Sunburns - Cold or Hot shower?

[Badalight]

So it's that time of year again. We all get excited since it's so warm and sunny outside. We go swimming, forget to put on the sunscreen and BAM! You wake up the next day with a horrible horrible sunburn.

At least that's what happened in my case, anyway.

I've seen a lot of conflicting advice. Should I take a hot or a cold shower while I have this sunburn? Or maybe just room temperature maybe?

I don't know.

[yamfriend]

If I were you I'd take the coolest one you can bear. That way it won't hurt that bad (at least compared to a warm/hot shower). In fact, it might actually relieve it a bit (works pretty well with ice, so I'd logically assume the same for this as long as there's not too much pressure when it's spraying out).

Good luck!

[Badalight]

While I heard a cold shower relieves it, I also read that it makes it hard for the heat to escape making the recovering process take longer.

[Lennon]

It's probably better to go with a warm or cool shower, instead of the extreme ends of the spectrum.

[arsenette]

Put aloe on the burn. Helps the healing process and it helps cool it while moisturizing the skin.

[Badalight]

Jun 8, 2011 14:03:15 GMT -5 arsenette said:

Put aloe on the burn. Helps the healing process and it helps cool it while moisturizing the skin.

Yes I already do this, works well.

Just was wondering which is better for it, heat or cold. I could never get a straight answer.

[arsenette]

Neither extreme I found to have helped.. just cool water is what I found to help me. Anything to keep the burn hydrated and cool helps. remember that it's a burn.. adding heat will only exacerbate the problem. just don't overdo it. If you put ice put it in short durations. Long exposure to ice is actually not good for the skin.

[Badalight]

Well yeah neither extreme would probably be good.

Just heard the cold water I guess closes the pores and traps the heat, and what you said about heat.

Seems like neither would work.

Also heard that since it's a burn it's obvious to cool it off, and also heard that heating it actually makes it easier to release the heat.

I don't know. Most of the info is false most likely, hard to tell what is true or not.

I'll probably just take like a room temp shower and see how that feels

[arsenette]

Call a pharmacist. They usually are pretty nice about answering questions. Good luck with the burn.. that's incredibly uncomfortable

[Badalight]

Well it's my fault for not putting on the sun-screen, but even after I thought about it I didn't think it was a big deal. I very rarely get sunburns (Though when I was a kid I got sunburnt easily).

I just happened to be outside in 90 degree weather swimming for 2 hours, so my back got it pretty bad.

Even when I do get them, they don't really hurt at all. This is definitely my worst one in years so I'm just not quite sure how to react

[jfeathe]

I've already had a burn and peel experience this summer... not fun

www.amazon.com/Solarcaine-Aloe-Extra-Relief-Spray/dp/B000052XQK

^This actually helped a ton. As for the shower, for me, a hot one is literally adding insult to injury

[arsenette]

Should still be careful as they can lead to all kinds of problem. My face is actually permanently scarred from an incident when I was 9 years old..

[The Chief]

I had a 2nd degree sunburn less than a year ago. I live with a pharmacist. What I kept doing was putting on Aloe Vera and skin lotion. It took 3 days, but my sunburn was gone. I think the pics are still on facebook.

[Anshin]

Depending on the degree of burn, most sun burns being only first degree, it's recommended that you use cold water (as cold as you can bear at least). I just had about 2 weeks ago, a 2nd degree burn from work that took about a week to heal.

Get yourself some Aloe Vera, it's the best option for large area sunburns, as ointments won't help, and neither will gauze or any other sort of bandage to cover it up.

[Badalight]

Well that's the thing. I heard cold water makes it feel better, but also causes the healing process slow.

[Anshin]

Jun 9, 2011 18:32:03 GMT -5 Badalight said:

Well that's the thing. I heard cold water makes it feel better, but also causes the healing process slow.

Cold water gets the job done in terms of cleaning the burned area, as well as getting rid of any potential heat still in the skin, allowing the skin to actually heal. Hot (or even warm) water, just makes the temperature of the skin heat up and cause pain and damage to the already damaged skin cells.

Regardless, since it's a sunburn which typically (most likely) covers a large area, it's best to keep the skin moisturized and not dry, aloe vera being the best option. Stay away from ointments, neosporin (unless there's a bad cut or scrape, etc), or lotions during that time.

I had a sunburn that was severe, almost 2nd degree, I couldn't go to school during the time, and was practically at home sitting in a cold bath, or taking a cold shower daily; as my skin was cracked and peeling as if it were a snake skin.