Sunburn bummer...

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svanhoecke
svanhoecke Posts: 266
in Health and Weight Loss
Okay so the good news is: I am feeling more comfortable with my body :glasses: so I bought a two-piece swimsuit for the first time in like 4 or 5 years. :happy:

The bad news is, I laid out in the sun on Saturday (I swear I wore sunblock!) and now I have a vicious sunburn on my tummy, my chest, and legs. :frown:

A couple questions:

1. I read on an older post on the message boards that a sunburn can cause temporary water retention (a.k.a. random pound or 2 gained for no reason). Is this true? I woke up this morning and the scale was higher than expected.

2. Do you guys have any ideas on helping the sunburn??? I am using aloe but it doesn't stop the pain for more than a few minutes. I am at work and the pain of having a shirt and a regular bra on right now is really ridiculous.

Help??? :embarassed:

Replies

  • svanhoecke
    svanhoecke Posts: 266
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    I also realize that this may not fall under the right message board topic...but forgive me and answer anyway!
  • evilbanks
    evilbanks Posts: 166
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    Okay so the good news is: I am feeling more comfortable with my body :glasses: so I bought a two-piece swimsuit for the first time in like 4 or 5 years. :happy:

    The bad news is, I laid out in the sun on Saturday (I swear I wore sunblock!) and now I have a vicious sunburn on my tummy, my chest, and legs. :frown:

    A couple questions:

    1. I read on an older post on the message boards that a sunburn can cause temporary water retention (a.k.a. random pound or 2 gained for no reason). Is this true? I woke up this morning and the scale was higher than expected.

    2. Do you guys have any ideas on helping the sunburn??? I am using aloe but it doesn't stop the pain for more than a few minutes. I am at work and the pain of having a shirt and a regular bra on right now is really ridiculous.

    Help??? :embarassed:

    I know...........take off your bra. ;-)
  • moriaht
    moriaht Posts: 251 Member
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    I get the worst sunburns and i have never had anything actually help haha. Aloe and drink lots of water is my advice.
  • pilotgirl2007
    pilotgirl2007 Posts: 368 Member
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    Take some Tylenol and put your aloe in the fridge and get it good and cold. Other than that not much else you can do just keep applying aloe
  • RissaDean
    RissaDean Posts: 189 Member
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    Regular white vinegar will take the sting out of the sunburn. The smell really does fade after about 15 minutes or so.

    Also, go to a tanning salon (like palm beach tan) and but some tan extender lotion. It will help keep you from peeling. Aloe always makes me peel like a snake :(

    I can't offer any advice on the weight thing though - sorry!
  • sblair77
    sblair77 Posts: 355 Member
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    I like to add a little Noxzema to my aloe. It really helps with the stinging. Once I took some shoulder pads out of an old jacket and used them between my shoulders and bra strap lol I swear it helped

    Good luck!
  • StefD78
    StefD78 Posts: 18 Member
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    yeah,sunburns can cause water retention. Its a burn like any other and when you get a burn,your body holds onto water to protect itself. Drink LOTS of water to keep skin supple and to help flush everything out. I always use Aloe Vera with Lydocane(I think I spelled that wrong lol). It cools the skin and helps prevent peeling. Hope that helps :)
  • Amcantar
    Amcantar Posts: 43 Member
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    Make sure your aloe is real aloe. If you read the label, and the first ingredient is Water, it's just going to make things worse. Wallgreens actually sells their brand of aloe, and the first in gredient is just that--aloe! It's rarer than you think, but if it's good, real Aloe it should really help. Also, asprin/advil can help wonders, your skin is in pain, pain relievers will help. Drink lots of water, of course! :)
  • learning2fly4
    learning2fly4 Posts: 303 Member
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    no idea on the weight gain.

    But consider a lotion either like Eucerin, or something that's more petroleum jelly based. They should give longer relief.

