How Vitamin D Could Be the Key to Helping Your Sunburn

Got sunburn? Results from a new clinical trial show that large doses of vitamin D could help limit the ensuing swelling and inflammation – though you shouldn't try it yourself just yet.

The small study, published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology recently, included 20 participants who were "sunburned" on their inner arm via a small UV lamp. All either took a placebo pill or 50,000, 100,000 or 200,000 international units of vitamin D. The Food and Drug Administration only recommends 400 international units of vitamin D per day.

Researchers checked in with the participants 24, 48, 72 hours and 1 week later. They discovered through skin biopsies that those who took the highest vitamin D doses reaped lasting benefits (think reduced skin inflammation two days post-sunburn).

They hypothesized vitamin D would beef up protective skin barriers as it curbed inflammation, but discovered something more.

"What we did not expect was that at a certain dose, vitamin D not only was capable of suppressing inflammation, it was also activating skin repair genes," study author Dr. Kurt Lu of the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center said in a statement.

Considering the stark difference between the amount of vitamin D the FDA suggests per day versus what was taken in the study, it's evident the treatment isn't ready for everyone just yet. Lu noted that the trial tested very high doses of vitamin D that far exceed daily allowances.

"I would not recommend at this moment that people start taking vitamin D after sunburn based on this study alone," Lu added. He also said the results warrant more study.

Sunburns may often be temporary pains, but they could ultimately lead to skin cancer, the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the U.S. Skin cancer can range from less serious to deadly, affecting nearly 10,000 people each day.