Sunburn'd, any advice?

[Dr. KillGood]

So my dad forced me to go on his stupid company trip down the Chattahoochee river and all we did was sit in a boat for 5 hours.

The only thing I got out of it is sunburned, good thing I was wearing a shirt, but my forearms, legs below the normal shorts line, and even my face...

So whats a good way to heal fast? Just scrub at it for hours? Leave it alone?

[Aguiluz]

Just scrub at it for hours?

DON'T SCRUB IT! It's going to hurt like hell.

I take painkillers to buffer the pain somwhat while it heals naturally.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunburn#Treatment

[Dr. KillGood]

Ok then, I didn't think it was too good of an idea.

I got a big aloe plant on my porch should I use some?

[bacteria]

Apply After-Sun cream (designed for purpose) or failing that, any moisturiser. The idea is to replace the oils and moisture from your skin that was lost when you got sun burnt.

[bicostp]

Wear some sunscreen next time. (If you did, it wasn't strong enough or you neglected to re-apply it.)

There's really nothing you can do about it, aside from taking cool showers and applying some aloe to make it feel less irritated. (I'd trust WebMD more than Wikipedia for medical advice. )
http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and- ... -treatment

[Dr. KillGood]

Oh man the next 2 weeks are going to suck.

[bacteria]

BTW - if you scald yourself, cold water for a while, then sun cream and ice cubes as needed - frequently. A couple of years ago I managed to spill a lot of near boiling soup over half of my hand, managed to stop scarring entirely and reduced the blistering significantly with this method by cooling the areas and keeping the hand moist for a few hours.

[ghosstt]

Wait a few days, and use a lufa.. (the spongy shower things..) It will take off all the dead skin before you peal, so there wont be any nasty pealing.

[Triton]

aloe vera helps a LOT

[CronoTriggerfan]

Cover the affected area with duct tape and promptly rip it off. Repeat this four or five times, and you'll be fine.

What, is this a doctor's office now or something? Jeez!

On a serious note, aloe vera and this Banana Boat goo stuff I had once are great. They're only temporary pain relievers, but they work amazing when you use 'em.

[Valium]

Grin and bear it, it's a sun burn, not an acid burn.

[Aguiluz]

Cover the affected area with duct tape and promptly rip it off. Repeat this four or five times, and you'll be fine.

That's nice... However it will hurt like hell.

[zzattack]

Get after sun cream. I've sun burned a lot of times but never really experiences pain or annoyances of that... after sun works wonders for me.

[vskid]

Pretty much anything with aloe vera works wonders.

A couple years ago I was at a lake and didn't do the greatest as far as sunblocking. I had my sandals off most of the time. My feet got burned so badly that the tops of my feet were huge blisters (one on each foot). As I walked, I could feel the fluid in them sloshing. I think it took about a week for it to go away.

[HBN]

BTW - if you scald yourself, cold water for a while, then sun cream and ice cubes as needed - frequently. A couple of years ago I managed to spill a lot of near boiling soup over half of my hand, managed to stop scarring entirely and reduced the blistering significantly with this method by cooling the areas and keeping the hand moist for a few hours.

Actually, it would have healed faster, and blistered less if you ran it under HOT water...Hurts like a absolute BATCH, but it works (Done it. I swear by it.).