The bright sun puts you in a good mood and tempts you to go outside. However, if you are exposed to UV radiation for too long, you risk sunburn. To relieve discomfort, the following homeopathic medicines will help.
Fell asleep in the sun, chose a sun protection factor (SPF) that was too low or forgot to apply sunscreen? There are many reasons why sunburn occurs. Most of the time, the power of the sun is simply underestimated. Because we do feel the heat and the light from the sun’s rays. However, we cannot perceive the UV radiation itself.
What is sunburn?
A sunburn is a burn, i.e. heat damage to the skin caused by UV radiation. In the case of a slight sunburn, the burn is noticeable through painful reddening, slight swelling and overheating of the skin. If blisters also form and the skin peels off, this is called second-degree sunburn, which is very painful. Third degree sunburn is a very serious and extremely painful burn. Here the top layers of skin are destroyed and scars can remain.
Cooling and homeopathy: treat light sunburn yourself
You can often treat a mild sunburn without blistering yourself. In most cases, it is sufficient to cool the affected area of skin and apply skin-soothing gels or lotions. However, if larger areas of skin or the sensitive skin of babies or small children are affected, a doctor should be consulted even if the sunburn is mild. The same goes for a sunburn that has already blistered. Here the doctor can prescribe anti-inflammatory painkillers and apply healing ointment bandages. A third-degree burn usually requires inpatient treatment in a hospital.
Homeopathy can also be used to support the therapy of all forms of sunburn in order to activate the body’s self-healing powers and thus accelerate the healing process. Above all, low potencies such as 6X and 12X are recommended for self-treatment. For the use of higher potencies, a particularly exact match between the clinical picture and the selected drug is required. This is often difficult for a layman. Therefore, from a potency of C30 and higher, the advice of a homeopathic doctor, pharmacist or midwife should be sought if possible.
Homeopathic active ingredients for sunburn
The following homeopathic remedies can be used to relieve the symptoms of sunburn:
- Belladonna: Deadly nightshade is the right remedy for first degree sunburn with severe reddening of the skin, pain when touched and fever. Belladonna can be of great help, especially when there is sunstroke with a severe headache in addition to the sunburn.
- Apis mellifica: It is also often used to treat sunburn and is particularly helpful for burning, stabbing pain and swollen skin.
- Cantharis: Recommended for relieving the burning pain of second degree sunburn with blistering and restlessness in the patient.
- Causticum: For second degree blistering sunburns, when the sores and blisters are healing poorly and almost healed scars are reopening, Causticum can help.
Homeopathy for sunburn: is prevention possible?
Homeopathy cannot prevent sunburn. Taking Natrum muriaticum can help build up the natural self-protection of sensitive skin. This should be started about two weeks before the planned exposure to the sun. However, this measure does not offer any protection against sunburn. In order not to risk sunburn, the only thing that helps is to observe the most important sun protection rules:
- Avoid sun exposure between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m
- Observe the self-protection time of the respective skin type
- Choose sunscreen with a sufficiently high level of sun protection and apply sunscreen accordingly
- Apply lotion to uncovered sun terraces of the body (nose, ears, neckline, back of the hand, etc.) very carefully and wear a hat
- protect children’s sensitive skin with clothing and sunscreen with an extra high UV filter
- Babies up to a year old should not be exposed to direct sunlight
