- Make It Yourself Lavender Heart-Shaped Bath Bombs!
- 20 Things You Never Knew About “Down There”
- 12 Best Foods For Those Suffering From Arthritis Pain
- 12 Personal Hygiene Mistakes Almost Everyone Makes (Mom Never Told You About #4!)
- 15 Medicinal Plants And Herbs From The Cherokee People
- 12 Mind-Blowing Benefits Of Drinking Coconut Water During Pregnancy
- 12 Outstanding Winter Foods That Won’t Fatten You Up Like A Christmas Turkey
10 Ways To Prevent Sunburn Naturally
Photo credit: bigstock.com
You may feel silly when you go to the beach hoping to achieve a golden bronze-appearance and you end up as red as a beet, but sunburn is no laughing matter. Every year there are more than 5.4 million people who end up with nonmelanoma cancer of the skin, with 90% of them from the UV rays of the sun.
Sunburn is created from melanin and an exposure from UV rays. Once the UV rays wreck the DNA that is found inside of your cells, they die but the melanin is there to protect the skin. It actually serves as a natural type of sunscreen.
What causes a sunburn?
You can get a sunburn that may start out pink, but could quickly turn bright red just hours after being outside in the sun. Your skin may have some swelling and you could end up with a fever, chills, a headache, and fatigue.
If you find boils on your skin, it means you probably have second-degree burns. The boils fill up with fluid in order to cool down the skin. You have to be careful in the sun because not only can your skin burn but your eyes can become sunburned as well and that is even more painful.
How do you treat sunburn?
As soon as you feel as though you are sunburned, remove yourself from the sun immediately. You might want to take a shower or quick bath in cool water to bring down the temperature of your skin. Make sure to dry yourself with a towel but let a little bit of water stay on your skin. Put a moisturizer over the affected areas to rehydrate the skin.
When your skin starts to heal from the sunburn you may find patches that are peeling off. Don’t start peeling this skin yourself but rather let it dry off and come off your skin by itself.
Continue to Page 2
Photo credit: bigstock.com
10 Ways to naturally prevent sunburn
1. The easiest way to prevent getting a sunburn is to wear long sleeve tops and long pants as well as a large wide brimmed hat to protect you from the damaging rays of the sun. Don’t take a cloudy day for granted, you can even get a sunburn through the clouds.
2. Sunglasses are a must if you are outside for any reason during the summer months. A good pair of polarized glasses can actually block 100 % of the UV rays so you won’t have to worry about damaging your eyes.
3. Tea can help you in a number of ways. Drinking green tea provides you with antioxidants that will keep you from getting any type of tumors on your skin by preventing any DNA damage and keeping the inflammation under control. You can even enjoy photoprotection by applying the green tea right on your skin.
4. The lycopene that is found in tomatoes has been able to keep those who eat them from suffering from sun damage. Go for anything with cooked tomatoes in them, such as tomato paste or sauce for the most protection.
5. Even though you get vitamin D from the sun, make sure you have enough of this vitamin as it has been found to protect you from the sun. Vitamin D keeps the development of tumors on the skin down as well as reduces your chances of getting sunburn.
6. This long word is a product that you can actually find in berries, grape seeds, wine, pistachios, hazelnuts, and a number of grains Proanthocyanidins have been found to reduce your chances of skin cancer as well as keeping away damage from UV rays. At least when you are sipping on a glass of wine while at the pool, you are doing it for health reasons.
7. Resveratrol is another byproduct of red wine. In recent years this supplement has been recognized as an anti-aging and anti-cancer agent. While resveratrol is also found in wine, it also offers protection against the dangerous UV rays. Some people apply resveratrol topically to ward off the chances of a sunburn.
8. If you simply cannot avoid being in the sun every day, you should wear protective clothing and sunglasses as well as take 1,000 IU of vitamin E every day as well as 2,000 mg of vitamin C every day for additional protection from the sun.
9. Try to avoid being out in the sunlight when it is at its peak – from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. in the early evening. If you feel more comfortable using a sunscreen, check the ingredients before buying them. Try checking out a health food store to see if they have any European sunscreens. The sunscreens from other countries are more effective than those in the United States because the FDA will not approve several of the more effective ingredients.
10. Abstain from any types of medication that could raise your sensitivity levels to the sun. There are many prescription and over-the-counter drugs that could make you more susceptible to getting a sunburn while outside. Stay away from the following:
- Ibuprofen
- Antihistamines
- Antidepressants
- Some antibiotics
- Drugs that lower your cholesterol
- Antipsychotics
Make sure that you talk to your physician before stopping any medications. There are some drugs that actually have serious side effects if you try to stop them all at one time.
READ ALSO: 5 Great Lemonade Recipes For Sunny Days Video
With so many cosmetics companies offering better bronzing agents that you can safely apply to your skin, you can safely get a great looking tan without even stepping foot outside. Don’t risk getting a sunburn that could eventually turn into a dangerous melanoma form of skin cancer just to look tan.
References:
