The sun can be our friend, but also our enemy. It all depends on how we interact with its radiation and how well we protect ourselves from its harmful effects. However, when sunburn occurs, we can face inconveniences and risks to our health. Find out how you can prevent sunburn and how to treat the pigmentation spots it causes.
How does a sunburn appear?
Sunburn is an inflammatory reaction of the skin following exposure to the sun's rays, either for a prolonged period of time or at an inappropriate time of day. In order to better understand the mechanism of action of solar radiation on the skin, it is useful to know the types of radiation emitted by the sun and why some of them can be harmful to our health.
The Sun emits a whole spectrum of radiation, including X-rays, ultraviolet (UV) rays, gamma rays, infrared radiation and visible light. Only a small part of this spectrum reaches us, the rest is absorbed by the ozone layer. Of the radiation that reaches the Earth's surface, the radiation that has the most pronounced effect on our health is ultraviolet radiation. There are three types of UV radiation:
- UV rays - is the predominant type of ultraviolet radiation and has the highest potential to damage skin health, as it can penetrate deep into the skin's layers. In this way, they can cause severe damage, including skin cancer;
- UVB rays - can also affect the skin, but not to the same extent as type A rays, as they can only penetrate through the epidermis. However, they are also responsible for some skin diseases and are the cause of sunburn;
- UVC rays - these ultraviolet rays do not penetrate the ozone layer, so they are not a danger to our health.
Sunburn - symptoms
Sunburn can manifest itself differently from one person to another, depending on the predisposition of each of us to this problem, but also in relation to the degree of skin damage. Symptoms of sunburn can include:
- change in skin colour - the skin may turn red or brown;
- local heat;
- tissue inflammation;
- itching or pain in the affected area;
- skin rashes in the form of fluid-filled blisters that usually appear a few days after the sunburn. This phenomenon is explained by the fact that sunburned skin becomes dehydrated after inadequate exposure to the sun's rays;
- sometimes dizziness or headache, also caused by dehydration.
Complications
Even if the sunburn itself heals in a few days, it can cause severe long-term complications. Depending on the extent of the burn and the type of skin of the person affected, complications of a sunburn can include:
- formation of pigmentation spots: solar lentigo (sun spots), freckles;
- skin ageing and wrinkling - prolonged exposure to harmful UV radiation can lead to loss of skin elasticity. This makes the skin look dry and dull and wrinkles appear;
- causing deep skin lesions (actinic keratoses), which may present a cancer risk;
- skin cancer - melanomas and carcinomas are the most common forms of skin cancer.
Preventing sunburn
Treating sunburns can be a long and unpleasant process, and there is also a risk of developing serious illnesses due to the deep skin damage caused by the burns. For these reasons, preventing sunburn is the wisest choice for everyone's health. By following a few preventive measures, we can ensure that we maintain optimal skin health:
- avoid exposure to the sun between 10:00 and 16:00, when solar radiation values are highest;
- applying products with sun protection factor to the areas of skin that are going to be exposed to the sun;
- covering the head with a cap or light-coloured hat;
- wearing UV-protective sunglasses;
- drinking adequate fluids and avoiding excess alcohol and caffeine.
Cosmetics with sun protection factor are available in many forms (creams, sprays, lotions, emulsions, fluids, etc.), with recommended SPF values between 30 and 50, especially in the hot season. As sweat, sea water and swimming pool water remove the protective layer from the skin's surface, it is necessary to reapply these sun protection products regularly.
Treatment of pigmentation spots caused by the sun
Skin lesions caused by sunburn are completely healed within 5-10 days, sometimes even longer if the skin layers have been deeply damaged. It is advisable to avoid empirical remedies, as they can sometimes aggravate the sunburn or slow down its healing. It is ideal to seek the help of your doctor when you are faced with this problem, especially if the lesions are severe. In mild cases, specially formulated dermatocosmetic products can be used (as indicated) to treat sunburn.
However, these sunburns can leave behind hyperpigmentation spots. While some spots disappear on their own, others require dermatological treatment to remove them. Pigmentation spots are caused by excess melanin, the pigment responsible for skin colour. When the skin tans, the concentration of melanin increases, but sunburn causes excessive melanin secretion in the affected areas.
Today, there are many treatment methods available that promise spectacular results for pigmentation spots, but it is very important that such a decision be made in conjunction with dermatologistfollowing a consultation. At the Cronos Med clinic, you benefit from therapies based on state-of-the-art technology, useful for treating pigmentation spots caused by sunburn:
- vampire therapy - is a completely natural treatment method that uses plasma obtained from the patient's blood. In this way, adverse reactions of an infectious nature are practically non-existent;
- mesotherapy by microneedling - The administration of vitamins and minerals using the micro-needling treatment method is particularly effective for many patients with hyperpigmentation spots;
- chemical peel - Needle-free biorevitalization (or PRX-T33) provides noticeable results without the side effects of classic peeling;
- fractional CO2 laser therapy - a cutting-edge treatment based on laser technology, which has been shown to be effective in the long term, including treating hyperpigmentation spots caused by sunburn.
If you have suffered from sunburns in the past that caused pigmentation spots to appear, we invite you to schedule a consultation at one of Cronos Med clinics. You can contact us by phone on 021 9097 or via contact form.
