Red Spot on arm after sunburn

[Matt467]

I got burnt about a week ago. My arms never peeled but had small blisters and now most of the redness is gone but yet still no peeling. Today I noticed a red mark on my arm where the burn was, about the size of an eraser maybe. Its flat and painless. What could this be? Can skin cancer show this early or leave a mark like this? I am very fair skinned and don't often get much sun but i feel asleep for about 3 hours on the beach.

thanks

[Dr_Aparna]

Hi,
This would just be the spot of inflamed skin where the burn was. Skin cancer cannot show up immediately after a sunburn, not in such a short duration.

A sunburn is a burn to living tissue such as skin produced by overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, commonly from the sun's rays.
sunburn and the increase in melanin production (as in a tan) are both triggered by direct DNA damage. When the skin cells' DNA is damaged by UV radiation,  cell-death is triggered and the skin is replaced.

Malignant melanoma may occur as a result of indirect DNA damage if the damage is not properly repaired. Proper repair occurs in the majority of DNA damage, and as a result not every exposure to UV results in cancer.

The best treatment for most sunburns is time. Given a few weeks, they will heal including the blisters.
The skin can be hydrated by applying topical products containing Aloe vera and/or vitamin E, which reduce inflammation. Hydrocortisone cream may also help reduce inflammation and itching.

ref:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunburn

[Matt467]

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