What Is The Best Way to Treat a Sunburn?

Being outdoors means being subject to sunburn, which is considered a minor burn. Of course, there are times when sunburns can be serious 2nd-degree burns complete with blisters and oozing. Like any other burn, time is the key to effective treatment.

Treating burns as soon as possible is very important because the first thing you want to do is to stop the “burn progression” so the burn doesn’t continue to worsen. This is an important point because your sunburn doesn’t stop burning because you move into the shade, any more than a burn from a hot object stops hurting when you pull your hand back from the heat.  The pain and the damage from a burn continues after you get away from the heat source, so the sooner you treat it the better.

The best way to treat sunburn or any burn is to cool it. If it’s a minor burn the best way to accomplish this is to apply large amounts of cold water. If you are at home or somewhere where you have access to cold water get the burn in there and keep it there while it cools. This can take time but is very effective.

If you are somewhere that water is not easily accessible then we highly recommend that you take some hydrogel burn products with you wherever you go this summer. The beauty of hydrogels is that they’re effective on any size, type or degree of burn. You can put a hydrogel directly on a burn and it will do the work cold water does and act as a heat transfer, literally pulling the heat out of the burn.  So whether it’s sun that burns you or the camp stove, you’ll be well prepared with a hydrogel.

Our go to hydrogel is Burn Free. Burn Free is a leader in the hydro gel industry and features a clear hydro gel with soothing aloe. Other hydro gels are usually opaque, white and have a strong odor so we believe your go to hydro gel should be Burn Free too. Burn Free features a complete line of burn gels and sterile burn dressings of various sizes.