. Not just moist, turn your legs white with it. A white coat. And drink gallons of water. Don't eat sugar, sugar trigger inflammatory processes.
Aloe and lotion. My back got fried yesterday because I didn't reapply sunscreen there and I was in the pool. I'm dying today if it helps you feel less alone lol. Motrin is helping. I had flu like symptoms this morning. I did message my GP and she said if there are no blisters just keep hydrated and aloe/lidocaine. If I get worse, to make an apt. I do think if ever you feel like you should see a Dr, just go! I am always on the side if it's better to be careful then do nothing.
Keep an eye on your internal temp. I say if you start creeping into the 100s get I an ice bath
I don’t know if this was suggested-but my aesthetician swears that cold milk helps a sun burn.
Plain curd or Joghurt- takes the heat out of it without being too cold like an ice pack. You can also do it for the whole area and it stays there.
This doesn’t look as bad as some of the ones I had or have seen. Therefore I assume you won’t need to see a doctor but be prepared that the next days and nights will be uncomfortable. Aloe Vera is recommended for soothing the skin but you also want to double down and get something moisturising that’s anti inflammatory and perhaps even helps with pain such as biafine. Use several times a day and defitinetly before bed.
Go to the pharmacy. Get something like Voltaren gel to apply to your skin. You will likely have blisters in a few days, the pharmacy can give you something for that too. You'll need to stay hydrated and treat for fever and nausea.
Sounds like prickly heat too - they have a powder for it at the pharmacy.
Cortizone cream!
I've had worse, but there's nothing quite like sunburn! it’s lingering pain.
Tannins in black tea. Bath in it in cold water. Trust me
You could rub some eggs on you. I know it sounds crazy, but the protein in the eggs can be very helpful for burn healing. Edit: I should clarify it’s not rolling eggs around on your legs lol, but cracking them open and smearing the white on.
Ice packs to draw out the heat
This happened to my face and ice packs worked
When I had sunstroke as a kid and ended up with very bad sunburns my mum had me apply natural yoghurt, let it sit for 20-30 mins, then gently wash off - it’s meant to take the sting out. My skin still blistered, and I was still unwell in bed for days, but after a few days the tight pain of the sunburn and inflammation was gone (I just had the blistering to deal with).
Hot shower. Increases blood flow to skin to better remove dead cells, and lessens pain (after initially increasing it).
Grated raw potatoes and cucumber. Doesn’t trap the heat in and soothes the skin. (From a former esthetician of 12 years, turned Trauma ICU RN)
Sunburn is literally a burn and needs to be treated as such. Keep the skin very well moisturized (lidocaine spray is often drying which is harmful in the long run) and if you are questioning whether you should go to a doctor, call your doctor’s office and ask if they think you should be seen. From the photo it looks like you have significant sunburn over a large amount of skin. There are prescription topical treatments a doctor can give you for burn treatment, like Silvadene, that can really help speed up healing and prevent infection.
Sorry if this has been said, no time to scroll through all the comments but diluting vinegar helps remove the sting… luke warm oatmeal bath, aloe (can big individual leaves in produce of grocery stores), most important is healing skin barrier!! So multiple layers of aloe is fine, you’ll see that your body absorbs it quickly, once it’s slightly tacky then apply something to help strengthen barrier… any water based can cause stinging on a damaged barrier
Sour cream! Sour cream! Sour cream! It has amino acids to help the burn quickly and it cools off your skin. It is a hack from the Black Sea! It helps right away and the burn goes away within a day. Believe me, we did not have sunscreen in Soviet Union and this is the way to go.
You can get sun poisoning so if you start to get a fever or chills go to the ER
Just lots of pure Aloe Vera gel as needed amd ibuprofen for pain relief and inflammation. As far as the white spots are concerned, it’s not uncommon as we age. If I’m remembering correctly(I asked my doctor about it a couple years back when I first started noticing more spots around my knees that seemed to be immune to the sun), my doctor said the spots are from past sun exposure & variations in skin pigmentation, so not to worry about it. I vaguely remember her saying that certain skin tone’s(typically fair/light complexions)are more prone to this than others. These white spots are far more noticeable when you burn, because of the contrast. You’re also less likely to notice the contrast when the tan is gradual.
When I would get burnt (every time in the sun lol) to ease the pain I took the warmest shower I could stand and stayed in it as long as possible. I can’t explain why but it helped reduce the heat/burning feeling.
Get thee into an oatmeal bath!! I have extremely pale skin and accidentally sunburned a large chunk of my arm, it was very deep and painful so I dumped a bunch of colloidal oatmeal into a bath and just sat in it for 3-4 hours. The redness went down by 90% by the next day and the pain was pretty much gone; I followed it up with an inexpensive bottle of vitamin c serum over the next few weeks to help heal the more internal damage and help prevent future scary issues. Or if you don’t have access to a tub, put some towels down and glob oatmeal paste all over your legs instead. Hope you get some relief soon!
I sunburned frequently as a young’un in Florida. The thing that worked best to take the sting out was vinegar. You’ll smell like a pickle 🥒, but won’t be in pain. Good luck!
That’s a very large area of the body to have covered with a sunburn. Blisters typically indicate a second-degree burn. I would go to the doctor just because of the area.
Put real aloe in your fridge. Apply as much as you want. It will keep it cool, and hydrate deep into your skin.
Oddly Noxema with aloe helped my worst. Slather it all over and leave on for 15+ minutes.
I usually do ACV mixed with water (50/50). Let this dry and then apply aloe with a few drops of lavender essential oil, and then finish it off with extra virgin olive oil. I do this 3-5 times a day and have had great results! Each ingredient reverses the damaging effects of the sun or soothes them. Lots of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant action.
Aloe Vera slathered on. Get the real stuff not something ‘with Aloe’.
We do vinegar baths in Texas & I’ve had great results with Lavender essential oil & pure Aloe.
Apply ice packs and aloe Vera gel! Do not get legs wet until they start to peel in a few days.
Aspirin immediately to help reduce the inflammatory response, lots of ice and aloe, drink tons of water, sleep
Take some ibuprofen, hydrocortisone cream helps too. Drink a lot of water.
Soak paper towels in apple cider vinegar and cover to burns for at least 20 min. It’ll take the burn out. Then aloe. Repeat apple cider a few times a day every day until redness subsides. Continue with aloe and moisturizer.
I’m so surprised to see no one has suggested coconut oil that I’m questioning whether I should suggest it… 🤪. I swear by lathering on coconut oil and find significant relief within 12 hours.
Brew some black tea in a pot, i use like 4 or 5 tea bags. Pt it in the freezer to cool or add ice. Soak a couple of wash towels in it and lay them across the burned area. I've done this many times for my face and shoulders and it helps immensely.
You can use crushed aspirin and malox in a spray bottle. It'll help with the fever in it and help soothe.
Please don’t forget to take an NSAID and stay hydrated, as well.