Sunburn vs. Sun Poisoning: Similarities and Differences

Exposure to UV light causes both sunburn and sun poisoning, but sun poisoning is less common and more severe than a regular sunburn. Sun poisoning can be more difficult to treat and recover from.

Sunburn Is More Common

A typical sunburn is common, especially during the warm weather months. About 29% of American adults and 65% of teenagers in grades 9-12 report having been sunburned at least once in the past year.

Sun poisoning, on the other hand, is not as common. Estimates suggest that each year, around 33,000 people visit the emergency room for sunburn symptoms.

Sun Poisoning Requires Medical Attention

Sunburns can usually be treated at home without any special care. If you experience any symptoms of sun poisoning, it is recommended that you contact a healthcare provider. These symptoms include:

• Fever, chills, or nausea
• Severe or painful blisters
• Rash
• Signs of dehydration, like extreme thirst, peeing less than normal, dry mouth, and dizziness

Sun Poisoning Usually Takes Longer To Heal

A mild sunburn often starts to feel better in three to five days, but the more severe your burn, the longer it will take your skin to heal. A severe sunburn, like the kind you might get with sun poisoning, can take up to two weeks to heal. 

Sun poisoning can also cause skin infections. If you have severe blistering or a lot of skin peeling, your skin may be exposed to bacteria that can cause an infection. Infection isn’t common, but if it happens to you, it will take you longer to recover fully.

Sunburn and sun poisoning have a lot in common. They can both be treated and prevented by many of the same strategies. They also both increase your risk for future skin problems.

Both Can Damage Your Skin

Just one sunburn increases your risk of melanoma, a type of skin cancer that can be life-threatening. Getting a sunburn that causes blisters when you’re a child or teenager increases melanoma risk, and so does getting repeated sunburns throughout your life, no matter how mild or severe they are.

Both sunburn and sun poisoning also contribute to photoaging, or UV-related changes to your skin. This includes wrinkling, changes in texture, and discoloration or dark spots, commonly called sun spots. It can take years for photoaging to appear on the skin after exposure to UV radiation. 

Some OTC Treatments May Relieve Symptoms for Both 

It’s important to see a healthcare professional for sun poisoning so they can evaluate your condition and recommend the appropriate treatment. Some of the recommended treatments may be the same as for a mild sunburn. These include:

• Take cool baths or showers, or apply cool compresses to your skin.
• Keep your skin moisturized with a gentle lotion containing aloe vera, colloidal oatmeal, or calamine.
• Take over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers like Advil (ibuprofen) or Bayer (aspirin) to relieve pain and swelling.
• Stay hydrated.
• Care for blisters the right way. Don’t pop or drain them. Instead, keep them clean, dry, and covered with light bandaging, if you prefer.

If you have sun poisoning, your provider may also prescribe pain relievers, steroids to reduce swelling and inflammation, and fluids administered intravenously (IV) to rehydrate you quickly.  

You Can Prevent Them With the Same Strategies

Preventing sunburn and sun poisoning doesn’t require different sets of strategies—by preventing one, you can prevent the other. To protect your skin from any type of UV exposure, follow these best practices:

• Avoid direct sunlight, especially between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
• Seek out shaded areas when outside during the sun’s strongest hours.
• Wear clothing with an ultraviolet protection factor (UPF), including hats and sunglasses.
• Apply sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30 every day, even on cloudy days.
• When spending long periods outside, consider using SPF 50 or higher.
• Make sure your sunscreen is labeled as “broad spectrum,” because this means it will protect you from both types of the sun’s rays (UVA and UVB).
• Reapply sunscreen at least every two hours, after swimming, or sweating.
• Avoid tanning beds, which increase your risk for every type of skin cancer.
• Pay special attention to your skin in certain environments that amplify UV rays, like snow, water, sand, and high altitudes.

Most people experience sun poisoning after developing a severe sunburn, resulting in symptoms of both conditions.

Even though sunburn and sun poisoning both cause reddened, warm, painful areas of skin, it’s usually easy to tell the two conditions apart. Sunburns affect only the skin, while sun poisoning causes more widespread symptoms, like fever, chills, and confusion. 

You can have sun poisoning without a visible sunburn. Some experts consider sun poisoning to be any illness or allergic reaction caused by UV exposure, such as polymorphous light eruption (PMLE).

People with PMLE experience an inflammatory reaction to sunlight, resulting in a rash and, in some cases, fever or headache. It often happens when someone exposes their skin to sunlight after several months of being indoors, such as going outside in short sleeves on the first nice day of spring or traveling to a warm, sunny location in the middle of winter.   

If you have any symptoms of sun poisoning, like a sunburn plus a fever or chills, it’s important to see a primary healthcare provider as soon as possible.

If you have a sunburn, you probably don’t need to see a healthcare provider. Even mild to moderate sunburns can get infected, especially if you have blisters or are peeling a lot as your skin heals. Contact a healthcare provider if you have any signs of a skin infection, like red streaks or discharge oozing from an opening in your skin.

A sunburn is a skin reaction to UV exposure, usually from spending time outside in the sun without UV protection. It causes reddened, warm, painful skin, and sometimes swelling and blisters. Sun poisoning is an extreme form of sunburn that causes the same skin symptoms, as well as fever, chills, nausea, dehydration, and dizziness.

Sunburn and sun poisoning increase your risk of skin damage and skin cancer, so prevention strategies are key.