Sun poisoning is a severe sunburn that goes beyond red, tender skin and triggers a full-body reaction, including fever, chills, nausea, and blistering. Treating it involves aggressive hydration, cooling the skin, protecting blisters from infection, and recognizing when symptoms have crossed into medical emergency territory. Most cases heal at home within one to two weeks, but the first 48 hours of care make the biggest difference in how quickly you recover and whether complications develop.
Sun Poisoning vs. Regular Sunburn
A standard sunburn causes redness, warmth, and tenderness that peaks around 24 hours and fades over a few days. Sun poisoning starts the same way but escalates. The rash deepens, blisters form (indicating a second-degree burn), and your body begins reacting systemically. You may develop a headache, fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, or confusion. Some people feel intensely cold and find themselves shivering despite having been in the heat all day.
Much of the sickness that comes with sun poisoning is driven by dehydration. A severe burn pulls fluids and electrolytes out of your bloodstream and into damaged skin tissue, which is why you can feel dizzy, lightheaded, or faint even hours after getting out of the sun. Recognizing that the problem is more than skin-deep is the first step toward treating it properly.
Cool the Skin Immediately
Get out of the sun and into a cool environment as soon as symptoms appear. Take a cool (not cold) shower or bath, or apply cool compresses to the affected areas several times a day. Ice-cold water or ice packs directly on burned skin can cause further damage, so keep the temperature comfortable. Pat your skin dry gently rather than rubbing.
After cooling, apply a fragrance-free moisturizer or pure aloe vera gel while the skin is still slightly damp. This helps trap moisture in the outer layer of skin and reduces the tight, pulling sensation that comes with a deep burn. Avoid petroleum-based products or anything with benzocaine or lidocaine, which can trap heat or irritate blistered skin.
Hydrate Aggressively
Drink significantly more water than usual starting immediately and continuing for at least 24 to 48 hours. Your body is losing fluid through the damaged skin, and replacing it is one of the most important things you can do to reduce nausea, dizziness, and fatigue. Water is the priority, but drinks with electrolytes help replace what’s being lost through the burn. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which accelerate fluid loss.
If you’re vomiting and can’t keep fluids down, take small, frequent sips rather than large amounts at once. Persistent vomiting combined with dizziness or confusion means your dehydration has become serious enough to need medical attention.
Managing Pain, Swelling, and Itch
Over-the-counter anti-inflammatory pain relievers help reduce both pain and swelling. Take them as directed on the package, ideally starting as soon as you notice the burn worsening. For itching, an oral antihistamine can help, especially at night when itching tends to be most disruptive to sleep.
A hydrocortisone cream (at least 1% strength, available without a prescription) can reduce inflammation and itching on intact skin. Apply it to red, irritated areas but not directly inside open blisters. If the pain and swelling are severe enough that over-the-counter options aren’t cutting it, a doctor may prescribe a stronger corticosteroid cream or a short course of oral corticosteroids.
How to Handle Blisters
Blisters are your body’s way of protecting the damaged skin underneath, and popping them significantly increases your risk of infection. Leave them intact whenever possible. Cover large blisters loosely with a sterile, non-stick bandage to prevent them from being rubbed or torn by clothing. If a blister breaks on its own, gently clean the area with mild soap and water, apply an antibiotic ointment, and cover it with a clean bandage.
Watch closely for signs of infection over the following days. Bright red skin that’s spreading beyond the original burn area, oozing pus (especially if it’s yellow or green), increasing pain rather than improving pain, or a fever that develops days after the initial burn can all signal a bacterial skin infection that needs medical treatment.
What Recovery Looks Like
Sun poisoning follows a fairly predictable pattern. The burn intensifies over the first 24 to 36 hours, even after you’re out of the sun. Systemic symptoms like fever, chills, and nausea typically peak during this window. Blisters may continue forming for two to three days. Around days four through seven, the worst of the pain subsides and peeling begins. Full healing of the outer skin layer generally takes 10 to 14 days for a moderate case, though deep blistering burns can take longer.
During recovery, the new skin underneath is extremely sensitive to UV light. Even brief sun exposure on healing skin can cause another burn much faster than usual. Keep affected areas covered with clothing or stay out of the sun entirely until healing is complete.
Polymorphous Light Eruption
Some people use the term “sun poisoning” to describe a different condition: an allergic-type skin reaction to sunlight called polymorphous light eruption, or PMLE. This produces an itchy rash of small bumps, raised patches, or hive-like welts on sun-exposed skin, often appearing in spring or early summer when the skin hasn’t been exposed to UV light for months. It’s not a burn but an immune response.
PMLE typically resolves on its own within about 10 days. Hydrocortisone cream and oral antihistamines help control the itch. For people who get disabling episodes every year, a dermatologist can offer phototherapy before the sunny season begins. This involves controlled doses of UV light that gradually desensitize the skin, mimicking the natural “hardening” that happens with gradual sun exposure over the summer.
When Symptoms Become an Emergency
Most sun poisoning can be managed at home, but certain symptoms indicate that your body is struggling to cope. Seek medical care if you experience confusion or disorientation, fainting, shortness of breath, a fever that keeps climbing, or blisters that cover a large portion of your body. Bright red and oozing skin, severe pain that isn’t responding to over-the-counter treatment, or feeling extremely cold and shivering are also reasons to get help. Children, older adults, and people on medications that increase sun sensitivity (certain antibiotics, diuretics, and acne treatments) are at higher risk for dangerous reactions and should have a lower threshold for seeking care.
Preventing It Next Time
Sun poisoning is almost always preventable. Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with at least SPF 30, applied generously 15 minutes before going outside and reapplied every two hours, or more often if you’re swimming or sweating. The most commonly under-applied areas are the tops of the ears, the back of the neck, and the tops of the feet.
Avoid direct sun exposure during peak UV hours, roughly 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. UV-protective clothing, wide-brimmed hats, and sunglasses provide more reliable protection than sunscreen alone, especially during prolonged outdoor activities. If you’ve had sun poisoning before, your risk of getting it again is the same or higher, because repeated severe burns don’t toughen the skin. They damage it further and increase long-term risks of skin cancer.