Exercising After Sunburn

KiraLech
KiraLech Posts: 21
edited September 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
I'm in training for a half marathon and have a 10 mile training run scheduled tomorrow. Unfortunately, I absolutely fried myself out in the sun today: face, chest, arms & back. Between the exhaustion, the heat radiating off my body, and the thought of a sports bra on my skin, the thought of running tomorrow basically makes me want to throw up. If it was just a slight burn, I wouldn’t think anything of it, but this is NOT the case.

Does anyone have any advice on running with bad sunburn? I Googled it, and was horrified with stories of people having trouble regulating their body temperature, and experiencing severe blistering caused by sweating (neither of which sound like my cup of tea). I’d love to hear from anyone that experienced this, and how they handled their training. I'd really appreciate it.

P.S. Please no responses about SPF safety.

Replies

  • Pink_turnip
    Pink_turnip Posts: 280 Member
    bump


    I am in the same boat (no pun intended). I spent the day floating down the river in a raft, and forgot to put on sunscreen and I am more burnt than I have ever been.

    curious to others responses
  • merrillfoster
    merrillfoster Posts: 855 Member
    Bump. I'm in a similar situation myself (sunburnt and supposed to try Bikram for the first time tomorrow)

    man, wouldn't it be awesome if anyone responded with something other than bump! hahahaha
  • little_wolfie
    little_wolfie Posts: 91
    i'm a wuss, so if i get a tiny burn i make my husband lather my back in aloe vera cooling gel. i think it helps, but I don't about how fast it works. it takes the pain out of the burn almost immediately, but if it's a bad burn the pain'll come back. sorry guys. Good luck.
  • eates
    eates Posts: 334 Member
    I'd definitely take tomorrow off. When I was in college (I played soccer) we'd gone rafting and I got burned badly. The next day I passed out at practice from getting overheated/dehydration and the trainer said it was because of the sunburn and I wasn't cleared to train for 3 days afterwards.
  • cawood2
    cawood2 Posts: 177 Member
    Maybe some solarcaine for short term relief... lots of aloe gel, repeatedly. And yes, you'll get "blisters" of sweat under the skin when it starts peeling.. which is just creepy looking- exfoliating gently can help that. Have had quite a number of sunburns in my life. You do have to kind of let it run its course, but I do find the aloe helps. Cool showers if you can stand them, too. Not sure if it helps heal, but feels better :P
  • Seajolly
    Seajolly Posts: 1,435 Member
    I'd take the day off. You don't want to risk it. Your body needs time to heal. The skin is delicate and if it's already injured, it should rest just like any part of your body should. I'd take at least 2 days off and load up on aloe and drink tons of water.
  • merrillfoster
    merrillfoster Posts: 855 Member
    For me, I'm not in much pain, I'm just concerned about the blistering! :(
  • KiraLech
    KiraLech Posts: 21
    Bump indeed. Too funny.

    Thanks everyone for your responses so far (and your sympathy). It's kind of what I was expecting, but I needed to hear it from other people so I didn't feel like it was a cop out for those 10 luxurious miles. I'll stick with the aloe, cold showers and lots and lots of rest. Hope those of you dealing with this situation do the same. I'll shoot for running on Tuesday, and let you know how it goes.
  • KiraLech
    KiraLech Posts: 21
    It's not a cure for blistering, but I do have a little trick about the peeling. I know it sounds a little wacky, but if you put plain white distilled vinegar on a cotton ball, and apply it to the sunburn a few time within the first 24 hours, it REALLY minimizes (or eliminates) the peeling. Contrary to what you'd believe, it actually doesn't smell that bad either. I use this little trick on my face relatively often... although I feel like I should be taking a bath in it right now.
  • cawood2
    cawood2 Posts: 177 Member
    I'll try the vinegar thing next time I get burned.. thanks!
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