Sunburn is a burn to living tissue such as skin produced by overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, commonly from the sun’s rays. Exposure of the skin to lesser amounts of UV will often produce a suntan. Usual mild symptoms in humans and animals are red or reddish skin that is hot to the touch, general fatigue, and mild dizziness. An excess of UV-radiation can be life-threatening.
Symptoms
Typically there is initial redness (erythema), followed by varying degrees of pain, both proportional in severity to the duration and intensity of exposure.
Other symptoms are edema, itching, red and/or peeling skin, rash, nausea and fever. Also, a small amount of heat is given off from the burn caused by the concentration of blood in the healing process, giving a warm feeling to the affected area. Sunburns may be first- or second-degree burns.
Variations
Minor sunburns typically cause nothing more than slight redness and tenderness to the affected areas. In more serious cases blistering can happen. Extreme sunburns can be painful to the point of debilitation and may require hospital care.
Duration
Sunburn can occur in less than 15 minutes. Nevertheless, the inflicted harm is often not immediately obvious.
After the contact, skin may turn red in as little as 30 minutes but most often takes 2 to 6 hours. Pain is usually most extreme 6 to 48 hours after exposure. The burn continues to develop for 24 to 72 hours infrequently followed by peeling skin in 3 to 8 days. Some peeling and itching may continue for several weeks.
Protection
Skin
Sunburn peeling. The dehydration of the epidermis causes the top layer to flake off. It is advisable to consult a UV index to determine what level of protection is necessary. Potential forms of protection include wearing long-sleeved garments and wide-brimmed hats, and using an umbrella when in the sun. Minimization of sun exposure between the hours of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. is also recommended. It is important to stay in mind that locations that use daylight saving time can have the most intense rays significantly later than 12 pm
Contrary to the common advice that sunscreen should be reapplied every 2–3 hours, research has shown that the best protection is achieved by application 15 to 30 minutes before exposure, followed by one reapplication 15 to 30 minutes after the sun exposure begins. Further reapplication is only essential after activities such as swimming, sweating, and rubbing. This varies based on the indications and protection shown on the label — from as little as 80 minutes in water to a few hours, depending on the product selected. When one is exposed to any artificial source of occupational UV, special protective clothing (for example, welding helmets/shields) should be worn
Posted on June 14th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: Skin Advice
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