Talk:Sunburn

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Citations

The section regarding "increased risk" lacks citations. In particular, the short paragraph regarding ozone depletion's correlation with increased sunburn needs a primary source. Scientific (and particularly medical) claims need to be substantiated by journals.

Windburn

Is windburn really a misnomer for sunburn? I'd never heard of it until someone mentioned it to me today, so I went to wikipedia to find out more... But many internet sites seem to dispute the assertion that it's the same thing as sunburn.

For example: "Wind causes the loss of the oil layer on your skin," explains Norman Levine, M.D., chief of dermatology at the University, of Arizona College of Medicine Health Sciences Center in Tucson. "And when your skin dries excessively, you get an irritation that looks and feels like a real burn. To reverse the effect of windburn, you need to add that oil layer back to your skin."

From what I can tell, it seems like sunburn is often MISTAKEN for windburn (especially when skiing, etc) but that's not to say that windburn doesn't exist.

I think the confusion comes from the fact that people skiing on cloudy days have gotten sunburn, and, not realising that UV can penetrate thin cloud cover, think it's a wind burn.

I'm no expert, though, obviously, since I'd never even heard of it until today. Opinions?plumpy 02:51, 06 Feb 2005 (UTC)

I would agree and will probably correct (when I have some more time) with the statement that windburn and sunburn are different conditions.

The results are fairly similar, but from personal experience, I've gotten windburn *night* skiing. Just this last Saturday I skied all night (from a bit after 5, certainly after the mountain had obscured the sun) and returned to find my face a bright red and sensitive.. The fact is that on a windy and chilly night (or just a night of very fast skiing) the face is constantly exposed to very dry and cold air, which has an excessive drying effect. In my experience it's a lot less worse than a sunburn, which is also very easy to get skiing (because higher altitudes and reflective snow typically increase UV exposure).

Also, anyone who's used too much acne cream (especially by combining multiple treatments) can attest to this effect. Acne treatments do not cause sunburn (though they can exasperate and sensitize your skin to it). But they can still cause a burning sensation, reddened skin, and even peeling. This is not related to radiation damage by any stretch.--198.151.13.10 20:34, 7 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Sunburn as a cause of cancer

This is rather misleading. Sunburns are not a cause of cancer, but rather a reaction to the DNA damage that causes cancer. Which is why the two usually accompany each other. I know of a friend who, because of an odd pairing of parents (Mexican and Irish), does not get sunburns but has light-colored skin. This doesn't mean that the skin cells aren't getting DNA damage from the UV rays. In fact, it's probably a greater risk for skin cancer than not getting sunburns at all.

See http://health.howstuffworks.com/sunscreen3.htm --Clarphimous

Range of skin damage

Can the range which certain people may be tolerant of exposure to the sun be discussed. For example, my skin is a relatively tanned color permanently, when i went on vacation in the Carribean i was burned for the first day because my skin wasn't used to the intensity of the sun but after that, my skin got progressively darker and i wasn't burnt again for the duration of the trip.

Question about blistered sunburn

I had a burn about that bad - if not worse this past August. I took a picture of it but it was so scary that I deleted it. My concern is that now that my back and shoulders are healed, I have pale patcheds of skin all over my shoulders. I mean my back feels smooth and normal, only the pigmentations is off. I guess its the fresh skin that has developed after the burn healed. So my question is, will shoulders look patchy like that forever??? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.139.153.30 (talk • contribs)

Yes forever, and you may have cancer. RIP.

Heritability

Are there any studies estimating the heritability of sunburn? (this working independently of someone's level of tanning, or level of melanin in general)