What is Late Summer Sunburn?
Are you aware that two key factors of Late Summer Sunburns are frequency of sun exposure and duration of sun exposure?
Recent articles here and here point to the fact that during COVID, many of us haven’t been outdoors that much, as we’re either quarantined or otherwise sequestered at home.
If Sun Exposure Frequency is Low
Consequently, we don’t get enough sun exposure on a regular basis. Regular sun exposure is a good thing, keeping Vitamin D and sleep levels high. It’s even better for our mood to absorb sunlight. And modest, but regular sun exposure might stem the probability of sunburn when we go outdoors to relax and enjoy it.
Despite this, you can experience a sunburn now in late summer, especially if you haven’t gotten out and about this season. Your frequency of sun exposure overall is low. For an adult who can count a series of sunburns in their lives, overexposure to the sun is painful, can require medication, and may contribute to serious health conditions with repeated exposure.
Suntan = Skin Damage!
We love access to the elements that make us feel joy! Right? Yet soaking up light, breeze and water without adequate protection on a day at the beach or lake, etc. equals too much sun on the human skin, and presto! it burns.
Now there’s plenty to discuss about getting a tan. However, let it be known that even tan skin is damaged skin! See brief discussion at skinsight.com
Both Light-skinned and Dark-skinned persons get sunburned!
This is obvious for the light-skinned person with only some melanin. Surprisingly, it’s also true for the dark-skinned person with melanin-rich skin.
It’s not well known or even apparent that a dark-skinned person may get sun damage as a result of sun exposure. Yet they, too, need to take good care of their skin and keep it well-nourished.
For more details, watch a video discussion among dermatologists speaking on sunburn and damaged skin in persons with melanin-rich skin at this website, SOCS (Skin Of Color Society).
You can read about the Fitzpatrick scale–which shows the skin-color-to-sun-exposure continuum–in a Wikipedia article that describes skin tone and sunburn probability.
Skin Changes Over Your Lifetime
I am neither a doctor or dermatologist. Yet I hope this article that expresses my personal opinions as well as research on sunburns is helpful! Many facts presented here are found in medical sources.
As a person who’s endured a number of sunburns over the years, I’ve found ways to alleviate the pain and discomfort, that without medical intervention allows my skin to renew itself in a healthy way.
Yet lurking in my conscience is an anxious notion that too much sun accumulated over a lifetime can cause skin to reveal the damage when you least expect it. In other words, incremental insult from the sun is something I want to avoid. It’s possible with the right skin protection.
It could be because I’m older, but now my skin seems to be a Type II on the Fitzpatrick scale. Even though when younger I rarely burned, and I swear my skin was more olive back then.
My Own Experience Under the Sun
So, I never thought about what getting a sunburn could mean—to a person who works at a desk all day—until in my late twenties, while vacationing on an island for a few days, I got a real doosie of what’s known as a UV sunburn, an ultraviolet radiation burn. Back then, even if the August weather was quite hot, the sky on those few days was not particularly sunny, rather it was grey and cloud-covered. So, I thought, no sun? No problem! I wasn’t concerned about riding around in a tank top and shorts, touring the island on a motorbike. But what a terrible idea! Those grey skies permitted so much ultra violet light from the sun as to bestow a horrendous burn to my face, neck, upper chest, and arms. Less so on my knees and legs. I turned hot-pepper red by evening and in a few days, a rash of blisters covered my arms from shoulder to wrists. And did ever I glow that night. Uncomfortably so.
Does it sound familiar, at least some part of my story?
Like the experience of going to the beach in summer, unprepared? It’s likely to be rewarded. Lots of people forget, like I do. All the while choosing to overlook the fact that that too much sun exposure equals death to skin cells.
What?! Death to skin cells? That shouldn’t be a big deal, right? Well, yes and no. Skin cells are naturally regenerated as they die. And are sloughed off at the skin’s surface.
What happens when you get sunburned?
While you’re getting sunburned, the sun’s rays pass through your skin. Stopping at the basal layer, extremes of energy become trapped there between the skin’s layers where your personal DNA and other components have influence on your health. All of the delicate tissues in and under your skin which are normally protected by your skin from extremes of temperature, your nerves, blood, capillaries, lymph and other fluids, are now at their own mercy to survive while you get your sunbake. All the while, you’re risking wellness just to get a tan.
Invasion by heat and light is an insult to your body, and a force beyond its immediate control. Only time and the energy of bodily functions can rectify this insult. Additionally, when you have no protection from the sun’s rays, such as clothing or cream, while the sunlight is permeating your outer layer of skin, your body is “baking” under the sun’s heat. See an explanation from Johns Hopkins Medical Center, here.
