Season of sunburn

Even in the worst summer, sunny days are issued - and most will immediately try to use them in order to "getting tan" on the beach. So, in the pharmacies will be added to buyers asking for the means for sunburn. Or for the treatment of sunburn. However, one does not rule out the other ...

Dangerous rays
Both sunburn and sunburn have one and the same nature - this is the reaction of our body to ultraviolet (UV) rays. When we are in the sun for a relatively short time, ultraviolet also burns the skin, but not for long and shallow. In response, the skin begins to produce more dark pigment, absorbing UV radiation - melatonin. This is the tan: the more melatonin in the skin, the deeper its brown shade.

In order to get a "bronze" shade of the skin, you need to get a sufficiently large dose of UV rays. And the same dose can be sufficient for a large (if sunbathing the entire body) burn, and with a lesion area of more than 50% of the skin, many problems can even be caused by a slight burn injury. Therefore, doctors recommend to sunbathe little by little. Well, those who need a "quick" tan, can not do without special cosmetics.

Means for sunburn should solve at once some problems. On the one hand, they must protect the skin from UV radiation, on the other hand - to pass a sufficient amount of the same rays for tanning. In addition, the spectrum of this radiation is divided into different areas: long-wave (type A - UV-A, or UVA on foreign marking) almost do not burn the skin, but penetrate it deeper and increase the risk of tumors, including. such a dangerous cancer as melanoma. Type B (UV-B, UVB) is represented by relatively short waves, they are better retained by the upper layers of the skin. And it is this radiation that causes both sunburn and burns.

The UV-A and UV-B rays reach our skin at the same time. Substances that protect our skin from UV-B-rays, allow you to stay in the sun without a burn several times longer. However, for the same long time, we will get and several times the dose of dangerous UV-A radiation ... So the maximum protection is achieved by introducing into the cosmetics substances absorbing or reflecting both types of UV rays - this is denoted by UVA / UVB, UVA + UVB, etc. Cosmetics only with UVA protection will not save from sunburn, but will allow sunbathing with a minimal risk of other complications, but only with UVB - protect from burn, but not from dangerous long-term consequences.

According to the content in the skin of melatonin and the possibilities of its production, all mankind can be divided into 6 phototypes, which react differently to solar radiation.
The first phototype, the so-called. "Celtic" is extremely pale skin - melatonin is very small in it, the beach and solarium are contraindicated for such people, there will not be sunburn, only a burn!
The sixth phototype is people with dark brown skin color: Negroids, aborigines of Australia.
Most Europeans refer to the second or third phototypes - you can sunbathe, but carefully!

Figures and Pros
Buyers often ask protection "stronger", and those who use the means for sunburn for a long time, can directly ask: "And what about the SPF of this cream?"

SPF - Sun Protection Factor - the main indicator of the overall effectiveness of sunscreen cosmetics, the value on the package can be from 2 to 100. However, in the US and EU the highest values are indicated as SPF 50+, in some tropical countries (for example, in Australia ) - SPF 30+. The real protection level can be 52, and 60, and 80, but "solid" manufacturers do not indicate this. Why?

Because of the common misconception that the SPF shows how many times longer than its "normal rate" a person can stay in the sun: for example, if a person sunburnt in 15 minutes uses a cream with SPF 20, he can safely to spend in the sun 300 minutes (ie 5 hours) ... Another variant of delusions - the figures indicate the percentage of delayed UV rays.

In fact, both assumptions are not true. SPF is calculated by a complex formula, and means with its value from 2 to 5 delay about 65% of UV-B-rays. At SPF from 11 to 19, up to 95% of the radiation will be delayed, over 20% to 99% ... So there is not much point to look for a means with the value of this factor above 50 - they are still intended either for maximum protection against sunburn in difficult conditions, for example in the highlands, or for people with extremely sensitive skin. Tanning with such creams and gels will not work, but to get a heat stroke, hoping that you can lie for hours on the sun - easily. If you combine sunbathing with swimming, playing on sand, etc., the protective layer from the skin is gradually washed off and erased, and under the influence of UV rays the protection gradually weakens, loses its effectiveness.

Recommending this or that remedy, you should ask - on the beach or in the solarium the buyer is sunbathing. And to propose the appropriate - the conditions of irradiation in these cases are very different, so that with the "for the beach" in the solarium you can very quickly get burnt, and with suntan cream there will not be sunbathing.

When it's too late to defend yourself ...
With a slight sunburn - for example, when the hands are blushed and itch to the short-sleeved line - they rarely go to the pharmacy. But if the touch of clothing becomes painful, the skin acquires a bright red tint - the search for a means for first aid for burns begins.

Remember that a severe sunburn is a dangerous injury! If the patient's body temperature rose to 39 ° C or higher, severe swelling, the skin wrinkled and sagged, large blisters quickly formed (over 5 cm in diameter) or a face covered with small bubbles, dark circles, dry mouth, nausea, dizziness , a fainting condition, pain persists even without touching the skin - you need to call a doctor immediately!

With a severe burn, it is recommended immediately to take inside the NSAIDs - this will at least partially relieve the pain and reduce the severity of the inflammatory reaction with swelling, redness, etc. If there is a suspicion of photodermatitis (burned places noticeably swelled, allergy symptoms are observed) - you can use antihistamines and drugs of systemic action. However, the main treatment for sunburn is done by local means.

For first aid, sprays (in extreme cases - gels) with lidocaine, anesthetine, etc. are often recommended. These same external pain relievers will be useful in those cases when the victim is difficult to fall asleep due to pain and itching from touching the bed.

As an anti-inflammatory agent that promotes the regeneration of burned skin, it is possible to offer dexpanthenol in various preparations - Panthenol, D-panthenol, Bepanten, Panesol, and the like. In the first hours and days after the burn, sprays with dexpanthenol are best used - they painlessly lie on extremely sensitive skin, do not damage it and are well distributed over the affected surface, forming a protective layer. In a few days, when the sensitivity decreases, you can replace the spray with water-based cream or gel: they do not have to be rubbed into the skin, and they do not violate thermoregulation - unlike a film of ointments on a fat basis.

To treat blisters on the skin, peeling or scaly areas, it is best to use antiseptics containing chlorhexidine, miramistin, silver sulfadiazine - unlike previously used alcohol solutions, they do not dry or burn the skin, do not slow down the regeneration and effectively prevent infection of the burn. Do not puncture the blisters!

After the acute period has passed, the regeneration stage begins - for simplification and acceleration, gels containing deproteinized hemoderivate (Solcoseryl, Actovegin) or allantoin are usually used.

Remind the buyer who asked for funds for the treatment of sunburn, that at least during the first week you can not go out in the sun, so as not to provoke an exacerbation. And even when the burn heals, a new skin grows on the damaged and peeling place - you need to protect it from new burns. And in order not to miss the summer and the possibility of sunburn, it is better to use protective cosmetics - by choosing means with increased protection, designed for sensitive skin.