Sun scorching (sunburn) symptoms start with red, hot, painful, and sensitive skin, often appearing within hours, and can progress to itching, swelling, blisters (especially severe cases), and peeling skin days later as it heals, with severe reactions potentially causing headache, fever, chills, nausea, and fatigue.
Symptoms of sunburn
If you have sunburn, your skin may: feel hot to touch. feel sore or painful. flake or peel – this usually happens a few days after you get sunburn.
The symptoms of sun poisoning
Possible symptoms of sunburn include: red, tender skin that is warm or sensitive to the touch. blisters that develop hours or days later. severe reactions (also called "sun poisoning"), including fever, chills, nausea, or rash.
The three stages of sunburn involve initial damage (UV rays hitting skin, no immediate signs), the inflammatory response (redness, pain, swelling appearing hours later as skin cells react), and the healing/peeling phase (dead skin shedding days later as new skin forms). While most sunburns are mild (first-degree), severe cases can involve blistering (second-degree), but third-degree burns from sun are extremely rare.
The severity of your sunburn depends on symptoms like pain, redness, and blistering, ranging from mild (red, painful) to severe (blisters, swelling, extreme pain, systemic symptoms like fever or chills), which can indicate a second-degree burn needing medical attention, especially if widespread or in infants, requiring doctor visits for severe cases like widespread blisters, dehydration, confusion, or high fever. Most sunburns are mild (first-degree) and heal with home care, but blistering suggests deeper (second-degree) damage, demanding careful treatment to avoid infection and potential scarring.
Treatment
The short-term negative effects of sun poisoning show themselves for the next four to seven days. More severe long-term effects extend beyond the first week. Sun poisoning symptoms can last anywhere from two to three days, or they may persist for weeks.
The "sunburn finger test" (or blanching test) checks for skin damage: gently press a finger on a red area; if it turns white (blanches) and quickly returns to red (within a few seconds), it's a normal reaction, but if it stays red or dark (doesn't blanch), it indicates deeper damage needing attention, though on darker skin, the color change is harder to see, focusing on tissue texture/darker spots instead of just white blanching. This test helps assess burn severity, distinguishing normal redness from more serious injury.
One of the most common places on the body for sun poisoning to occur is around the lips. Whether it is because many people neglect to put sunscreen on their lips or that they lick it off (in a similar manner that many people do with chap stick), lips are often extremely susceptible to sun poisoning.
Pain, tenderness and itching. Swelling. Small, fluid-filled blisters, which may break. Headache, fever, nausea and fatigue, if the sunburn is severe.
Signs or symptoms of poisoning may include:
Drinking plenty of water will help replenish what your body is losing in battling the sunburn. Dr. Kermott says to avoid applying topical products to the burned area, as they can irritate the skin and, in some cases, cause an allergic reaction. And don't pop blisters that may form.
Hot showers, baths and hot tubs. Hot water is going to hurt when it touches your sunburned skin. But even when your sunburn pain subsides, hot water can still be too drying. As your skin recovers from a burn, it needs to maintain all the natural moisture it can.
Severe Sunburns
“Patients who have blistering on the skin or systemic symptoms such as fever, dehydration, vomiting, and severe pain should consider seeking medical attention,” he said.
Yes, excessive sun exposure can make you feel sick. This reaction is due to a combination of dehydration, inflammation, and immune system activation. When you spend hours in the sun, your body works hard to cool itself down and heal any damage caused by UV radiation.
How long a sunburn lasts depends on its severity: Mild sunburns typically result in redness and some pain and can last three to five days. Moderate sunburns can leave skin red, swollen, and hot to the touch. This type of burn can take about a week to heal completely.
A second-degree sunburn looks like deep redness, significant swelling, and painful blisters that may weep fluid, appearing wet, shiny, and sometimes having white patches, indicating damage to deeper skin layers (dermis). It's much more painful than a first-degree burn and can take weeks to heal, often requiring medical attention for severe cases.
Symptoms of mild to moderate sunburn include redness, pain, and skin that feels hot to the touch. These symptom usually start to fade after three days. Symptoms of sun poisoning last longer and are more severe. They start with a red rash and can progress to blisters, severe pain, swelling, and fever.
Sunburn fatigue is real.
A bad sunburn doesn't just hurt — it can also make you tired. “When your skin is burned, your immune system kicks in to repair the damage,” says Dr. Sampino. “That immune response can feel a lot like being sick — low energy, achy, sometimes even chills or nausea.”
The signs of a sunburn may not appear for a few hours. It is typically at its worst at 24 to 36 hours after sun exposure and resolves in 3 to 5 days.
5 Foods That Can Help Your Skin Recover From a Sunburn
Steps you can take include: Covering your sunburned skin while it heals, especially when outside. Cool, damp cloths may help you feel better. Using topical cooling and hydrating gels and creams like hydrocortisone cream or aloe vera gel.
Vaseline® Jelly is used to heal dry skin and protect minor sunburns as it creates a barrier that seals in moisture and helps keep out any impurities that could cause further irritation. Remember to always consult a doctor if you have concerns about taking care of more severely sunburned skin.