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Sunburn Prevention and Treatment

Sunburn can really disrupt your plans for your life, particularly if those plans involve a vacation.  Sunburn prevention is much easier than sunburn treatment so let us consider a few simple pointers to minimize the experience.  These suggestions are particularly important for you to remember if you have children who will be spending time in the sun.  First and foremost, the obvious thing to do is use a good sun blocker.  Suntan lotion does not necessarily include a sun blocker so read the label to see what you are getting.  Product labels give the Sun Protection Factor (SPF) as an indication of the amount of protection offered.  The SPF number indicates how long using the product will extent your time in the sun without burning compared to the time to burn if the product were not used.  For example, a SPF of 10 will allow you 10 times the exposure before you burn.  For extended times in the sun such as trips across country on our motorcycle, we use a product with a SPF of 50.
 
Protecting your eyes is very important.  Always wear sunglasses with a good ultraviolet blocker.  The UV rays of the sun cause oxidative damage to the eyes leading to premature ageing conditions such as cataracts. 
 
If you fail to prevent sunburn, there are some good home remedies.  Aloe vera gel, available at the pharmacy, is very good.  Sunburn really dries the skin so keep the skin cool and moist.  A cool bath or sponging is good.   If there is a lot of pain, asprin will not only help that, it will also serve as a deterrent to the skin inflammation.
 
Vitamin D is synthesized in the skin from exposure to sunlight.  Therefore, we have a catch 22 situation.  How do we get enough vitamin D and avoid sunburn at the same time?  Thirty minutes sunlight exposure to the skin each day will provide all the vitamin D required.  Beyond that you can use your sun blocker.  If you are not getting adequate amounts of sunlight exposure such as being constantly indoors, or, during winter months, you should take a vitamin D supplement. We have lots of great  information regarding this very important vitamin on our Rx Alternative Medicine  blog.