This week I went for a swim at the beach with a friend and later that night was bright red with a nasty case of sunburn.
I know, I should know better but it didn’t feel that hot. Maybe it was the combination of sun, water and the light breeze that turned my skin raging red and made sitting on my arse a tad uncomfortable.
I need to be extra careful as I’m prone to Lymphoedema in my left arm. I’ve had my lymph nodes removed and a sunburn can cause my arm to swell…even permanently.
When I looked around the house I couldn’t find the Aloe spray that I needed to take the heat from the burn so put a call out on Facebook for suggestions. Wow, you guys had lots of great ideas so I thought I would share some.
-Lots of you suggested cold flannels, warm showers and Aloe gel. There was debate about using the plant but it’s something I’ve done in the past.
-Some suggested cold black tea compresses. Pop it in the fridge for extra cooling relief.
-Moisturiser, coconut oil, olive butter and cocoa butter featured too…best after the heat is gone.
-Vinegar and brown vinegar… even vanilla essence…I could smell like a cake and a salad dressing:-)
-Paxyl spray, Panadol and Ibuprofen from the chemist came up a few times.
-Bathing in a tepid bath with 2 cups of cornflour was also an option.
-Lavender and peppermint oils diluted and spritzed sounded pretty fab, also might help with sleeping.
-The one that came up the most…Tomatoes!
I’ve never heard of it before but who am I to doubt especially with a huge stash of tomatoes in the fridge! So I cut them up and the mister rubbed those juicy red babies all over my back and arms wile I rubbed them on my face. I was covered in seeds and tomato juice but I was putting my faith in you guys. Guess what?, it worked!!
Huge gratitude to everyone who wrote a suggestion, it was a great help. I love my Facebook community and in an emergency ( ok, semi freak out) you guys really rock!
If you have any other sunburn relief remedies feel free to pop them below.
Til next time,
Jen x
Sharyn says
February 28, 2015 at 2:51 pmI had heard of that from my nana, years ago when us kids spent every waking hr at either the local pool or rode our bikes 10ks to the closet channel !! And we would come home so red raw and sore. Glad you found some relief
Jenni says
February 28, 2015 at 10:06 pmCheap, easy and tasty Sharyn 🙂 Love those old fashioned remedies. x
Sammie @ The Annoyed Thyroid says
March 1, 2015 at 9:32 pmOnce when I was a kid on holidays in France, I got burnt to a crisp. The old French lady I was staying with bathed me in vinegar which was stinky and stingy but did the trick. These days I prefer to use aloe gel, it’s feels and smells good. I hope that heals up soon – sunburn sucks!
Jenni says
March 2, 2015 at 1:18 pmYeah I’d want some hot chips to go with my vinegar LOL x