Category Archives: General Dermatology

Sunburned?

Labor Day is always the perfect 3-day weekend to say Good-Bye to Summer. I’ve already had my first pumpkin spice latte of the season and since college football has started I think we are all feeling Fall approaching. I saw lots of you celebrating outdoors this weekend. People were experiencing the Unexpected tour in Fort Smith (so cool if you haven’t checked it out), enjoying the lake, attending football games, spending time in the pool and barbequeing in backyards. Along with all this outdoor fun I’m sure some of you got a {insert gasp} sunburn. Here are some tips for taking care of your skin after sunburn.

  1. Hydrate. Drink extra water. Hydrate your skin too. Use lots of moisturizer. More than usual. I recommend a plain thick white cream that comes in a jar. Think cream not lotion, jar not pump, plain not fancy. I like Cerave, Cetaphil and Vanicream brands.
  2. Avoid gimmicks. Every year I see some new over the counter miracle sun burn reliever. “If it sounds too good to be true it probably is” is a famous saying for a reason. Avoid high fragrances, colors (including green and pink) and other additives that can dry out the skin or irritate it.
  3. Use hydrocortisone. If you want an over the counter to rub on I usually recommend hydrocortisone to decrease the inflammation. Just be careful about putting it on the face- extended use can cause acne, thinning of the skin and even stretch marks.
  4. Cool showers and ibuprofen for pain. People are often tempted to use over the counter lidocaine or benzocaine creams for the pain but these can actually irritate the skin. Cool showers help decrease the heat in the skin.
  5. Leave blisters alone. Don’t pick and pull off blisters. Let them heal and protect you from infection. If you peel off the roof of a blister it can put you at increased risk of infection.

If you feel sick or dizzy you may need to seek medical help. I hope you all followed all my sun protection advice previously given and don’t need these tips but if you did get a sunburn I got your back (or shoulders or face or wherever you burned). There is so much going on at the clinic this month that you can’t miss out on! If you don’t follow us on snapchat-go now (jdermatology) because I’m doing a morning show series with Bridgett (cosmetic coordinator assistant) giving skin tips daily and it’s really fun. Thursday evening we are having live Kybella injections and if you come watch you are entered to win a year of Botox or Voluma! We are going to have a HUGE loop giveaway on Instagram (jdermatology) this month so go follow us there too! Oh and we are giving away a skin make over to one deserving person on Facebook live Thursday so follow us there too and watch the magic happen!!!

Happy Labor Day everyone! Can’t wait to see you all this September because it’s going to be the best yet!!!

XOXO, Nina

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