Adult Skin Problems Slideshow Pictures Quiz: Can You Identify These Skin Conditions? Gallery of Skin Problems and Images Collection

Medical Author:

John P. Cunha, DO, FACOEP

John P. Cunha, DO, FACOEP

John P. Cunha, DO, is a U.S. board-certified Emergency Medicine Physician. Dr. Cunha's educational background includes a BS in Biology from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and a DO from the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences in Kansas City, MO. He completed residency training in Emergency Medicine at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, New Jersey.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Sunburn Symptoms

• Mild and uncomplicated cases of sunburn usually result in minor skin redness, and pain.
• Initially, the skin turns red about 2-6 hours after exposure and feels irritated. The peak effects are noted at 12-24 hours.
• More severe cases (sun poisoning) are complicated by severe skin burning and blistering, massive fluid loss (dehydration), electrolyte imbalance, and possibly infection.
• Untreated sunburn and with enough exposure, a person can experience shock (poor circulation to vital organs) and even death.

Other common symptoms include:

• Chills
• Fever
• Nausea or vomiting, or both
• Flulike symptoms
• Blistering may range from a very fine blister that is only found when you begin to "peel" to very large water-filled blisters with red, tender, raw skin underneath. When blisters pop, the skin that covered the blisters will slough off.
• Skin loss (peeling) at about 4-7 days after exposure

Some individuals experience a sun rash (sometimes called sun poisoning) due to a condition called polymorphous light eruption (PMLE). About 10% of Americans are affected by PMLE, a reaction that does not appear to be linked to drugs or diseases.

Symptoms of PMLE are a mild to severe skin rash, usually appearing within 30 minutes to several hours of sun exposure. The rash may be itchy and have these characteristics:

• Small bumps all over the body, predominantly in sun-exposed areas
• Sun rash progresses to dense clumps of bumps
• Hives, usually on the arms, lower legs, and chest

Sunburn Pictures

Picture of peeling skin from a sunburn

Picture of sunburn