Sunburn

Sunburn is damage to your skin caused by too much UV light from the sun. Skin damage can also come from artificial sources of UV light, such as sun beds and lamps.

Sunburn causes your skin to be:

• red
• sore
• tender. 

Sunburn can last for about a week. After a few days, your skin will usually flake and peel. If your sunburn is severe, your skin can blister.

Although sunburn only lasts a short time, it can increase your risks of serious problems, such as skin cancer in later life. Getting sunburn just once every 2 years can triple your risk of developing melanoma skin cancer.

Melanoma (internal link)

Everyone who is exposed to UV light is at risk of sunburn (even if you have darker skin), but you may be at much greater risk if you:

• have pale skin, blue or hazel eyes, or blond or red hair
• have lots of moles or freckles
• have have had sunburns before
• have a personal or family history of skin cancer
• take medicines that make your skin more likely to burn.

Other things that increase the risk of sunburn include:

• living in Aotearoa New Zealand, where the sun is particularly strong
• clear skies — clouds reduce some UV rays, but more than 90% still pass through light cloud
• exposing your skin to the sun between 10am and 4pm, September to April
• being at high altitude (the sun is stronger)
• being on snow, sand, water or concrete — they all reflect UV light onto your skin.

Pēpi and tamariki can easily get sunburn. Advice for parents and caregivers on preventing and treating sunburn in tamariki can be found at KidsHealth.

Sunburn in children — KidsHealth (external link)

You can usually treat mild sunburn at home by:

• cooling your skin — take a cool bath or shower or hold a cold flannel onto the sunburned area
• applying a soothing lotion or spray — aloe vera can have a soothing effect
• drinking lots of non-alcoholic fluids to cool yourself down and prevent dehydration
• taking paracetamol or ibuprofen to relieve pain, if necessary
• rubbing on a mild, over-the-counter corticosteroid cream to the sunburned area, in some situations — ask your pharmacist for advice
• staying out of the sun until the pain and skin redness go away.

Dehydration (internal link)

See your healthcare provider or after hours clinic for sunburn if:

• your tamaiti has bad sunburn or is unwell
• your pēpi (under 12 months) has sunburn
• your sunburn covers a large area
• your skin is blistering or swelling
• you have a high temperature
• you feel dizzy, sick and have a headache (these may be signs of heat exhaustion).

Heat exhaustion and heat stroke (internal link)

Find a general practice or after hours clinic near you — Healthpoint (external link)

The best way to protect yourself from sunburn is to be sun smart and avoid too much sun exposure.

You can feel the heat of the sun but not the UV light, which is why it is easy to get sunburn on cooler overcast days as well as on hot sunny days.

The best way to avoid too much UV light is to avoid the sun between 10am and 4pm from September to April. This is when the UV is the strongest.

There are UV Index (UVI) forecast apps that tell you when the sun is particularly strong and when you most need to protect your skin and eyes from UV light.

Sun safety in Aotearoa New Zealand — SunSmart (external link)

UVI smartphone apps — NIWA (external link)