Curing the Ails of Summer
(Page 6 of 7)
June/July 1994
Mother Earth News Editors
Double your dosage of pain reliever
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"Probably the best thing you can do is to take two times the recommended amount of ibuprofen (Advil) or another pain reliever for the first two doses and then go to the recommended dose," advises Dr. Romano. Doubling the usual dosage of ibuprofen or aspirin helps block a chemical in your body that causes pain. But check with your doctor, since some people have a reaction to aspirin. And remember not to give aspirin to children because of the risk of Reye's syndrome.
Eat for vitamin E
A regular dose of vitamin E "...decreases the inflammation you can get from sunburn," says Karen E. Burke, M.D., Ph.D., a dermatologist in New York City. You can treat sunburn with a direct application of vitamin E by opening a vitamin E acetate capsule and rubbing the liquid directly on your skin, but it's more effective to take it internally to decrease sunburn pain, suggests Dr. Burke. If you choose to purchase vitamin E supplements, be sure to read the small print: You should get only the natural form. But check with your doctor before taking vitamin E or other vitamin supplements.
Soak yourself in diluted vinegar
"Pour one cup of white-cider kitchen vinegar into a tub of tepid water and soak yourself in it," recommends Harry Roth, M.D., clinical professor of dermatology at the University of California, San Francisco. "It's very soothing to your skin and helps relieve the pain of sunburn." Another recipe for relief, also from the kitchen cabinet: Mix ¼ cup of baking soda and ¼ cup of cornstarch into a tub of tepid water and soak yourself, adds Dr. Roth.
Heal with oatmeal
If you find the smell of vinegar or milk too intense, you can wrap dry oatmeal in some gauze or cheesecloth and run cool water through it, suggests Dr. Haberman. Wring out the excess water and apply for 20 minutes every two to four hours.
Don't be too clean
While you have sunburn, stay away from highly fragrant bubble baths, soaps, colognes and perfumes, according to Thomas Gossel, Ph.D., R.Ph., professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Ohio Northern University College of Pharmacy in Ada. They may be too drying and irritating to your already parched skin. Stick with mild soaps and don't scrub too hard when you wash.
To make matters worse
Some diuretics, antibiotics, tranquilizers, birth control pills and diabetes medications can add more salt to your sunburn wounds. They can make you sun sensitive. So can some medicated soaps, perfumes and RetinA, the wrinkle "remover." So if you use any of these medications or products, doctors advise you to take extra precautions when exposing your skin to the sun's rays.
When to see the doctor
An everyday case of sunburn may hurt like the dickens and interfere with just about every detail of life, but it usually doesn't require medical help. However, get yourself to a doctor if you experience chills, nausea, fever, faintness or fatigue, warns dermatologist Rodney Basler, M.D., assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. And be sure to get help immediately if your burn is accompanied by purple blotches or other skin discoloration, excessive blistering or intense itching. These symptoms may indicate internal complications.
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