    Good Luck!
  • foodforfuel
    foodforfuel Posts: 569 Member
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    Cortizone 10 Cooling Relief Gel. You'll be amazed.
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
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    oh evilbanks, I see you are one of those helpful kinda guys . . . ha :laugh:

    There is a spray that comes in a cobalt blue 12-oz bottle called "Solar Recover". Not sure where you live, but the surf shops around San Diego have it, or you could try online.

    Sorry it hurts; about 5 years ago I did the most ridiculous thing -- put sunscreen all over the FRONT of me, then wiped my hands on my back at my waist. I was planning to sit and watch the kids play, but one of the boys asked me to build a sandcastle. Before I realized it, I had been building with him for over 2 hours and my back was fried --except for the stupid hand prints on my back!

    That was a seriously bad burn that hurt and blistered for over a week, and I still have those hand prints visible today. gah.
  • 27strange
    27strange Posts: 837 Member
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    Drink lots of water. Take some Ibuprofen like Tylenol or Advil. Most topical aids help more with the itch and the drying out more so than they do for soothing the burn.
  • sarahsmom1
    sarahsmom1 Posts: 1,501 Member
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    Go to your pharmacy and have them order you ST37 it will take the pain away you can use it for sunburn, regular burns, cuts, scrapes, bug bite, poison.oak, cold sores, canker sores, earaches, pulled teeth, female itching, jock itch and best of all it does not sting or burn when used. I'm 57 used it all my life
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
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    Go to your pharmacy and have them order you ST37 it will take the pain away you can use it for sunburn, regular burns, cuts, scrapes, bug bite, poison.oak, cold sores, canker sores, earaches, pulled teeth, female itching, jock itch and best of all it does not sting or burn when used. I'm 57 used it all my life

    wow. does it contain tea tree oil?

    forgot to mention that tea tree oil helps a zillion things too like everything listed in this post. Here's a quote I just pulled off the internet for you:

    Mix a few drops of tea tree oil with vitamin E oil, almond, or avocado oil and apply twice daily. When applied in time, it can bring immediate pain relief, and prevent reddening and blistering. Repeat as often as necessary. In cases of severe sunburn, apply a few drops of tea tree oil directly to the affected area. The pain will vanish almost immediately, and blistering of skin will be prevented.

    BTW, it clears pimples right up!

    blessings.
  • svanhoecke
    svanhoecke Posts: 266
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    thank you so much everybody! :flowerforyou:

    I wish I didn't have to work all day today. I will run by Walgreens after work and grab something.
  • RobynC79
    RobynC79 Posts: 331 Member
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    Ouch! Yes, when you have an inflammatory response such as a sunburn, you will retain water because inflammation causes swelling in your injured tissues. Drink plenty of water. Avoid alcohol and other dehydrating fluids. Take some anti-inflammatories like advil (ibuprofin), and buy a better sunblock. And please, please don't go to a tanning salon as someone upthread suggested - sunburn from either source is BAD! Go and buy a broad-spectrum, high SPF sunblock to replace the one you have, which sounds like it either too old or too weak to do the job.

    Lay off your exercise for a couple of days if you can, and eat plenty of good food - you need fuel to heal your skin.
  • iplayoutside19
    iplayoutside19 Posts: 2,304 Member
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    Ouch! Yes, when you have an inflammatory response such as a sunburn, you will retain water because inflammation causes swelling in your injured tissues. Drink plenty of water. Avoid alcohol and other dehydrating fluids. Take some anti-inflammatories like advil (ibuprofin), and buy a better sunblock. And please, please don't go to a tanning salon as someone upthread suggested - sunburn from either source is BAD! Go and buy a broad-spectrum, high SPF sunblock to replace the one you have, which sounds like it either too old or too weak to do the job.

    Lay off your exercise for a couple of days if you can, and eat plenty of good food - you need fuel to heal your skin.

    Also, put SS on every 2 hours. You can't just slap it on at Noon and expect it to work all afternoon. And don't forget your ears and feet. I know, I've made all these mistakes before.

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