At some point most of us have experienced the results of a sunburn wheter the burn is mild or intense. Although the experience can be an excellent motivator to plan ahead for furture occasions, that provides little relief for the immediate sting of regret.
If you are in this unenvieable situation, there are 4 natural remedies that most of us are likely to have on hand that will help to ease the effeccts of out bad judgement.
1. Milk compresses- Fats and lactic acids in milk products are known to have calming qualities to burned skin. The milk can be in the form of fresh, canned, or powdered (which has had cold water added to it). Soak a cloth in the milk and apply to burned areas for about 20 minutes then rinse with cool water. Whole milk seems to work the best for this but use what you have in a pinch.
2. Tea- Cool unsweetened tea contains tannin, which relieves some of the pain and swelling of sunburned skin. Apply the cool tea with a cloth or sponge. The tea bags make excellent compresses for the eyes.
3. Aloe- Aloe soothes sunburned skin and aids healing. Apply to sunburned areas as needed. The gel applied directly from the plant works best.
4. Water- Your body and your skin have lost water because of the heat and burning of the skin. Dehyration wil pull water from your skin and increase damage from sunburn. Drink plenty of fluids to correct and prevent dehydration to speed recovery and healing.
Sunburn increases the skin cancer risks so the best treatment is of course prevention. These are home treatment tips only, and do not substitute for your regular health care clinician. If you have concerns at any time relating to your sunburn, please seek your ppropriate health care assistant.
