Even though these three sun related medical problems, sunburn, heat exhaustion, and heatstroke, are not diseases, they can be serious and could put a real damper on your vacation. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and this is especially true when dealing with the sun. Remember that the sun's rays in the tropics are more intense between noon and three p.m. as well as at high altitudes, even if it's an overcast or cloudy day.

What can you do to prevent getting a sunburn?

Usually, the lighter or fairer your skin, the easier you can get sunburned. Even clouds offer little or no protection from a severe sunburn, so why take a chance of ruining your holidays when getting a painful, serious sunburn is easy to protect against? To prevent getting a bad sunburn, particularly if you sunburn easily, use a high SPF (Sun Protection Factor) of 30, or stronger. Use the sunscreen liberally, wear wide-brimmed sun hats, use UVA & UVB protection certified sunglasses, and wear a long-sleeved shirt and slacks. It's best to try and stay out of the sun between noon and three in the afternoon. Build up exposure to the sun slowly, day by day. Try and limit the length of time you spend in the sun to around fifteen minutes the first day, and gradually increase your time in the sun on subsequent days.

If you get a bad sunburn, what can you do to treat it?

You can ease the pain of a sunburn by soaking in a cool bath three to four times a day. If you add some baking soda to each bath, it will help even more. Cool showers will probably hurt too much, and they are not as effective or soothing as cool, relaxing baths. To help with headaches, or pain and swelling, take aspirin or other pain medication such as Advil or Ibuprofen. Do not take any aspirin based pain medications if you are on blood thinners or have an ulcer. If you are not sure if it's safe for you to take these pain relievers, check with a doctor or medical clinic. To avoid dehydration, drink at least six to eight glasses of water per day. Do not break any blisters if you can help it. Broken blisters can easily get infected, especially in the humid weather of the tropics. If they do break, wash them gently with soap and warm water.

If your sunburn does not appear to be getting better and you still have pain after a couple of days, you develop a high temperature or fever, have splitting headaches that won't go away, vomit or have diarrhea, feel dizzy and confused, or your eyes hurt and light is bothering them, you must seek medical help right away.

What can you do to avoid heat exhaustion?

Heat exhaustion is completely preventable. Wearing a wide-brimmed sunhat, drinking lots of liquids, and staying out of intense heat and humidity will help you avoid this serious problem.

What can you do if you have any symptoms of heat exhaustion?

Heat exhaustion is precipitated by a combination of high temperatures and humidity. This can result in your body's loss of fluids from excess sweating. These fluids must be replaced quickly or heat exhaustion can occur.

The symptoms include headaches, fatigue and lethargy, giddiness, and muscle cramps. The treatment is to immediately get out of the sun or heat and drink plenty of liquids. Commercial beverages containing electrolytes, such as Gatorade, are preferable. Don't drink any alcohol. This will make your condition worse.

If you don't feel better and show positive signs of recovery within a very short period of time, have someone help you to get to a hospital or medical center immediately as your condition can easily progress into a true medical emergency called heatstroke.

What actions must you immediately take if you get heat stroke?

If heat exhaustion is not successfully treated immediately, it can result in a critical medical emergency. Heatstroke is characterized by an extremely high body temperature of 102 to 106 degrees Fahrenheit, or 39 to 41 degrees Centigrade. There is a cessation of sweating. The main symptoms of heatstroke include a flushed, red skin, a bad headache, confusion which can quickly progress into delirium and convulsions, which can then be fatal.

Note: Someone must help you get out of the sun or heat and rush you immediately to a hospital or medical center.