Are you feeling the burn?

**SPONSORED CONTENT BY GATEWAY MEDICAL CENTER**

You thought you did everything right during your day at the beach — you wore sunscreen and reapplied after two hours. Unfortunately, your shoulders are red and tender the next morning.

Where did you go wrong? Forty-five minutes after slathering up, you swam for 15 minutes, and didn’t reapply sunscreen until an hour later. While you strolled the sand after swimming, your skin was unprotected from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Your shoulders felt fine last night, but sunburn can take a day or more to cause symptoms — hence your current discomfort.

Unfortunately, the worst may be yet to come. Sunburn pain peaks six to 48 hours after occurring, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Soften the blow with these soothing tips:

• Don’t dry out. Moisturize frequently. Lotions containing vitamins C and E may benefit sunburned skin, according to The Skin Cancer Foundation. To keep cool at the same time, apply aloe gel that has been refrigerated for a short time to burned skin.
• Drink up. Sunburn can cause dehydration, so increase your fluid intake for a few days and be on the lookout for symptoms, such as fatigue, reduced saliva and lower urine output.
• Keep cool. To lower your body temperature, soak a cloth in cool milk for 10 minutes, then apply to sunburn, or take a bath in lukewarm water mixed with a half cup of baking soda.
• Sit on your hands. If your skin begins peeling, let the process run its course instead of removing the flakes yourself.
• Pummel the pain. Experts recommend taking ibuprofen, which relieves discomfort and reduces swelling.
Do your best to prevent sunburn in the future, but if it happens again, you’ll know what to do.

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This publication in no way seeks to diagnose or treat illness or to serve as a substitute for professional medical care.