While a long winter has many across the country and in Minnesota wanting to get outside in some sun, the worry of spending too much time in the sun and getting sunburnt is always a concern.
After getting too much sun, your skin starts to turn red, get hot, and become inflamed, but soon, this could be a thing of the past.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota are developing a way to stop the negative effects of sunburn on an individual, meaning wearing shirts won't be so painful the day after you fall asleep tanning outside.
"We identified the root cause of a sunburn that occurs before the inflammation, and we think that we can target that to relieve all the effects of sunburn," Dr. Luke Hoeppner said. "So not just treat the pain but actually get at what's causing the redness, irritation, and the pain."
Hoeppner, an assistant professor at the Hormel Institute at the University of Minnesota, shared just how much harm sunburn can do.
"In the United States, sunburn leads to 30,000 emergency room visits a year," Hoeppner said.
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There are ways to avoid sunburn, like wearing sunblock, long clothing articles, or staying out of the sun. However, Hoeppner says that safeguards aren't always remembered.
"Often we're having fun doing things outdoors, and we forget to take those precautions, and we do get sunburnt," Hoeppner said.
Hoeppner and his team aren't just working to stop the negative effects felt days after a sunburn but also the long-term ramifications like melanoma and skin cancer.
"If we could develop a type of topical cream that could be applied following a sunburn, we could reduce the short-term and long-term effects of sunburn, hopefully," Hoeppner.
But as for getting your hands on something this summer, Hoeppner shared that much more research is needed to get a type of treatment made.
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