Sunburn or Sun Poisoning?
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Understanding the Difference Between Sunburn and Sun Poisoning
With the sun's harmful rays hitting peak intensity during the summertime, it is essential to know how it can negatively affect your skin. While many people know that they are at an increased risk for experiencing a mild sunburn during the summertime, many are oblivious to the possibility of experiencing sun poisoning. Here's what you should know about each of these summertime skin ailments.
A Mild Sunburn
A sunburn is your body’s natural inflammatory response to experiencing damage to your skin’s outer layer from the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays. When your skin is exposed to prolonged periods of sunlight, you’re more likely to sustain this type of damage.
Symptoms of a mild sunburn typically include:
- Redness
- Swelling
- Pain
- Peeling skin
Sun Poisoning
Sun poisoning, also known as polymorphous light eruption, is actually just a severe case of sunburn. This can happen if you have been exposed to the sun's UV rays for an extremely long time or may be more susceptible to experiencing. While this severe reaction's cause remains unknown, many doctors believe that this is a delayed allergic reaction to the sun's rays causing such a severe response and may even be genetic.
Symptoms of sun poisoning may require immediate care to alleviate some of it; symptoms typically include:
- Severe redness and inflammation
- Aching pain
- Fever or chills
- Dehydration
- Dizziness