Historical May 1976 health column; period sunburn remedies and recommendations are preserved as source material, not current medical guidance.
Spring is here pretty reliably now, so let’s look forward to summer and the sunburn season: the community’s first big sunbath, the Art Fair, is upon us and we expect more than a few burnt noses. Just to start things off right, the People’s Clinic has compiled a few useful hints regarding sunburn.
First of all, the sun is most “burning” between 10:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M., so a few extra precautions during those hours are in order (as on Art Fair day!) Also, people taking certain medications may need to take extra precautions: some heart medicines, antibiotics, anti-fungus medications, and some tranquilizers can increase the skin’s sensitivity to sun. It is recommended that even the darkest brunette should limit direct exposure to midday sun to less than 30 minutes for starters.
So, how to enjoy Art Fair and the great outdoors? Remember that an overcast does not screen out sunlight very well, and sunlight can be reflected. Use those umbrellas, sunhats, etc! If you are fair, use a sunscreen preparation. One of the best of these, and least wash-offable is red petroleum, although it will make you shiny. And while everyone knows that a sunburnt back makes clothing a pain, few people (except those who have felt it) realize that the sunburnt shins are even worse—so pay attention to the legs and arms as well as the nose when using a sun protector.
Sunburn makes itself felt in anywhere from 1 to 24 hours, and unless it is severe (like blisters) the effects usually don’t last more than 72 hours. If, despite all our good advice, you turn up sunburnt, there are several things you can do to help. First of all, STAY OUT OF THE SUN until the redness goes away. There are a number of local anesthetic ointments and sprays for sunburn on the market—but we don’t recommend them because they can cause sensitization to the anesthetic agent and compound the problem. One “oldwife’s cure” that works, for relief of discomfort, is cold compresses of whole milk! However, if milk is too expensive (checked the dairy case lately?), you can use “normal saline”—one teaspoonful of salt to a glass of water. You will want to be careful not to use more than this amount of salt; the burnt skin is dry enough without being salted down like a ham; so this is definitely a case where “more” doesn’t mean “better”.
Most sunburn is unpleasant, but not life-threatening. However, if extensive burning takes place, the burnt one may have constitutional symptoms—fever, chills, weakness, shock. For any of these symptoms, a doctor’s care is definitely indicated, as it would be for the most common complication of sunburn, infection of broken blisters.
Originally published in The Paper, May 1976.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1976_05.pdf, printed page(s) 11; PDF page(s) 11.