Sometimes, “baking” can feel good in the moment. Hot sun relaxes you and replenishes your spirits. But look out! If it’s not timed exposure, your skin could be headed for trouble!
However, a sunburn requires the skin to repair itself and provide new cells to cover for the damaged ones as fast as it can. Dermatologists warn that possible skin abnormalities and melanoma could be the serious consequences of your spontaneous day at the beach, etc. Melanoma is concerning as it can lead to cancer in the interior of your body.
Is one day of pleasure really worth such a risk?
What “timed exposure” is all about
These days the going wisdom is 15-minutes of sun exposure to face and hands to maintain healthy Vitamin D levels without burning your skin.
You can also “time” the duration of your sun exposure by limiting it to hours before and after that window of blazing, brightest sun which is between 10 am and 3pm.
What about sunscreen?
I’ve not been a fan of sunscreen because I believe in 100% pure whole products only for the skin. Recently a few mineral sunscreens appeared on the market that are more natural and supposedly don’t pose as high a toxic risk. Look for the ones that disappear on skin so that white titanium isn’t so blinding. See more info on mindbodygreen.com, here. But keep in mind the rather fraught-with-controversy types of sunscreens containing not-approved ingredients and keep looking until you find one with pure ingredients.
My in-the-sun protocol includes a wide-brimmed hat, cover-up and long pants made of fabric that occludes the sun’s rays, whenever I’m in the sun for longer than 15 minutes and between 10 am and 3 pm. Sound strange? It might be, for a sec. But then think about all the human beings who live under the blazing sun all of their lives, whose sun exposure is constant, and they’re always dressed from head to toe. Likely that’s a hot tip for sun exposure… it’s better to cover up rather than to burn your skin.
What to do if you get sunburned
You have that surface heat only on sunburned skin. Your nose crinkles, your skin feels “tight”. Such feelings are the aftermath of the sun’s rays on your body for too long one day.
Check your symptoms—and those of someone you’re concerned may have an acute sunburn—for severity.
Fever? Call your doctor!
Do you have a fever, are your blisters really scary-looking? Are you dizzy or dehydrated? Is there a lot of pain from your sunburn? Then you should call your doctor, just to be sure you’ll have no complications. You may even benefit from a telemedicine visit in the time of COVID.
See healthine.com for more indications.
Experts on skin and sunburn have several suggestions for products you can apply to the burn, on the very the day you get sunburned. You’ll find your favorite among:
• full-fat yogurt (provide lipids and vitamins)
• aloe vera gel (is hydrating)
• medicated oil, such as calendula herbal oil (provides soothing coating for irritated skin)
• herbal wash (provides soothing coating for irritated skin)
• oatmeal and water pack or mashed fruit and water pack (provides soothing coating for irritated skin)
Blisters on your skin or rashes from sun exposure
Suffering from the sun’s heat and have blisters, but no fever? And, do you feel okay? You’re just basically uncomfortable?
Blisters are actually a sign that your skin is going to work to relieve your body of excessive heat and to assuage the burn you’ve sustained. You want that process to work itself through to completion. But you can apply soothing self-care for great relief.
Apply A Cool Wash
First apply cool water to help allay the scorched sensation on your skin. Allow your skin to pause from its dilemma to fight exterior pain and maintain interior homeostasis. Take a cool shower in just the right temperature of water to soothe and calm may really increase your comfort level.
If you’ve been in salt water, the shower will help wash off saltiness. Don’t use soap, however, as it’s drying. Or, take a bath suffused with herbs to calm that raging skin, see below.
Remember to keep your skin moisturized—a super important step in recovering from the sunburn. If your skin is still hurting, try an herbal wash with lavender or calendula flowers—like a tea, but cooled off and soothing. Soak a cloth in the herbal infusion and apply to the painful area(s).
Click here for simple recipes for skin-soothing when a sunburn is raging.
Healthy Skin is All About Pampering, All The Time!
We tend to take it for granted that we can quickly repair any damage, and then go on and repeat the same behavior, with no inconvenience to deal. Um, maybe not! We have to take care of our skin, both internally and externally.
You may benefit from feeding your skin well. And thus your risk for a bad sunburn may decrease, and signs of aging skin may be less obvious.
Once you’ve sustained a sunburn, it’s vitally important to take the best care of your skin. And set up habits to continue taking care of it now and on into the future!
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