What is good for a sunburn? (lotion, smell, damage, buy)

[yankeegirl313]

My neighbor put vinegar on her son`s sunburn. Is this a good thing?
I never heard of putting vinegar on a sunburn.
I know that aloe is good for it.

[Flamingo13]

Vinegar really takes out the heat and pain (and swelling) - it's an old time cure that works. I got FRIED one time in FL and a native saw me and told me about it. Aloe basically is good for something like a quick hot pan burn, etc. - moisturizes though more than relieves the pain.

Please tell your neighbor though to buy sunscreen and use it on her son

[mimberly]

I used vinegar my Mother would have us use it. You don't smell that great. I think when you have a sunburn it hurts no matter what. The best thing is don't get one.

[deerislesmile]

Here's one that most people forget- take some Tylenol or other pain reliever!

Also- a paste of mashed (raw) potato can help... I don't know why.

Tea (either bags, laid directly on the skin or a pot, brewed somewhat strong, and applied with a cloth or spray bottle) will help, if it contains tannin (tanin?), which I believes means a dark tea as oppsed to a green tea.

And then there's the classic (stinky) Noxema cold cream, apply and then go sit in front of the fan- the skin will stay cool for a while (long enough for that Tylenol to kick in...)

[Sunnydee]

Aloe vera lotion, Solarcane, and vinegar work. The first two have an advantage, you don't have to smell like vinegar all day.

[FlourChild]

Ditto on the teabags and stinky vinegar for sunburn. I got sun poisoning once (no sunscreen, paddling around on a SC lake from 11 am to 5 pm, I deserved it). My skin was coming off in sheets, my flesh was purple, my kidneys were in trouble...PLEASE tell your friend not to let her or her kids get sunburned again! A little sunscreen beats weeks of antibiotics and painkillers and a virtual guarantee of eventual melanoma. Sun damage is cumulative.

[MB2]

Ditto on all of the above...from the "salad dressing" (aka vinegar....LOL....) all the way to the Tylenol.
However, here in Florida most people have at least one Aloe plant on their property. (Have mine on the patio), and is essential here "in a hurry".
Also, most households here have some types of SPF Sunscreens in their possession.
Sunburns are so painful and nasty....and one deals with the consequences long after it's gone. (Think skin damage, wrinkles, pigmentation problems and mutations, and skin cancer.)
All of those are serious problems....to say the least.
Prevention is key, BEFORE a burn occurs.

[scorpy01]

I was always advised to use only cool water or aloe. No lotions, oils, Solarcane, etc. These cause blistering.

Never heard vinegar mentioned but that's interesting.

[crazyworld]

My son had a bad one a couple of years ago and I was told to get a bottle of aspirin, add a little water to make a paste and put it on the burn.....it worked

[crazyworld]

Vinegar is also great for a jelly fish sting