As longer days and warmer weather appear, south Louisiana residents should be reminded to avoid getting sunburned. Sunburn results from too much sun or sun-equivalent exposure.

    Almost everyone has been sunburned or will become sunburned at some time. Anyone who visits a beach, goes fishing, works in the yard or simply is out in the sun can get sunburn. Improper tanning-bed use also is a source of sunburn. Although seldom fatal, sunburn can be disabling and cause quite a bit of discomfort.

    Sunburn is literally a burn on your skin. It is a burn from ultraviolet radiation. The consequence of this burn is inflammation of the skin. Injury can start within 30 minutes of exposure.

    UVA and UVB refer to different wavelengths in the light spectrum. UVB is more damaging to the skin especially for skin cancer. Both UVA and UVB are responsible for photo-aging - premature aging of the skin and wrinkles - and sunburn. Tanning beds produce both UVA and UVB rays.

    Mild and uncomplicated cases of sunburn usually result in minor skin redness and irritation. Initially, your skin turns red about two to six hours after exposure and feels irritated. The peak effects are noted at 12 to 24 hours.

    Other common symptoms include chills, fever, nausea or vomiting, flu-like symptoms and blistering.

    Conditions that should motivate you to go to a hospital's emergency department include severe pain, severe blistering, headache, confusion, nausea or vomiting, and fainting.

    Home-treatment measures may provide some relief from a mild sunburn. Use cool cloths on sun-burned areas. Take frequent cool showers or baths. Apply soothing lotions that contain aloe vera to sun-burned areas.

    A sunburn can cause a mild fever and a headache. Lie down in a cool, quiet room to relieve the headache. A headache may be caused by dehydration, so drinking fluids may help.

    Medical Treatment

    If your case is mild and not life-threatening, the doctor may simply suggest plenty of fluids, aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications. Additional topical measures such as cool compresses, Burow solution soaks, or high-quality moisturizing creams or lotions may be prescribed.

    If your case is severe enough, systemic steroid therapy - cortisone-like medications - may be prescribed for several days. Super-potent steroid creams often benefit. Stronger pain-relieving medication may be prescribed in certain cases.

    Minor and uncomplicated cases of sunburn cause discomfort and no long-lasting effects.

    You can expect to feel better in four to seven days.

    You may see skin loss or peeling. This is often associated with severe itching, especially at night, after sweating or after showering.

    Other skin problems, such as herpes simplex, lupus and porphyria - an inherited disorder of sensitivity to sunlight - may worsen.

    Chronic sun exposure may lead to premature aging, severe wrinkling, pigmented skin-lesion development, or moles, and various malignant skin tumors. Premature cataract formation in the eye also can result.

    Those who plan to spend some time in the sun should wear protective clothing, wide brim hats, sunglasses and sunscreen with an SPF of 45 to 55 for sun protection.

    Dr. John J. Jones Jr. is a board-certified dermatologist specializing in diseases of the skin, allergies and skin-cancer surgery, with offices in Thibodaux and Raceland. He also serves as associate professor of dermatologic surgery at Louisiana State University Medical Center in New Orleans.

    隨著白天變長，天氣越來越熱，生活在南路易斯安娜州的居民應(yīng)注意避免曬傷。曬傷源自于暴露于太陽或太陽等值暴露面時間過長。

    差不多每個人都曾被曬傷過或?qū)�來被曬傷。任何去海邊，釣魚，在院子里工作或僅僅在大太陽時戶外活動的人都可能被曬傷。不恰當(dāng)?shù)氖褂脮窈诖惨彩菍?dǎo)致曬傷的原因之一。盡管少有致命，日曬可以造成傷殘且?guī)�來相�?dāng)?shù)牟皇孢m。

    從字面意思理解，曬傷就是皮膚上的灼傷，是來源于紫外線輻射的灼傷。灼傷的結(jié)果就是皮膚發(fā)紅，太陽下暴露后30分鐘內(nèi)灼傷就開始出現(xiàn)。

    長波紫外線和短波紫外線指的是不同波長的光譜。后者對皮膚損傷更嚴(yán)重，尤其是可以導(dǎo)致皮膚癌。這兩種紫外線都是光老化--皮膚和皺紋提前老化--和曬傷的罪魁禍?zhǔn)�。曬黑床兩種射線都產(chǎn)生。

    輕度和無并發(fā)癥的曬傷通常導(dǎo)致輕微的皮膚發(fā)紅和受刺激。起初，你的皮膚在暴露后2到6小時開始變紅，感覺到刺激。12到24小時后達(dá)到高峰。

    其他常見癥狀包括打寒戰(zhàn)，發(fā)熱，惡心或者嘔吐，類流感癥狀以及皮膚起泡爆皮。

    出現(xiàn)包括嚴(yán)重疼痛，嚴(yán)重起泡爆皮，頭痛，精神錯亂，惡心或嘔吐以及眩暈的狀況時你就應(yīng)該去掛醫(yī)院急癥科了。

    家庭治療措施對輕度曬傷有一定作用。在曬傷部位放置冰布，進(jìn)行常用的淋浴或洗澡降溫，在曬傷位置涂抹含有蘆薈的舒緩乳液。

    曬傷可以導(dǎo)致輕度發(fā)熱和帶來頭痛�？梢蕴稍谝粋�涼爽安靜的房間里緩解頭痛，多喝水因?yàn)轭^疼可能是脫水所致。

    醫(yī)學(xué)治療

    如果你僅為輕度灼傷且無生命威脅性，醫(yī)生可能僅僅建議大量飲水，服用阿司匹林或其他非甾體抗炎藥。其他典型的治療措施比如冷敷，Burow溶液浸泡，或者開一些高質(zhì)量的保濕霜或露。

    如果你的傷情足以嚴(yán)重，醫(yī)生可能開一些類固醇療法-可的松類藥物供使用幾天。超級強(qiáng)效類固醇藥膏通常好用。針對特定傷情可能開一些效果更強(qiáng)的止疼藥。

    輕度無并發(fā)癥的曬傷導(dǎo)致不適單不會持續(xù)很久。在4到7天內(nèi)你將見好。

    你會看到蛻皮現(xiàn)象。這通常與嚴(yán)重瘙癢有關(guān)，尤其是在夜間，出汗后或淋浴后。

    其他皮膚問題，比如單純皰疹，紅斑狼瘡和卟啉癥--種對敏感性陽光的遺傳疾病--可能會惡化。

    長期暴露于太陽底下可能導(dǎo)致皮膚早衰，嚴(yán)重起皺紋，色素性皮膚病變的發(fā)展，或長痣，以及各種惡性皮膚腫瘤。眼睛過早形成白內(nèi)障。

    對于將要在太陽底下活動的人應(yīng)該穿防護(hù)性服裝，戴寬邊帽，太陽鏡以及涂抹SPF值為45到55的防曬霜。

    約翰J博士瓊斯是一名經(jīng)專業(yè)委員會認(rèn)證的專門從事皮膚疾病，皮膚過敏和皮膚癌手術(shù)的皮膚科醫(yī)生，他在蒂博多和Raceland都設(shè)有辦事處。他還擔(dān)任唯一新奧爾良的路易斯安那州立大學(xué)醫(yī)學(xué)中心皮膚科副教授