Sun exposure can cause a variety of skin conditions, including sunburn and sun poisoning. Sun poisoning can be more severe than sunburn, and it may cause internal and external symptoms.
Exposure to the sun can cause changes to your skin. In some instances, it may lead to health conditions such as sunburn or sun poisoning.
Anyone can get a sunburn, regardless of their skin tone, though dark skin may be less likely to burn. Sunburn can cause lighter skin tones to turn red. Dark skin may turn pink or red, but this may be more subtle and difficult to spot.
Sun poisoning, also called polymorphic light eruption, can cause raised bumps on the skin. These bumps might turn into plaques (scaly dry areas).
Although both conditions result from sun exposure, most treatment options for sun poisoning are not recommended for sunburn. Knowing how to tell the difference between them can help you determine how to treat them.
What are the symptoms of sun poisoning and sunburn?
Photography by Tatiana Maksimova/Getty Images
Sun poisoning and sunburn both happen as a result of sun exposure. Yet their symptoms can appear differently.
Sun poisoning
Symptoms of sun poisoning typically appear several hours or days after exposure to the first intense sun of the season. The most telling symptom is a rash on areas like your neckline, lower legs, feet, backs of hands, and forearms. It rarely appears on the face.
You may also experience symptoms in the affected skin area, such as irritation, sensitivity, itchiness, and peeling. People with dark skin may not have any redness from a rash but may still experience these other symptoms.
The raised areas can become plaques, which are dry, itchy, and scaly. The itch can be very intense. A sun poisoning rash can last for several days, then clear up if there is no further exposure to sunlight.
Light eruption can happen from exposure to either UV-A or UV-B light. Sunburn, on the other hand, is mostly from UV-B light.
UV-A light can penetrate window glass, which UV-B cannot. This means a person can experience a polymorphic light eruption indoors from exposure to light through a window, but they might not get a sunburn.
Sunburn
Sunburn can make skin tender and warm to the touch. People with light skin may notice that areas of the skin turn red, while people with dark skin may find that skin areas turn darker.
You may also experience swelling and blisters, along with symptoms not involving the skin. These symptoms can include headache, nausea, fever, or fatigue.
The symptoms of sunburn start about 4 hours after sun exposure and get worse over the following 24–36 hours, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The symptoms start to get better in about 3–5 days.
Treatment options
Although there are some common elements in the treatment of sun poisoning and sunburn, each condition has distinct treatment strategies.
Treatment for sun poisoning
If you experience sun poisoning, a doctor might recommend a topical or oral steroid, such as prednisolone (Orapred), to reduce the itch and rash.
A doctor might also recommend keeping skin covered while gradually exposing it to sunlight, so the skin becomes accustomed to the UV rays.
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Most cases of sunburn resolve without treatment. You can take steps to soothe the pain and discomfort from the burn while it heals, such as:
considering over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen (Advil), for pain
drinking water to stay hydrated
applying cool compresses, aloe vera gel, or calamine lotion to the affected area
taking baths with colloidal oatmeal
washing blisters with soap and water and leaving them uncovered
covering broken blisters with gauze
It’s also a good idea to avoid certain treatments for sunburn:
Do not use anesthetic creams.
Do not use topical or oral steroids.
Although steroids are a first-line treatment for sun poisoning, they do not help with the management of sunburn.
Prevention
Taking steps to manage your skin’s exposure to the sun can help prevent sunburn and sun poisoning.
How to prevent sunburn
The recommendations to prevent sunburn are sun avoidance and sun protection. You can consider the following strategies to reduce your chance of sunburn:
wearing clothing that protects your skin from the sun
avoiding direct sunlight between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. in the summer
applying a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or more, 15–30 minutes before sun exposure
reapplying sunscreen every 2 hours
How to prevent sun poisoning
Several preventive treatments for sun poisoning can help reduce the risk of the condition occurring during the summer season.
Phototherapy is an option for severe polymorphic light eruption. The treatment can begin in the early spring to help build up the skin’s tolerance to light. An example treatment course is 2–3 treatments per week for 4–6 weeks.
After this preventive therapy, modest sun exposure throughout the summer can help your skin maintain its tolerance for the season. If you have preventive phototherapy and then avoid the sun, the benefits of the preventive course can be lost within 4–6 weeks.
Many of the preventive factors for sunburn also apply to polymorphic light eruption. However, it is essential that your sunscreen also protects against UV-A rays and not just UV-B light.
Risk factors
Several factors can increase the risk of sunburn or of polymorphic light eruption.
having a light skin tone, although it can occur in all skin types
being female and ages 20–40 years
exposure to the sun at a high altitude
Summary
Sun exposure can cause a variety of skin conditions, including sunburn and sun poisoning. Although there are some common elements in the treatment of sun poisoning and sunburn, they each have distinct treatment strategies.
You can treat sunburn with methods such as taking NSAIDs to help with pain, drinking water to stay hydrated, and applying cool compresses to the injured areas.
To treat sun poisoning, a doctor can prescribe topical or oral steroids such as prednisolone (Orapred) to reduce the itch and rash. They may also recommend keeping the area covered while it heals.
