Sun poisoning is essentially a severe sunburn that causes symptoms beyond just red, painful skin. It can trigger fever, chills, nausea, dizziness, and blistering, and it takes longer to heal than a typical sunburn. Taking care of it requires both treating your skin and managing the systemic symptoms happening inside your body.
Sun Poisoning vs. a Regular Sunburn
A standard sunburn causes redness, swelling, tenderness, and skin that feels warm to the touch. It typically resolves within a few days. Sun poisoning shares those skin symptoms but adds a layer of whole-body reactions: blisters, severe pain or itching, headache, nausea and vomiting, fever and chills, dizziness, fatigue, rapid heartbeat, and dehydration. If you’re experiencing symptoms that go deeper than the skin, you’re likely dealing with sun poisoning rather than an ordinary burn.
Cool the Skin Right Away
As soon as you notice the burn, get out of the sun and start cooling the affected areas. Apply a clean towel dampened with cool tap water to your skin, or take a cool bath. Aim for about 10 minutes of cooling at a time, and repeat this several times throughout the day. Avoid ice or ice-cold water directly on the skin, which can cause further irritation.
After cooling, gently pat dry and apply a soothing moisturizer. Aloe vera gel, calamine lotion, or a similar fragrance-free moisturizer all work well. For areas that are especially inflamed but not blistered, a nonprescription 1% hydrocortisone cream applied three times a day for up to three days can reduce swelling and discomfort.
What Not to Put on Your Skin
Avoid any topical product with ingredients ending in “-caine,” such as benzocaine. These numbing creams might seem like they’d help with pain, but they can irritate burned skin and trigger allergic reactions. Benzocaine specifically has been linked to a rare but serious condition that reduces the oxygen-carrying capacity of your blood. Stick with aloe, calamine, or hydrocortisone instead.
Hydrate Aggressively
Severe sunburn draws fluid to the skin’s surface and away from the rest of your body, which is why sun poisoning so often causes dehydration. Start drinking extra fluids as soon as you realize you’re burned. Water is essential, but sports drinks or electrolyte beverages help replace the sodium and potassium your body is losing through the damaged skin. Keep your fluid intake elevated for at least a full day, and longer if you’re still symptomatic. If you feel dizzy, have a rapid heartbeat, or can’t keep fluids down due to nausea, those are signs your dehydration may need medical attention.
Managing Pain and Systemic Symptoms
Over-the-counter anti-inflammatory pain relievers like ibuprofen can help with both pain and swelling. Taking them early, before the burn reaches peak intensity, is more effective than waiting. If you’re running a fever or experiencing chills, rest in a cool environment, stay hydrated, and avoid further sun exposure entirely.
Nausea and headache often improve as you rehydrate and cool down. Wearing loose, soft clothing over burned skin reduces friction and pain. Tight or rough fabrics will make everything worse.
How to Handle Blisters
Blisters are your body’s natural protective barrier against infection. If a blister isn’t too painful, leave it intact. The unbroken skin over the blister acts as a shield against bacteria. Cover it loosely with a bandage or nonstick gauze to protect it from rubbing.
If a blister is large or painful enough that you need to drain it, do so carefully. Wash your hands and the area with soap and water, then sterilize a needle with rubbing alcohol or an antiseptic wipe. Prick the blister in several spots near the edge and let the fluid drain out, but leave the overlying skin in place. Apply antibiotic ointment or petroleum jelly, cover with a nonstick bandage, and after several days, trim away the dead skin once new skin has formed underneath.
Watch for signs of infection: expanding redness spreading outward from the blister, increasing pain rather than improving pain, pus, or skin that feels warm in a way that’s getting worse. These warrant medical attention.
When Sun Poisoning Needs Medical Care
Most cases of sun poisoning can be managed at home, but certain combinations of symptoms signal that you need professional help. Seek care if you have blisters along with bright red or oozing skin, severe pain, fever, intense shivering, headache, or vomiting. When blisters pop and leave open skin, you can lose significant fluid and electrolytes, creating a cycle of dehydration that’s hard to reverse with oral fluids alone. In severe cases, intravenous fluids may be necessary to restore hydration and prevent complications.
What Recovery Looks Like
Sun poisoning takes longer to resolve than a regular sunburn. The acute phase, with pain, redness, swelling, and systemic symptoms like fever or nausea, typically lasts several days. Blistering can extend the timeline further, as those areas need extra time to heal and are vulnerable to infection during recovery. Peeling follows, sometimes extensively, and the new skin underneath is especially sensitive to UV light.
During the peeling phase, resist the urge to pull or pick at the skin. Let it shed naturally while keeping the area moisturized. The new skin that emerges will be thinner and more susceptible to burning for weeks afterward. During this period, cover healing areas with clothing when you’re outdoors, and apply broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher to any exposed skin. Even brief sun exposure on freshly healed skin can cause another burn much faster than you’d expect.
Continue moisturizing daily even after the peeling stops. Your skin’s barrier function takes time to fully rebuild, and keeping it hydrated speeds that process and reduces lingering tightness or itching.