Final Up to date on February 22, 2026 by Giorgia Guazzarotti
What’s the very best sunburn ft therapy? If you happen to’re like me, you by no means considered it till your ft are all purple and swollen. And then you definately’re like, how did this occur? The reality is, your ft are probably the most susceptible elements of your physique to sunburn. Give it some thought: you slather sunscreen in your face, your shoulders, the again of your neck – and then you definately spend the entire day in flip flops along with your ft utterly forgotten. And since you’re on vacation, or on the park, or simply having a very good day, you don’t discover till the solar goes down and you are taking your sneakers off and all of a sudden the harm is unattainable to overlook. *sighs* This text goes to inform you what truly helps, what’s a waste of time, and what means you could cease googling and go see a physician.
What Is A Sunburn, Truly?
A sunburn isn’t simply your pores and skin throwing somewhat tantrum. It’s an actual harm. Right here’s the way it occurs: when UV mild hits your pores and skin, it damages the DNA inside your pores and skin cells. Your physique responds by flooding the sunburned space with blood and fluid to attempt to sort things. That’s the redness, the swelling, the warmth, and that horrible sensitivity the place even a bedsheet touching your ft looks like an excessive amount of. It additionally doesn’t present up immediately, which is why sunburn is so sneaky. You’re feeling a bit heat within the afternoon, you assume nothing of it, and then you definately get up the subsequent morning and “whats up sunburn!”
Ft are particularly susceptible as a result of the pores and skin there barely ever sees the solar, so it has zero tolerance constructed up for UV publicity. Add the truth that sand and water replicate UV rays again up at you from under, that your sunscreen in all probability washed off hours earlier than you bought out of the water, and that most individuals don’t even assume to guard their ft within the first place – and truthfully, it’s a marvel this doesn’t occur extra typically.
Sunburn Feed Remedies: What To Do
So you bought a sunburn. Right here’s what to do proper now to hurry up the therapeutic course of:
1. Keep away from Solar Publicity
If you happen to’re nonetheless outdoors studying this, go inside. I imply it. Each additional minute of solar publicity on already-burned pores and skin is making issues worse, not simply staying the identical. If you happen to’re already in, keep in. Simply placing a little bit of sunscreen on high after which going again into direct daylight isn’t going to assist issues. Prefer it or not, your ft must keep away from the solar proper now.
2. Cool Your Ft Down
The very first thing you need to do is cool the affected space. A cool water foot bathtub is truthfully among the finest issues you are able to do proper right here, proper now. Fill a small tub or a washing up bowl with cool water (not ice chilly, not a chilly bathe turned up full blast) and simply soak your ft for fifteen to twenty minutes. It brings down the warmth, it reduces that burning sensation, and it simply looks like aid.
Don’t put an ice pack instantly on sunburnt pores and skin. I do know it’s tempting. It feels prefer it ought to assist. However stunning already-damaged pores and skin with one thing that chilly can truly trigger additional harm on high of what you’ve already received. In case you’re questioning, cool compresses or a cool bathe work too.
3. Moisturise
After your cool bathtub soak, pat your ft dry gently (don’t rub!) and placed on a moisturiser immediately. The explanation you do it whereas the pores and skin remains to be barely damp is that you simply’re locking moisture in relatively than simply sitting cream on high of dry pores and skin. Go fragrance-free for those who can. Something with alcohol, fragrance, or “refreshing” substances is simply going to sting and make issues worse.
Aloe vera gel is ok right here. The science on aloe vera for burns is genuinely encouraging: a meta-analysis of 371 patients found that aloe vera shortened healing time by nearly 9 days compared to controls. Put it on.. Simply ensure you’re utilizing pure aloe gel, not some brilliant inexperienced product that’s largely perfume and colouring.
4. Take An Anti-Inflammatory Medicine
That is truly one of many extra helpful issues you are able to do. Ibuprofen, naproxen, aspirin – these are actual anti-inflammatory medicines that handle the precise inflammatory response occurring in your pores and skin, not simply masks the ache. Counter ache relievers like these received’t magically velocity up how briskly the sunburn heals (truthfully, nearly nothing will – extra on that in a second), however they’ll make the subsequent couple of days considerably extra bearable. Take them as directed, ideally beginning quickly after you discover the burn.
