OUCH!!! Does anyone know if there is some kind of home remedy for severe sunburn/heat rash that reduces pain and itching? I have prescriptions from the doctor, but was hoping for something that would allow me to wear clothes without pain... Is this possible until I heal?

(and no, I don't need the lectures on wearing sunscreen - I had on spf 15, 30 and 48 alternately over the weekend and I wore a t-shirt over my bathing suit (thank God or it would be much worse!) I did everything I could think of to prevent this from happening. I don't want to imagine what would have happened if I had been as foolish as I was when I was younger!)

Sarah, I don't know if they still make Solarcaine, but it was advertised to stop sunburn pain. Aloe Vera gel or other preparations help sunburn.

BTW, the latest recomendations for using sunscreen are to use one with a high SPF, slather it on liberally, and reapply every hour or two, even if the product doesn't say so. You need to coat your skin with the product, not just a thin layer. You'll use more suncreen, but you will get better protection.

You are also supposed to apply sunscreen 1/2 hour to an hour prior to going out in the sun, a bit difficult when you are camping though! I was unable to find solarcaine - and trust me, I looked. I did find an Aveeno lotion (dr. recommended) which has menthol as an ingredient and found that very cooling and refreshing, it also helped diminish the pain.

I am beginning to feel better, although I still wish I had a shirt that didn't touch me! I at least didn't wake up every 2 hours to turn over last night, more like every 3 or so might help that the med's the doctor gave me make me very drowsy. And, I could wear my hair down today as the back isn't as sensitive anymore. This too will pass...

We are looking at another extremely hot weekend for campmeeting...and I'll be in a tent yet again. I have to try to find a light, long sleeved, turtle neck shirt to wear - think they exist?

An herbalist gave a burn remedy to some new friends of ours, I will e-mail them & see how soon they can locate it.

In the mean time, ask a pharmasist about some sprayable lidocaine for pain relief, or try a, commercial baby's teething gel on a burned spot. If it numbs the pain, then ask your husband to rub a small amount of vinegar onto the spot as a test area. Then 24 hrs later see if the vinegar helped the burn or not.

Now that I think about it "Willard water" is a powerful burn remedy.

http://www.dr-willardswater.com/index.html

It was mineral salts built to remove carbon black from truck parts. A welder melted his nylon pants leg onto his leg & spraying with Willard Water in a desperate attempt to relieve the pain, got more help than antisipated.

I had forgotten about it for years, till now. Good search engines are such a help.

from a website add.

quote:

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People and Dr. Willard's Water

We recommend the clear or XXX for topical use, 1 ounce per 1 gallon of water for dilution of clear, 2 ounces per 1 gallon of water for XXX.

We recommend the clear or XXX for consumption, 1 ounce per 1 gallon of water for dilution of clear, 2 ounces per 1 gallon of water for XXX. Start out with 4 ounces of diluted water a day and work your way up to 32 ounces a day. Many people have great results drinking (1) 8 ounce glass per day.

Willard Water is known to work synergistically with, or enhance, any medication that may be used, so observe any changes to report to your practitioner.

One of the first uses for CAW by Dr. Willard began to explore was applying it topically to wounds and injuries. He already had considerable evidence that it was helpful in treating burns, much of it based on his own experience. When he burned himself and applied CAW, he was surprised to find that the pain was eased almost immediately.

Further experimentation has confirmed this initial observation: Willard Water seems to have the ability to ease or even eliminate the pain of injuries. Using himself as "Guinea pig," Doc would burn his arm using an electric soldering iron. Even with cases of second and third degree burns, an application of the water brought immediate relief of the pain.

Dr. Willard's explanation of the analgesic effect: Pain is a damaged nerve. CAW puts a film around that damaged nerve, restoring it to full operation. Hence, no pain.

Although the apparent healing powers of CAW water seem to be something of a mystery, perhaps they can best be viewed as the result of the "normalizing effect" of CAW. It is possible that the water merely optimizes the conditions necessary for the body to heal itself without outside interference or artificial stimulation.

People all over the country are spraying or pouring Willard Water on sunburns, cuts scrapes, insect bites, burns and sprains. It must do something or people wouldn't keep on using it and convincing their friends to do the same.

People have discovered the value of CAW in many circumstances. People have reported that it helps clear up acne, heals razor burn, removes dandruff, removes buildup in hair and gives hair shine, softens skin, removes plaque deposits in teeth. It reduces stress, relieves arthritic pain, reduces allergies, improves immune system, and the list goes on.

A great number of people use it internally, drinking it by the glassful for any one of a number of reasons. One of the immediate benefits of drinking Willard Water is improved nutrient assimilation. Because the water has been made more active by the addition of the catalyst, digestion becomes more complete, allowing more of the "goodness" of our food to be absorbed by our digestive system.

