A sun poisoning rash is most commonly the result of an allergic reaction someone has to the sun. Those who are most likely to get skin poisoning include people who are fair skinned, simply because they do not have enough pigmentation in their skin to protect them from the sometimes harmful UV rays emitted by the sun. Although these people are anyway the most vulnerable, absolutely anyone can get skin poisoning with enough exposure to the sun. Although the sun plays a major run in this type of irritation of the skin, there are also other factors at work, such as certain chemicals or drugs which are used by the person either internally or on the surface of the skin.
A sun poisoning rash is really a way to describe an adverse reaction on the skin from too much UV exposure. Many people are not aware that taking certain drugs can lead to increased vulnerability to the sun when exposed. Taking certain medications can lead to a rash or burn without even being in the sun for very long. For example, some of these include medicines prescribed for blood pressure, birth control pills, and tranquilizers.
If you have had a negative reaction from being in the sun too long, then you will want to seek out the appropriate treatment, which often times is the same for those who encounter poison ivy or have other miscellaneous skin allergies. Sometimes if the reaction is mild enough, a simple cold cloth or compress applied directly to the affected areas can be helpful. Those who have this type of rash might find that taking a warm bath with oatmeal added in can be extremely beneficial to reduce some of the irritation or swelling which sometimes can be a problem.
Preventing a sun poisoning rash means taking all of the proper measures to make sure that it does not happen again, which means figuring out why it happened in the first place. You will want to think back to all of the medications you took on the day you contracted the rash, and narrow down the possibilities of what could have caused it. If you are a fair skinned person, then you will want to think about simply staying out of the sun as much as possible, especially for long periods of time. If you must go out in the sun, make sure to put lotion on to protect it from burning or getting a rash.