Ouch! What to do if you get sunburnt?
As an introduction to the topic, here's a little joke: What is black, white and red? A zebra with sunburn. Haha. But sunburn is actually nothing to joke about.
That's why the first priority must be very clear: You shouldn't get sunburnt in the first place. This applies all the more to children and babies.
But nobody is perfect. It can still happen that you or your child get sunburnt. What is important then and what do you need to know?
In principle, sunburn is nothing more than a scalding or burning of the skin. It just takes longer for the burn to develop and you often only notice it later when you get out of the sun again. From a purely medical point of view, however, it makes no difference whether you spend too long in the sun without (or with too little) protection or scald your skin with hot water. What happens to the skin is exactly the same.
And that's why sunburn is categorised into three degrees. Grade 1 (fortunately the most common form) means that the skin is reddened and overheated, that it burns and hurts when touched. In grade 2, the skin forms blisters and in grade 3, the skin is so badly burnt that it only heals with scars. Fortunately, the latter hardly ever occurs.
What should you do if it has happened? For sunburns that start to develop blisters on the skin after a day or two, you must always consult your doctor - this should definitely be treated medically, similar to a second-degree scald. If the skin is simply reddened, painful or overheated, it can be carefully cooled. The best way to do this is with cooling gels or after-sun lotions. It is important to drink plenty of fluids because you lose more fluid through the damaged skin. And you should definitely avoid going back into the sun straight away. If it doesn't get any better or is so uncomfortable, you can also apply a cortisone cream for one or two days. However, this is usually only available on prescription, so you will need to consult your doctor anyway.
Finally, and very importantly, the best thing you can do is not get sunburnt at all because you are well informed and protected and enjoy your time in the sun sensibly and with common sense.
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