Can sunburn make you feel sick?

When you get a sunburn, your skin turns red and hurts. If the burn is severe, you can develop swelling and sunburn blisters. You may even feel like you have the flu — feverish, with chills, nausea, headache, and weakness.

Why do I feel sick after a sunburn?

“If you’re sunburned and have inflammation, this happens as a result of your body trying to heal and repair,” said Cindy Weston, DNP, RN, FNP-BC, assistant professor at the Texas A&amp,M College of Nursing. “Your skin is an organ, and when it’s damaged this activates the entire immune system to mobilize and repair it.”

How long does sunburn sickness last?

Sun poisoning symptoms can last anywhere from two to three days, or they may persist for weeks. It’s important to get treated early and properly to decrease the risk of developing skin cancer.

Can too much sun cause nausea?

Sometimes a sunburn is so bad, your entire body reacts. It’s a phenomenon usually called sun poisoning, though it doesn’t actually mean you’ve been poisoned. Sun poisoning is an extreme sunburn that can be accompanied by symptoms like nausea, vomiting, chills, fever, headache, and a general feeling of being sick.

What does Sun sickness feel like?

Symptoms of sun poisoning

It often mimics a flu bug or allergic reaction. As a result, you can find yourself shivering in bed with a headache, fever and chills — all wrapped up with the redness, pain and sensitivity of a sun-kissed skin patch. Rash. Nausea.

Do sunburns turn into tans?

Do Sunburns Turn into Tans? After you heal from a sunburn, the affected area may be more tan than usual, but tanning is just another form of skin damage caused by ultraviolet radiation.

Can sunburn give you upset stomach?

A sunburn that forms blisters, covers a large area, or is very painful. Facial swelling. Fever and chills. Upset stomach.

What does a really bad sunburn look like?

Sunburn is characterized by erythema (Fig. 10-1) and, if severe, by vesicles and bullae, edema, tenderness, and pain. This image shows painful, tender, bright erythema with mild edema of the upper back with sharp demarcation between the sun-exposed and sun-protected white areas.

When should I be concerned about my sunburn?

The sunburn is severe — with blisters — and covers a large portion of your body. The sunburn is accompanied by a high fever, headache, severe pain, dehydration, confusion, nausea or chills. You’ve developed a skin infection, indicated by swelling, pus or red streaks leading from the blister.


What are the stages of sunburn?

Sunburn severity
Degree of sunburn Symptoms
First degree Tenderness Redness Peeling skin
Second degree Swelling Blistering Deep redness Surface skin is wet to the touch FeverNausea
Third degree Severe blistering Skin fissuring Surface skin appears charred Loss of sensation Potential loss of affected body part

Can you feel sick from the heat?

Heat exhaustion happens when your body overheats and can’t cool itself down. It usually results from physical activity in hot weather. Symptoms include dizziness, confusion and nausea.

How long do you feel bad after heat exhaustion?

Recovery time

In most people, symptoms of heat exhaustion will start to improve within 30 minutes. However, if symptoms do not improve after 30–60 minutes, seek medical attention.

What are the symptoms of too much sun?

Common symptoms include:
  • Dizziness.
  • Headache.
  • Nausea.
  • Thirst.
  • Weakness.
  • High body temperature.
  • Profuse sweating.
  • Decreased urination.

Will Benadryl help with sun poisoning?

Sun sensitivity beyond a sunburn

A doctor may recommend an over the counter antihistamine such as Benadryl, Claritin or Allegra or in extreme cases they may prescribe a prescription antihistamine or a steroid such as prednisone to relieve the symptoms.

How can you tell the difference between sun poisoning and sunburn?

Sometimes it’s difficult to tell the difference between sunburn and sun poisoning. While a sunburn is redness of the skin that will go away after a few days, sun poisoning is a more serious irritation that manifests in hives and blisters. Some people call these hives a “sun rash,” a rash on a sunburn.