The sun. People have worshiped it for thousands of years. But only in the last century have people worshiped the sun by baking themselves to a golden tan, which often masks an angry red burn.

But the sun can do much more damage than simply give you a painful sunburn. Dermatologists (skin doctors) say that prolonged exposure to sunlight causes brown spots; red, scaly spots; drying and wrinkling; and, worst of all, skin cancer.

But how do you avoid the sun? That's tricky. Sometimes, your day at the beach may turn out to be much more sunburned than sand-filled. If you find yourself a bit burned, there are a number of simple home remedies to treat your skin to relieve some of the discomfort. In this article, we'll discuss those sunburn home remedies and also touch on some ways to minimize sun exposure so you can spend time outdoors safely. First, we'll discuss how the sun and your skin interact.

Although few things can penetrate the skin's outer layer (stratum corneum), the sun's ultraviolet rays easily pass through this protective envelope and damage the cells and structures beneath. Ultraviolet rays that reach the Earth's surface come in two varieties: ultraviolet A (UVA), the so-called "tanning rays," which do not cause sunburn (except at very high doses), and ultraviolet B (UVB), the "burning rays." UVA rays can pass through window glass in cars, houses, and offices, while UVB cannot. But both types penetrate the outer layer of the skin, cause damage, and contribute to the development of skin cancer.

Ultraviolet rays that pass through the stratum corneum cause pigment-producing cells called melanocytes to produce brown pigment (melanin). This is the skin's effort to protect itself from the invading rays and prevent further damage to skin structures, and it's how and why a "tan" develops.

How much pigment the melanocytes can produce and how quickly they can produce it depends largely on genetics. Dark-skinned people more readily produce melanin, while light-skinned individuals, especially those of Northern European ancestry and Asians, don't produce it well or produce it in blotches that appear as freckles. These people can't tan no matter how hard they try and tend to be "quick fryers," readily burning even with mild sun exposure.

If your skin doesn't produce the protective melanin pigment well or if you're exposed to the sun before enough pigment can be manufactured and dispersed, the ultraviolet rays kill skin cells. Even a mild sunburn that produces only a little redness destroys the top layer of your skin, just as if you had seared it with a hot iron.

Damage to skin cells is more prevalent among fair-skinned people, and the immediate effect is a sunburn. Over time, the effects can be much more serious -- blotchy brown spots and even skin cancer.

You can still have "fun in the sun" while avoiding damage to your skin. Just be sure to apply -- and reapply -- sunscreen, especially if you're in and out of the water.

Ultraviolet light can even damage the dermis, the layer that gives your skin its shape, texture, strength, and elasticity. Sunlight breaks down the thick, strong tissue structure of the dermis, rendering it weak, thin, and less elastic and making it appear wrinkled and saggy.

What makes sunburn different from, say, a household iron burn? The time factor. A sunburn is not immediately apparent. By the time the skin starts to become red, the damage has been done. Pain isn't always instantly noticeable, either. You may feel glowing after two hours sitting poolside without sun protection. But just wait awhile. You'll change your tune (not to mention color) when the pain sets in, typically 6 to 48 hours after sun exposure. Like household burns, sunburns are summed up by degree. Mild sunburns are deep pink, punctuated by a hot, burning sensation. Moderate sunburns are red, clothing lines are prominent, and the skin itches and stings. Severe sunburns result in bright red skin, blisters, fever, chills, and nausea.

Indeed, you'd probably never expose yourself to a sunburn again if you could see the dramatic damage to your skin under a microscope -- cells are shriveled and dead; formerly thick, red bundles of connective tissue have been ground into a gray smudge; thin-walled, superficial blood vessels are dilated and may be leaking fluid; and DNA sequences, the "software" that tells the skin how to repair and replicate itself, are damaged, causing the skin to produce abnormal precancerous cells and, in some cases, cancerous cells.

Being burned to a crisp can lead to serious consequences later in life. In fact, one severe, blistering sunburn during childhood doubles your chances of developing malignant melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer, or other types of skin cancer such as basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas. If cancer doesn't frighten you, then the specter of developing premature wrinkling and age spots just might.

Despite these increasingly well-known dangers of sun exposure, many of us, on occasion, get lazy when it comes to protecting our skin or just can't resist the myth that getting some color from the sun makes us look healthier.

If you've overexposed your skin to the sun and end up with a sunburn, the home remedies in the following sections can make you a bit more comfortable until Mother Nature can heal the burn. Keep in mind, though, that these remedies cannot reverse the very real damage caused by unprotected exposure to the sun's rays.

For more information about skin issues, visit the following sections:

• To see all of our home remedies and the conditions they treat, go to our main Home Remedies page.
• To learn about tanning and sunburns and the skin, visit How Sunburn and Sun Tans Work.
• Wondering how to treat dry skin? Read the Home Remedies for Dry Skin section.
• For tips on treating oily skin, visit Home Remedies for Oily Skin.

This information is solely for informational purposes. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. Neither the Editors of Consumer Guide (R), Publications International, Ltd., the author nor publisher take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading or following the information contained in this information. The publication of this information does not constitute the practice of medicine, and this information does not replace the advice of your physician or other health care provider. Before undertaking any course of treatment, the reader must seek the advice of their physician or other health care provider.