Burn from the sun

The first signs of a sunburn may not appear for a few hours. The full effect to your skin may not appear for 24 hours or longer. Possible symptoms include:

• Red, tender skin that is warm to touch.
• Blisters that develop hours to days later.
• Severe reactions (sometimes called "sun poisoning"), including fever, chills, nausea, or rash.
• Skin peeling on sunburned areas several days after the sunburn.

While the symptoms of sunburn are usually temporary (such as red skin that is painful to the touch), the skin damage is often permanent and can have serious long-term health effects, including skin cancer. By the time the skin starts to become painful and red, the damage has been done. The pain is worst between 6 and 48 hours after sun exposure.

In severe sunburns, blistering of the skin may occur. Deaths have resulted from acute sun exposure, and significant temporary disability is experienced by millions of sunburned people each year.

Call a health care provider immediately if you have a fever with sunburn or if there are signs of shock, heat exhaustion, dehydration, or other serious reaction. These signs include:

• Feeling faint or dizzy
• Rapid pulse or rapid breathing
• Extreme thirst, no urine output, or sunken eyes
• Pale, clammy, or cool skin
• Nausea, fever, chills, or rash
• Your eyes hurt and are sensitive to light
• Severe, painful blisters

The doctor will perform a physical exam and look at your skin. You may be asked questions about your medical history and current symptoms, including:

• When did the sunburn occur?
• How often do you get sunburn?
• Do you have blisters?
• How much of the body was sunburned?
• What medicines do you take?
• Do you use a sunblock or sunscreen? What type? How strong?
• What other symptoms do you have?

Kaplan LA. Exposure to Radiation from the Sun. In: Auerbach PS. Wilderness Medicine. 5th ed. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby; 2007: chap. 14.