Why do you feel more tired when sunburnt?
In: Biology
If you really want to be mind blown, getting large tattoos feels much the same, both in skin pain at the tattoo site, and the drained tiredness and malaise I associate with sunburn.
In fact, some even call the reaction “tattoo flu”. Similar thing though, I imagine. Damage to the body, trauma, mild shock, inflammation responses, etc.
Will spf help prevent this if I’m also hydrated?
Similarly, can someone explain the science behind why I’m so tired after a tattoo?
Likely due to the dehydration and whatever you were doing that caused you to be sunburned. Plus, that’s a large surface area burn, and especially if it’s peeling off, that’s a lot of water loss from the burned areas of skin.
Sunburns kill skin cells, causing an acute increase in proteins called interferons (among others). These are proteins that have many roles including anti viral effects. A known effect of interferons that are given therapeutically is extreme fatigue (used to be given in cases of hepatitis infection). Source – I am a dermatologist/immunologist.
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