# Best thing for a sunburn is hot water?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-thing-for-a-sunburn-is-hot-water/368688>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [August 14, 2006, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-thing-for-a-sunburn-is-hot-water/368688 "2006-08-14T16:23:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-thing-for-a-sunburn-is-hot-water/368688/41 "2015-03-27T19:22:22Z")

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> [@rdemarce](#):
>
> I live in Hawaii and deal with suburns all the time. Taking a hot shower is seriously the best way to eliminate the pain of a sunburn. The hot water works the same way as when people wash their face, the hot water opens the pores in your skin and the heat can escape faster. You caN put aloe on, but that covers the burn. Unless you have a severe burn, (bleeding) you never cover the burn.

I usually don’t post in these type threads because I am not a doctor in real life, but this is just bad information all the way around.

1. As established previously by several real doctors and verifiable medical cites, cold/cool water is the best way to relieve the pain and swelling of minor burns.
2. Heat is not stored in, and therefor cannot be released from, skin pores - no matter how wide one opens them
3. Burns, even minor ones, can indeed be covered

> [@](#):
>
> Soak the burn in cool water for at least 5 minutes. The cool water helps reduce swelling by pulling heat away from the burned skin. Treat the burn with a skin care product that protects and heals skin, such as aloe vera cream or an antibiotic ointment. You can wrap a dry gauze bandage loosely around the burn.

The key words there are “loosely” and “gauze”. Tight wrappings, or ones made from cotton, can stick to the wound. That is no fun when removed. Here’s a [visual example](http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/presentations/100213_2.htm).

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