How to reduce redness from a sunburn FAST?

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amybg1
amybg1 Posts: 631 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I normally wear sunscreen but I was out for at least 2 hours paddling and fell in twice during a 12K race due to some people doing some illegal things...

Anyway, my shins and right arm are burnt. Right arm is burnt a good deal, shins are a lighter shade of red. Other than aloe...Anyone have suggestions to make it go down faster? My guide's gonna have a surprise when she sees just how much I put on color...
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Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,979 Member
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    Hm. I grew up in S. Florida.

    I'd say vinegar (on the skin)

    ...and rum. (in the mouth)
  • monicalosesweight
    monicalosesweight Posts: 1,173 Member
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    Aloe - coat it on thick! Your skin will absorb it and use it to heal itself. It also feels nice.
  • MelisRunning
    MelisRunning Posts: 819 Member
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    Vinegar on the skin. Takes out the sting~fast!

    Make a compress with the vinegar and pat the sunburned area. By morning, the sting will be gone. I learned this from an old "Southern Belle" who wanted to keep her "complexion". It really does work!
  • LolasEpicJourney
    LolasEpicJourney Posts: 1,014 Member
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    Hm. I grew up in S. Florida.

    I'd say vinegar (on the skin)

    ...and rum. (in the mouth)


    haha rum : ) never thought of that

    aloe or emu oil
  • Tessyloowhoo
    Tessyloowhoo Posts: 504
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    stop being Irish .... lol i drink aloee and use aloe cream on my skin... i find drinking the aloe helps it heal faster too! Also Aveeno positively ageless skin strengthening body cream is amazing
  • Jersey_Devil
    Jersey_Devil Posts: 4,142 Member
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    Besides aloe, just dim the lights... you wont be able to see the red.
  • LiviLou2011
    LiviLou2011 Posts: 437 Member
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    Seriously rub cucumber on it!! suppost to help get rid of the sunburn faster and make it burn less.
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
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    coconut oil, aloe, or vinegar...ive had best results with coconut oil on my baby, accicently got sunburned while we were at the park, i put some coconut oil on her and the next day youd never know she was burned.
  • Kami12325
    Kami12325 Posts: 1
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    If It's On The Face Moisturizer If It's On The Body Vitamin E Cream
  • SkagitYogini
    SkagitYogini Posts: 112 Member
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    You can also take aspirin, which will lower your body temperature and help stop the skin from burning further.
  • noozgal
    noozgal Posts: 3
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    Heyo, born and raised in New Orleans, use cold milk on cotton balls and dap all over the burn to stop the pain, then bath in cool water and use aloe. Personally I find fresh aloe works best. Oh and stay out of the sun for a few days! Drink plenty of water and rest so your body can heal. Hope this helps.:smile:
  • I_Will_Be_The_Swan
    I_Will_Be_The_Swan Posts: 132
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    Cocoa butter lotion. Put it on at night coming home from your sunburning day and again in the morning and it'll go down to a tan, and then go away.
  • cddonald22
    cddonald22 Posts: 39 Member
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    Lipton tea bags--boil some tea bags in water, let it cool, soak the tea bags (or bath cloths) in the cold tea and lay them on the sunburned area. Soak, repeat.
  • GGDaddy
    GGDaddy Posts: 289 Member
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    Lessons learned from living in sunny Southern Cal: Aloe aloe aloe! I always had great luck with the 100% stuff. Keep applying Aloe even after you think you're better to minimize peeling.

    Also, hydrate hydrate hydrate! Lots of water will make a huge difference. Good luck!
  • fallingken
    fallingken Posts: 98 Member
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    Dip a regular tea bag in Vinegar and dab that on the burned skin. The vinegar and the tannin in the tea are what are supposed to help. Always worked on our kids and myself. And after the sting is gone, then copious quantities of aloe
  • Doodlewhopper
    Doodlewhopper Posts: 1,018 Member
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    Regular yellow mustard (French's, etc), it's even better than white vinegar. Next time you burn yourself in the kitchen coat the burn with mustard and let it dry. I used it on a bad burn and the results were remarkable...no pain, no redness and no blister.

    Read the comments at the bottom of the article.

    http://mustardmuseum.com/burn-relief/
  • whitebalance
    whitebalance Posts: 1,655 Member
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    Egg whites work wonders for burns of all kinds. They kept eggs in the chem lab at my son's college for emergency burn treatment.
  • lisamichelle123
    lisamichelle123 Posts: 34 Member
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    Smother it in Vaseline, will be gone by tomorrow!
  • SurfyFriend
    SurfyFriend Posts: 362 Member
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    You can't get rid of it fast!
    But you can give it the right environment to heal itself, which is:

    Have a very cold shower to bring the heat out just like you would any other burn, and aloe is the best because it also draws the heat out. A cold damp cloth might help.
    Avoid heat, dry air or wind, sun and chemicals.
  • halleymw
    halleymw Posts: 246 Member
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    The poster that mentioned aspirin is on the right track. You can try all the topical treatments mentioned, but sunburn will feel much better if treated with a non steroidal anti inflammatory medication. OTC there is aspirin of course, but to get up to the anti inflammatory dosage you can get lots of side effects. Therefore, the best treatment would be ibuprofen or aleve.
    Mike

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