Dealing with Sunburns

[PolynesianLily]

While at Disney last week we neglected to put on sunscreen and got extremely burnt while sitting by the pool on Saturday. My question to you all is how do you deal with sunburns? I know Aloe Vera works but it always seems that it makes you stick to your clothing (or thats the painful memory that I have).

Any advice would be welcomed and helpful!!


Thank you so so much!

 

[ninecrayons]

Unfortunately most things that treat sunburns seem to make your clothing stick to you. :/

A few summers ago I got a serious sunburn, blisters and all. I treated it with Aquaphor and that was fantastic, though sticky.

 

[*NikkiBell*]

I really like H20 products for sunburn. You can get a blue cooling gel in any of the Disney shops. It soothes the burn and helps it heal. I love it!

 

[Bornteach]

I am a red head and get sunburns even with SPF. When burnt I use a combination of tepid baths, noxema skin cream (without clothes on) and solarcane spray which is ok with clothes.

The best thing is a bath with tea.

 

[ADP]

For burns on the minor side I know Solarcaine works pretty well.

 

[ImTheMama]

I can remember back when I was little when I would get a sunburn my grandmother would stand me in the bath and pour viniger over me. Then I would soak in a cool bath with viniger. Now I just use Solarcaine, Aloe and suffer.

 

[taylor3297]

I can remember back when I was little when I would get a sunburn my grandmother would stand me in the bath and pour viniger over me. Then I would soak in a cool bath with viniger. Now I just use Solarcaine, Aloe and suffer.

A vinegar bath will take the sting out.

If you can't handle the smell, then aloe is your best bet. There are some newer aloes that don't stick to your clothes as much.

 

[parrotheadlois]

If I'm really uncomfortable at first, I'll take aspirin, but it sounds like you might be past that stage. Solarcaine and aloe both sound good, there are other after-sun products in the sun-protection (Coppertone, etc.) area of your local drugstore. Hope you feel better soon - I hate the itching part!!

 

[NotUrsula]

Best product that I've found is BurnJel; it's sticky at first but dries smooth. Great stuff. (It's sold pretty much everywhere in Florida, but I have a lot more trouble finding it here at home. I always stock up when I'm in Florida, because we use it for household burns, too.)

Generally I've found that we do a lot better at avoiding sunburn altogether when we use the spray sunblock products, because they are so much easier to apply. However, a word of warning: don't keep sunblock for two years and expect to use it in Florida. I accidentally used year-old sunblock last September and got myself crisped -- I've STILL got a faint X on my back. When it gets old it simply is no longer effective. Date every container of sunblock when you buy it, and toss it if you don't use it in a year.

 

[DisneyKevin]

Without a doubt, the best thing to take the pain away is Gold Bond Powder. It's medicated and has a mild analgesic.

DO NOT RUB IT ON!!

That will just get the nerve endings all riled up. Use an old tshirt like a puff and apply it that way.

Do not use it on your face.

 

[JenSop]

Best thing that I've found for sunburn is actually a lotion from Bath and Body Works called "Tahiti Sweetie." Seriously - this stuff works amazingly well. I've been using it for years for sunburn and always have some on hand EVERY summer. I think they just recently changed the names of the products, but if you go in, they'll know what the new name is. It has Monoi Oil in it, which I believe is the ingredient that helps.

 

[BriarRosie]

I love the spray Solarcaine.

I like to use "all day" sweatproof sunscreens at WDW. I can put it on before I get dressed and I have been able to stay protected all day.

And I burn very easily!

 

[parrotheadlois]

Without a doubt, the best thing to take the pain away is Gold Bond Powder. It's medicated and has a mild analgesic.

DO NOT RUB IT ON!!

That will just get the nerve endings all riled up. Use an old tshirt like a puff and apply it that way.

Do not use it on your face.

I would never have thought of that - thanks for the suggestion!

 

[disprincessatheart]

Last year we bought sun butter from basin at dtd. It's a super thick lotion with no scent. Worked better than aloe and not sticky at all. It soothed enough to even help with the pain somehow - even the bra straps didn't hurt (sorry guys but that's the worst area for sunburn to me)

 

[kaligal]

I drink a lot of water, soak in as cool a tub as I can tolerate, use cooling packs and keep it moisturized.

And I break down and use those Solarcaine (sp?) products, especially that green slimy stuff. I know they don't help and can actually make it worse (the "cool" feeling you get is the alcohol evaporating and the last thing your burn needs is alcohol on there, drying it out), but they really do feel good for a minute. And sometimes a minute's relief is enough.

I also vow to never-ever-ever-ever-ever get another sunburn.

I've never found anything to help with clothes, except to not wear them or wear something super soft with few seams. I remember once having the worst sunburn of my life and having to wear a bra. It was like torture. The CIA should quit the waterboarding and just sunburn those guys and strap bras on them. Ouch.

Hope you feel better soon!

 

[SaraMc]

I too burn with SPF on, Im so pale. I use the green aloe lotion. Yup it sticks. What I usually do is apply it and wait for it to dry a bit before putting on clothes, sadly it will turn you green and all your clothes but for me its the only thing that really works.

 

[Wonder_117]

Although this isn't going to help you when you need to be up and about, a really great way of taking the heat out of a fresh burn is to coat it with natural yogurt straight from the fridge. It really takes the heat out of the burn and doesn't dry your skin out, it's incredibly soothing- take it from someone who burns through high factor sunscreen!

 

[Cherinva]

All my tricks have been spoken about, so I have nothing to add, except that I hope you feel better soon.

 

[PolynesianLily]

Thank you all for your suggestions (I never would have thought of those). We bought the Solarcane spray (I think it was the cooling spray) at Disney but my parents said that it didn't work so I didn't bother to try it.

I actually saw that they had the H20 product that helps with the sunburns as a tester but they didn't have any bottles for sale. I know it may be too late for this trip, I was just thinking for next trip. Although for some odd reason my sunburns turn into blisters?

Lesson learned - do not sit outside for hours without sunscreen .

Thank you all again!!!!

 

[SAHDad]

I treat sunburn mainly by trying to avoid it in the first place. Not easy, since I am allergic to one of the ingredients in most sunscreens. And, as an added kicker, if I do get burned, I am allergic to aloe.

Aspirin, lots of water, and stay out of the sun is what I generally try to do when I get burned.