Sunburn (UV light) And Sunburn Treatment Skin Care
Sunburn usually results from intense exposure to sun. Sunburn causes a person to become more susceptible to various diseases related to skin. Most of the complications resulting from sunburn are infection, wrinkled skin, premature again of skin, liver spots and skin cancer. It normally occurs within hours after exposure to sun and the fading of sunburn may require few days to happen.
The intense exposure to sun causes the energy from sun to penetrate deep into the skin and cause considerable amount of damage to skin cells. When this happens the affected spot becomes reddish, increasingly painful and when touched feels very hot. The skin damage occurring due to sunburn is primary because of DNA damage of skin cells. The sunburn usually is blistering and occupies a larger portion of body. When sunburn happens, high fever, diarrhea or vomiting may be accompanied. It also causes severe pain in affected spot.
What are the causes of Sunburn?
It is said that sunburns are resulted from larger exposure to the ultraviolet light. The wavelength of UV radiation which is from sunlight is in a smaller range for the human eye to visualize. The damage caused by the UV rays to the DNA of skin cells may cause melanoma which is a cancer of skin. It has been found that not all UV rays from sun cause ill effects to skin. Only UVA and UVB which can reach earth causes damage.
How does UV light act to cause sunburn?
The production of melanin plays a vital role in the damage caused by sunburn. Melanin is nothing but a dark pigment which is responsible for giving the skin its normal color. This melanin pigment is present in the epidermis. The exposure to UV light causes the skin to increase its production of this dark pigment. Continual and intense exposure to UV light leads to the production of extra melanin which shields the deeper layers of skin. This eventually creates the darker color similar to tan. A suntan is nothing but a way of preventing the UV rays entering the body causing the sunburn. Suntan blocks the UV rays thereby providing the much needed protection from UV rays. The production of melanin in a person depends on various genetic factors. Due to these genetic factors, a person cannot produce sufficient melanin to provide protection to skin. So UV light finally brings about sunburn in these persons.
Acquiring Sun Burn
People are at a risk of getting sunburn even in cloudy or hazy days. The clouds are capable of reflecting most of the UV rays that pass through them. UV rays are found to reflect off water, ice, snow, sand and other reflective surfaces. The rays from these reflecting surfaces are capable of affecting the skin more rigorously than UV rays from direct sunlight.
It has been found that people living in a sunny atmosphere or even at high altitude are at an increased risk of acquiring sunburn. Thus increased and frequent exposure of radiation to people living in higher altitudes causes sunburn as sunlight in these areas are stronger.
What are the possible signs and symptoms of sunburn?
Sunburn often causes infection to skin. As a result, the skin becomes reddish, increasingly swelling and painful in the affected spot, skin feels hot to touch. Occurrence of small fluid blisters which breaks to cause drainage of pus from it. Usually these signs are accompanied by high fever, fatigue, headache and even diarrhea or vomiting. There is a possibility of burning sensation in lips, scalp, earlobes and eyes which are very much sensitive to ultra violets rays. These symptoms occur after a few hours after exposure and are found to persist for 48 hours. After this period the body starts to heal itself by peeling of the outermost layer of affected skin. Generally the period of healing process depends on the severity and extent of injury.
Who are the people more susceptible to sunburn?
The damage caused by the UV rays is not in same magnitude for all persons. There are variations in the amount of damage and it differs from person to person. It has been found that the fair skinned people are more susceptible to UV rays than dark skinned people. This is attributed to the reason that more melanin is present in the people who have darker skin. This melanin pigment provides resistance to sunburn.
Sunburn Treatment
Usually sunburn heals itself within days or it may take weeks. The period of recovery from sunburn depends on the severity of the burn. The treatment for sunburn in most cases does not heal the induced damage by UV rays, but it actually decreases pain, damage and swelling. Some typical, simple and non prescription medication includes applying cool compress, aloe Vera lotion and some anti inflammatory medication. These are the medications which can be done at home .If these medications doesn’t prove to be effective then consulting a doctor is must. Some of the typical prescriptions of doctors towards sunburn are non steroidal anti-inflammatory medication (NSAIDs) and corticosteroid medication which are very much effective in relieving from pain and preventing inflammation.
These treatments along with the preventive measures are very much effective in protecting the skin from the sun’s UV rays.
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