Really bad sunburn...ideas?

Unfortunately, no cream or topical I've ever tried has worked for more than about 30 seconds.  I do know from experience to avoid other lotions like regular body lotion, those usually make me itch and sting even more.  Benadryl?

Aveeno soaks help, as does aloe vera gel, & don't forget ibuprofen.

I steep tea bags (black tea) in hot water.  Put all of it in the fridge to cool, then after they are cool, apply the tea bags to burned areas.  The tannins take the sting out & help soothe the skin.

I put gel on earlier, some aloe stuff with lidocaine, but it didn't help at all, not short term anyway....I'm gonna try ibuprofen...luckily I don't work tomorrow, I can lay around naked, lol.

I have really fair skin and the one thing that I always use when I get a bad sunburn is vinegar.  I am not sure if it matters if it is apple cider or white.  I think you are supposed to dilute it with water but I put it in a bowl and maybe put a little water and rub it over the sunburned areas with a cotton ball or something soft.  It it cool on my skin and seems to help take the heat out.  Usually by the next morning I am starting to feel much less pain and heat from the burn.  It smells but if I am that burned I am willing to smell in order to feel better.  I always make sure to wear sunscreen when I got out though so it has been years since I got burned like that.

David has to wear 50 sunblock to keep from burning.  The tea is the best suggestion and aloe PLAIN PLAIN aloe (not a bought thing with additives but plain aloe) will help the most.  Did you blister?

calliecritturs

aloe PLAIN PLAIN aloe (not a bought thing with additives but plain aloe)

Around here one can get aloe leaves in the produce section at WalMart.

If you are going out anywhere, keep your skin covered, don't let it get exposed again, or it will hurt even worse.

I use Aloe after sun lotion and it cools right down.  I have learned from experience, do not use gel stuff, it stings and burns awful, keep to creams

Aloe has always worked for me....I have nordic blood running through me and I have to watch it. Needless to say I have ended up with some severe sunburns after moving to NC and going to the beach all the time. Too much sun I get burned and my eyebrows bleach out.....that always looks good.....LOL

 Sometimes, after I've already gooped myself up to the nines, the thing that helps the most is to keep the area damp and to have a fan going nearby. Cool washcloths can be nice, if you can stand the contact with your skin.

I'm probably the whitest person I know, and when I burn, I practically sizzle. Even on an overcast day, the glare stills cooks you. That's usually what burns me the most. I find that aloe vera doesn't help me. A lot of times, it just creates a layer of gunk, and my shirt sticks to my sunburn.

 I usually keep Solarcaine on hand. You can find it down the first aid aisle at Walmart. It's an aerosol spray that goes on lightly, and I've found that to be more relieving than anything else.

Ocean Potion lotion - get it at walmart. It's pretty cheap, and the only thing that works for me. I'm allergic to aloe - so I've tried pretty much everything out there - red hair and freckles to do not do well in the sun *sigh*.

Cold showers help take the sting out too - but you haveeee to lather on the lotion after you get out, because the water really dries out the skin, making it hurt even more.

Girl this is RED head to Red head advice if you get a nasty PAINFUL burn use Vinegar Does not matter what Type although I have always used regular white... Yes you smell like a Cesar salad but the vinegar kills the pain after each application ( about one every 1-2 hours) load up on moisturizer...I have had third degree sun burns  blister etc... In Nicaragua and other "third" world areas  The Vinegar kills pain and sorry  but it toughens the skin allowing for you to lavish moisturizer on every where.  It is a Bit**h but I promise it is the fastest pain killing sun burn relief I have found in 51 years of being a red head.   And I am at the very least a 4th gen redhead  ... I can remember riding horseback through the jungle Bonita of Bwana

Thanks for the suggestions everyone....I don't have blisters luckily, I've had blisters before from sunburns, but not since I was a teenager. My skin is a mess in general, I have tons of bugbites, my neighbors puppy scratched my leg up with it's razor sharp puppy claws tonight...I'm looking hawt in shorts, let me tell you...summer is just not my season. I'm going to try the vinegar because I already have it here and see how that goes.

2shelties

I spent 5 hours at the pool today....I had sunblock on, waterproof, spf 30, and I was very careful to apply it thoroughly

I think even waterproof stuff only protects for like half an hour if you're in water... So you'd seriously have had to reapply like 10 times, lol. And you're supposed to use like a shot-glass-full each time. That's a LOT of sunblock!