Anne Chappelle is a board certified toxicologist with two decades of experience studying the chemicals that can kill people. In this video, Dr. Chappelle answers such pressing questions as "WTF is sun poisoning?" "How long does poison take to work?" and "If a poison expires, will it still be poisonous?"
Here's her answer to that first question:
Both sun poisoning and sunburn are both caused by overexposure to UV rays. A severe sunburn becomes sun poisoning when it moves from just that red, hot rash to blisters, feeling like you have the flu, dizzy, or nauseous. Sun poisoning is your body's immune reaction to all of that sun damage.
So what do you do if you have either of those things? Make sure you drink lots and lots of water. That sun damage will dehydrate you, and dehydration is a cause of a whole lot of other problems. Stay out of the sun. Apply cool, not icy cold, compresses on your skin. Take an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory agent as well.
(Wired)
