General Cycling Discussion - Ouch! Sunburn!

Well...I feel like a idiot now...or rather look like one!

Was out the whole day...it sure didn't *seem* like a sunny day. I go home later and take off my sunglasses and look into the mirror. My face is now bright red except where my sunglasses covered my skin...so now I look like I have big white rings around my eyes on my (now) very red face!

And I gotta go to school tomorrow! aaah.

Does anyone know how to make the pain go away? I've never been sunburned before!! It burrrns :crash:

I remember the "lobster" look!

Hey, it goes away eventually. Use lots of REAL aloe (and pain relievers if necessary.)

Hey, YOU'VE EARNED IT!! Wear it proudly.

(TRY BENZOCAINE. It's a pain reliever applied to the skin, ask pharmacist; Aloe restores moisture and helps healing.)

And your sunglasses work! They block UV

And put sunblock on over it if you go outside! It will heal faster if the sun doesn't keep adding to the damage.

It's called the panda look. Many cricketers I know sport it with pride. :D

Ellie

Aloe gel preparations are good natural relief remedies for the sunburn. Take it from this Floridian who's had experience with the UV rays.

Originally posted by Pete Clark
Hey, YOU'VE EARNED IT!! Wear it proudly.


Unfortunately only other cyclists recognise and appreciate a cyclists tan.

Other runners at my club fall about laughing when I turn up in running shorts and singlet and I'm white to halfway down my upper arms and thighs!

Stew

I am a redhead and I get the freckles/tan/white/red thing going on.

I keep a can of Solarcain in the fridge for those kind of painful burns. The fridge makes it nice and cold for application. I recommend doing this outside as the spray is stinky.

After that application, I follow up up with real Aloe gel or Aloe straight from my plant. Just cut one of the lower leaves and squeeze the juice out.

Just a tip, for the face use at least an SPF8 moisturizer or sunblock. When you continually expose your face to the sun you will get premature signs of aging.

Always put sunblock on your face! And remember the pain from sunburn is from the dryness. Aloe is a good idea, or any kind of moisturizing lotion or cream. There are some "after sun" creams which are good for that kind of thing.

Speaking as someone who has been sunburned more times than they should have in the past, what you really need to relieve the pain is a slightly over-ripe tomato. Slice it, and gently rub the inside of it onto the sunburned area. This will relieve it faster and more effectively than any moisturiser on the market.

The other thing you should do is religiously avoid getting sunburned in the future. The human body uses a helluva lot more water when you are sunburned (again, I know), and consequently, the risk of dehydration increases dramatically.

I have never heard of using a tomato! I'm a great believer in home/folk/natural remedies- sometimes they really are the best thing. Not for everything but for some things. Like chicken soup for a cold or flu. It's true!

The tomato thing is an old Aboriginal (i.e. native Australian) method. I tried it when I was an impoverished student (would you believe I couldn't afford moisturiser at that time?) and it worked pretty well. The key is to get as much of the juice out of the tomato as you can.

Vinegar works on sunburn as well- it takes the sting out. I guess the acids have something to do with it, since tomatoes are pretty acidy.