# Good sunburn remedy? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 31, 2002, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-sunburn-remedy/101026 "2002-03-31T05:10:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-sunburn-remedy/101026/1 "2002-03-31T05:10:58Z")
Good sunburn remedy? ---
**Author:** ![anyrae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e495f1/32.png) [@anyrae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrae)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-sunburn-remedy/101026/2 "2002-03-31T05:22:07Z")
I got a forearm-out-the-car-window sunburn a week ago. It was very painfull the first night and I didn’t have anthing to put on it. I ended up, out of desparation, using some “neosporin” with pain reliever on it. That seemed to help it stop burning as bad. If your burn is like all over your body, then it may not be practical to put that much neosporin on yourself. You have my sympathy, I have had many sunburns, they aren’t fun. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-sunburn-remedy/101026/3 "2002-03-31T05:37:22Z")
The VERY BEST sunburn remedy is to find an Aloe Vera plant (like a mini cactus) and break open a stem, and smear the goo all over the affected areas, regularly. Proprietry aloe creams or gels work, but not as well as the dinkum thing. Go buy one from your local nursery if you don’t know of a plant locally…it’d still be cheaper than buying a creme from the chemist/drugstore. It alleviates the pain and/or itching and also stops blistering and the subsequent peeling of the skin. ---
**Author:** ![Tsubaki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@Tsubaki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tsubaki)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-sunburn-remedy/101026/4 "2002-03-31T07:07:08Z")
I’m with **kambuckta** on this one. But I have a tube of aloe gel which I keep in my fridge. It feels great on sunburn! I also use it after I’ve shaved my armpits (I get a bad reaction after shaving, and the aloe tends to inhibit it). ---
**Author:** ![White\_Lightning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@White\_Lightning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Lightning)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-sunburn-remedy/101026/5 "2002-03-31T07:49:00Z")
I recently got a sunburn and I bought some stuff that has Aloe Vera and Lidocaine in it. It’s a gel, and you rub it into the sunburn area. It works beautifully for me, totally takes the pain and itching away. Don’t know about actually healing the burn, but it says on the bottle that it helps prevent peeling. ---
**Author:** ![Bedrosian\_Bixby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecae2f/32.png) [@Bedrosian\_Bixby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bedrosian_Bixby)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-sunburn-remedy/101026/6 "2002-03-31T08:08:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tsubaki \* > \*\*I’m with **kambuckta** on this one. > > But I have a tube of aloe gel which I keep in my fridge. It feels great on sunburn! I also use it after I’ve shaved my armpits (I get a bad reaction after shaving, and the aloe tends to inhibit it). \*\* Ding Ding Ding!!! That’s right! Hands down the best remedy for sunburn. I got bad sunburn on my back after snorkling in Peurto Rico and the cold gel felt so good I could have dropped a load right there. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-sunburn-remedy/101026/7 "2002-03-31T08:13:37Z")
Geez Bedrosian, thanks soooooooooo much for sharing your deepest ‘feelings’ with all of us!! 😃 ‘Dropping your load’, INDEED!! ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-sunburn-remedy/101026/8 "2002-03-31T08:26:51Z")
I’ve had great results with whiskey. Take internally. Having an aloe plant around is good too. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-sunburn-remedy/101026/9 "2002-03-31T08:33:53Z")
Whiskey just makes you FRY on the inside as well, so you are less cognisant of the external pain. Hmmmmm, maybe that’d work! ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-sunburn-remedy/101026/10 "2002-03-31T08:54:39Z")
Of course it works. Do you think I drink whiskey for FUN??? ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-sunburn-remedy/101026/11 "2002-03-31T09:27:18Z")
…makes a great aloe vera gel. I’m **never** without it. Once in Panama City, I became **really** sunburned. (Passed out, actually). My friends took me to this little beach store and the guy came out from behind the counter and said, “Here, try a little bit o’ **this** ”. It was aloe vera gel and it helped almost **instantly**. I immediately bought the whole damn bottle. What a great sales tool! But beware the dreaded **sun allergy**! This is the thing that really goes down **deep** and makes you wanna take a knife and filet yourself to get at that damn itch. **Omigod** , I shudder everytime I think about **that** one. I had to take **Benadryl**. Luckily the stuff put me to sleep, or I would have flayed myself open. These days it really does pay to get the highest SPF possible and don’t worry about lookin’ cool with your tan. It’s not worth a melanoma. Quasi (who’s been there) ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-sunburn-remedy/101026/12 "2002-03-31T20:05:06Z")
Thanks for the tips! ---
**Author:** ![cagiva650](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cagiva650](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cagiva650)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-sunburn-remedy/101026/13 "2002-03-31T20:16:27Z")
I should have known better being a native floridian and experienced with skin cancer but I was blabbing with a friend at the lake high noon last june and boy did I get roasted - I had my six year old very gently smear desitin cream (for baby’s bum)on my back. She did a great job and the cream was very soothing, and after a few days application the burn went away I hardly peeled and no blistering! Be careful out there in the sun! ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-sunburn-remedy/101026/14 "2002-03-31T21:34:31Z")
My doctor told me to take aspirin for sunburn- works remarkably well in combination with plain old lotion. Aloe gel with lidocaine is pretty good stuff too. ---
**Author:** ![JimmyApollo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c77e96/32.png) [@JimmyApollo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimmyApollo)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2002, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-sunburn-remedy/101026/15 "2002-04-01T03:14:45Z")
Please keep in mind this is just what I was told (though it was from a licensed medical doctor): I once got second-degree burns on my face from sitting out with no protection during a four-hour football game. I tried using aloe gel, and although it helped until I could see the doc, the pain wasn’t really going away. He told me that aloe, soothing as it may be, is not really an effective cure for a bad sunburn. Sunburned areas are extremely dried skin, and one of the best things to do is moisturize the effective area with, appropriately enough, a serious moisturizer. He gave me some stuff called Eucerin (ask for it by name) that worked great. While it didn’t do a whole lot to subdue the searing pain, the burn itself healed pretty quickly. Remember, this is one example of what one doctor told me; your milage may vary. Aloe might still be great for run-of-the-mill sunburns, I don’t know, I’ve never used it otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![easy\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb8c5e/32.png) [@easy\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/easy_e)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2002, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-sunburn-remedy/101026/16 "2002-04-01T03:38:01Z")
Back when I was a senior in high school, I got a really bad foot sunburn at our senior party (I went barefoot all day because I didn’t want sandle tan lines). It hurt so much that I walked around school barefoot. My biology teacher noticed this, took me aside and -chided me for not using sunscreen -told me to take _aspirin_, not ibuprofen or acetominophen -told me to find vitamin E lotion (I went to ye local pharmacy and picked up some store-brand stuff), and rub it on the affected area. The Vit. E lotion was heaven on my burned flesh, and I didn’t peel at all. Since I’ve done that regimen, I don’t think I have peeled, and I recovered much sooner. YMMV.