5. Drink Loads Of Water
This seems like generic wellness recommendation but it surely truly issues right here. Sunburn pulls fluid towards the pores and skin’s floor. It might genuinely dehydrate you. Drink a number of water, greater than you normally would, particularly for those who have been additionally within the warmth for many of the day.
6. Elevate Your Ft If They’re Swelling.
If the tops of your ft are puffy in addition to purple, attempt mendacity down and propping your ft up above the extent of your coronary heart. It helps drain the fluid that’s pooled there. A few pillows below your ankles when you watch TV tonight will make an actual distinction by morning.
7. Put on Sunscreen
And, after all, don’t overlook to slather broad-spectrum sunscreen in your ft earlier than you allow the home. Reapply each two hours, and each single time you come out of the water. A large-brimmed hat received’t assist your ft, however protecting clothes and really sporting footwear whenever you’re not actively on the seaside will. Open-toed sneakers are nice however they’re not sunscreen.
What NOT To Do
The web can generally be just like the Wild West. So many therapy that promise ache relied, regardless of the severity of the burn. However, loads of them don’t work and might truly make tings works. Right here’s what to keep away from to heal sunburned first sooner.
- Apple cider vinegar. Individuals swear by this for every little thing and it’s not going to assist your sunburnt pores and skin. Acidic stuff on damaged skin = more irritation, not less.
- Important oils. Identical drawback. A few of them are literally phototoxic, which means they will make solar harm worse. Simply go away them out of this.
- Popping blisters. In case your sunburn has developed blisters, that’s a second-degree burn, and people blisters are there for a cause. They’re defending the uncooked pores and skin beneath whereas it heals. Pop them and also you’ve opened a wound that may get contaminated. Indicators of an infection to look at for: the world getting extra painful relatively than much less, any sort of discharge, purple streaking spreading out from the burn, or the pores and skin feeling scorching and getting worse after a few days as a substitute of enhancing.
- Hydrocortisone cream. You might need heard this instructed for sunburn. The proof is truthfully underwhelming; topical steroids haven’t been proven to make a lot distinction to how sunburn heals. It’s not going to harm you in a gentle case, however don’t count on it to be a game-changer.
When You Truly Want Medical Assist
Most sunburns – even actually painful ones – are first-degree burns, and so they heal at residence inside a few week. Peeling pores and skin within the days afterward is totally regular; that’s simply the lifeless pores and skin cells sloughing off as your physique replaces them from beneath. Strive to not peel it your self, as a result of the pores and skin beneath isn’t prepared but. However some conditions genuinely want greater than residence cures.
Go and get medical therapy in case you have a fever, chills, nausea, or really feel dizzy or faint – these are signs of solar poisoning, which is a systemic response that goes past the pores and skin and might get critical shortly. It’s additionally value getting rapid medical consideration if blisters cowl a big space of your ft, if there are indicators of an infection, or in case your signs are getting worse relatively than higher after a number of days. If you happen to’re coping with a younger little one with extreme sunburn, or somebody who already has a household historical past of pores and skin most cancers or a historical past of dangerous pores and skin reactions – see a healthcare supplier sooner relatively than later.
The Backside Line
Look, you in all probability already knew that spending six hours barefoot on a seaside in August was going to have penalties. The sunburn already occurred. What issues now’s that you simply deal with it correctly, give your pores and skin the time it truly must heal, and don’t make issues worse by going rogue with vinegar and important oils at midnight. Your ft carry you all over the place. They deserve 5 minutes of sunscreen within the morning, and so they deserve respectable care whenever you’ve allow them to down. Subsequent summer time, somewhat broad-spectrum SPF on the tops of your ft earlier than you allow the home. That’s it. That’s the entire secret. Till then – cool water, ibuprofen, aloe, and relaxation.
