What to Know After Sunburn

The full reaction may become clearer after you are indoors, so continue to watch how much skin is involved and whether you feel unwell. Keep the burned area covered from sunlight while it recovers.

Sunburn is an inflammatory response to ultraviolet injury. Warmth, redness, tenderness and swelling reflect that response. Blisters indicate deeper injury within the skin layers, while later peeling is the shedding of damaged surface cells. Peeling does not mean the remaining skin should be scrubbed.

Skin colour affects how visible redness appears. On deeper skin tones, heat, tenderness, swelling or a change from the usual colour may be more noticeable than bright redness. Symptoms and exposure history matter when judging the burn.

Take a cool shower or use a clean cool compress; avoid ice directly on the burn. Pat dry and apply a fragrance-free moisturiser while the skin is slightly damp. Wear loose clothing, sip fluids regularly and choose pain relief only if it is safe with your health conditions and other medicines.

Leave blisters intact because their covering protects the tissue beneath. If one opens, wash gently, do not pull away attached skin and use a non-stick dressing. Let peeling skin detach on its own. Avoid topical numbing products or strongly fragranced remedies that may add irritation.

Get urgent medical help if sunburn is accompanied by confusion, collapse, severe weakness, difficulty breathing, repeated vomiting or inability to drink. Prompt assessment is also appropriate for extensive blistering, severe pain, eye symptoms, fever, worsening headache or signs of dehydration such as very little urine and marked dizziness.

Have an opened blister reviewed if redness spreads, pain increases, pus develops or the area becomes increasingly warm. Babies and people who are medically vulnerable should be assessed sooner because fluid balance and temperature problems can become more serious.

Ask how to dress any broken blisters, which moisturiser or pain medicine fits your medical history, and when it is safe to resume outdoor activity. Repeated burns are also a reason to discuss practical sun protection and checks for changing skin marks.