CAW seems to break down the food particles better than ordinary water, therefore greater amounts of vitamins, minerals and nutrients become available to our systems. Dr. Willard found evidence that CAW aids in the digestion of crude proteins by breaking them down into their component amino acids. He also noted that carbohydrates and fats are more efficiently digested when using the water.

The greater activity of the water also seems to aid in the break down and removal of waster from the system. Both nutrient assimilation and waste removal have a significant impact on our overall health. If you're not assimilating what you need form the food you eat, or if you're not eliminating your body's waste products, you won't have good health. As Dr. Willard said, there are two basic reason for poor health" "Something is needed by the body, which is not there; and, Something is not needed by the body, which is there."

Doc conducted different experiments that indicate the water is a powerful anti-oxidant and free radical scavenger. Many authorities feel that free radicals, highly reactive toxic compounds, are responsible for most of the degenerative disease associated with old age and stressful lifestyles. So by reducing or eliminating the effects of these damaging compounds, Willard Water would definitely have beneficial health effects.

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Once I heard that melted snow water allowed to melt from snow into water while kept in a tightly sealed glass jar cut the pain of burns. I laughed at it, till after I got burned & tried it. Snow holds atmospheric nitrogen in the snowflakes till melting. Perhaps it stayed disolved in the water under those conditions???

I guess next winter I'll have to 'can' some snow for my sunburns!

I have never heard of this Willard Water you are referring to - what, exactly, is it?

And, to top it off, of course, in trying to protect my skin from more sun, I gave myself minor heat stroke by wearing too much clothing on another insanely hot weekend at campmeeting. The joys of my life. I love the sun, but it definitely does not seem to love me as much. Strange how that can be. My sister and her children can spend as much time in the sun as they desire without any (immediate) detrimental effects, I cannot so much as spend an hour in it unprotected. Hmmmm... I wonder how that happens in the same genetic line......

Sarah

I have advised sun sensitive patients, in the past, to use an umbrella when it is really cooking out side. It looks a little odd, when there are no clouds around, and it is so sunny, but in particular for things like camp meeting, if you are sitting around a bit, you can rig up an umbrella over your chair.

But don't let anyone accuse you of wishing for rain!

You can buy one or two spray meds that do kill the pain...they usually have Lidocane or something similar; however, these are very short in duration, and you can only aply them so often. Best to use them when you need to shower or get dressed.

For the herbal aproach to the pain relief, you can get the following 3 things:

Comfrey
Barberry
Slippery Elm

Aloe Vera

The cheapest way to go would be Aloe vera. It has salicylic acid and magnesium in it; which work together as an aspirin like analgesic effect, that would be almost immediate, but again, duration varies, and is not long. Aloe would be safer, and healthier in my mind, plus it helps minimize scars, in cases where the burns are severe.

The other three ingredients above you can try, if the pain is really severe for you, and you can make a strong tea out of them, and lightly apply to affected areas, with the Aloe.
The barberry has calcium, chlorine, sulfur, and B vitamins which would reduce hazard of infection.

Comfrey contains things like vitamins A & C, and high in proteins - eighteen amino acids..selenium, and B12, usually found only in animal proteins...another good cleanser, and a new cell growth stimulator.

Slippery Elm is really good for strengthening, healing, and soothing of inflamed or irritated areas, (inside or outside the body), it is good for neutralizing excess stomach acid, which can at times happen with too much sun. It is also very high in proteins and B complexes.

A few years ago, I had sun stroke. My response was to eat all the ice cream I could get my hands on.

Dont Be Like Me!!

I think a lot of people's first response to sun stroke is to eat a lot of ice cream! Of course, I've learned that the best response is just plain old water.... rehydrate!!!!

Thanks for the tips for the sunburn - if I am ever foolish enough to burn this badly again, I will definitely try some of those herbal remedies.

Observe how people who live in hot very sunny countries. Some countries are arid & some very humid. Often they will use umbrellas as sunscreens.

In very intense sunshine, the intense rays burn the skin & eyes because of their concentration. Also use sunglasses with UV blocking coating, because otherwise the pupils dilate more because of shielding from the sunglasses shade, but because of that dilation more damaging UV is allowed into the inside of the eyeball.

Open weave broadbrim hats, are used as workday protection in intense sunshine areas.

Sun burn is TERRIBLE! In a climate like ours in Australia you have to be especially careful. Over the last few years I've watched my parents have various sun spots and sun cancers taken off - the doctors all tell them that the skin damage had been done years ago and and in their 80's they are suffering the results. I don't know if its too late for me to mend my habits or not - but NOW I don't even swim in the sea uncovered. Surf gear - which covers from neck to below the knees is very popular. I prefer the very light 'silks' - very quick drying when you come out of the surf - and made loose so you get the benefits of whatever breeze may be blowing. I made the mistake of wearing a cotton shirt one day this last summer - I THOUGHT it was a closely woven material - but I ended up with a good dose of sun burn right through the shirt.
Isn't it amazing that even the 'nice' things on this earth cause us problems!