Texas man left with golf ball-sized dent in forehead as a result of sunburn - See pics

While in rare cases sun exposure can cause second degree burns, affecting deeper tissue, Cade Huckabay's was most likely a first degree burn.

Image courtesy: Cade Huckabay/Twitter

New Delhi: The damaging effects of sunburn on the skin and overall health have been emphasised numerous times by healthcare experts.

Most people, however, don't take it all too seriously – just like Cade Huckabay.

Huckabay, a Texas resident, learned his lesson the hard way after he was left with a golf ball-sized dent on his forehead as a result of sunburn.

On a hot, sunny day after shaving his head for the first time, Cade went outside to mow the lawn without using sunscreen due to lack of habit.

The resulting sun damage made his head swell so that it looked – and apparently felt – like red balloon.

The sunburn had caused his forehead to swell and he made the mistake of prodding it, which made the fluid that had built up under the skin move around.

While in rare cases sun exposure can cause second degree burns, affecting deeper tissue, Huckabay's was most likely a first degree burn.

On December 4, Cade posted a photograph of his burn and dent on Twitter, garnering responses comparing him to cartoon characters and aliens, as well as sympathetic replies with similar burns and stories of lessons in sun care learned the hard way.

One time I shaved my head, got severely sunburned, & swelled up just a little bit :-) pic.twitter.com/9FWw3jcdYf — Cade Huckabay (@CadeHuckabay) December 5, 2017

Fascinated by his painful state, Huckabay took a series of photos as he explored his inflamed skin, posting them on Twitter months later.

He turned for the camera, light glancing off his dome, reached up with an exploring finger and touches the tender skin of his forehead.

Even that small amount of pressure left a shockingly deep dent in his swollen head.

'At one point I could put a dent in my forehead and it would stay there for like half an hour,' he wrote on Twitter.

While many people were sympathetic, a few posted their own ordeal with sunburn in response. 

We all need a lesson in proper suncare, hey @bananaboat can you help us keep the smiles on our faces but off our foreheads? #SunSmart pic.twitter.com/bRax7VRrj1 — Maddy Drachler (@mdrachler33) December 7, 2017

'In some cases, a severe sunburn can cause so much inflammation that the skin can become swollen, known as edema,' says New York City dermatologist Joshua Zeichner, as per the Daily Mail.

'Depending on how much fluid accumulates, you may be able to push it away with you finger, creating what looks like a dent in the skin,' he says.

Sunburn provokes an immune response from the body, which leads to the swelling Huckabay experienced.

As part of this immune response, the lymph node system delivers more white blood cells to the damaged body part – in this case, Huckabay's head.

Pain is indicative of a risk of infection somewhere and lymphatic fluid that carries infection-fighting white blood cells goes rushing in.

The build-up of this fluid under the skin, as Huckabay said on Twitter, can leave you looking 'a little top-heavy for a few days.'

According to the Daily Mail, to treat a burns like his, Dr Zeichner advises using a surprising ingredient: 'a milk compress can help calm inflamed skin as well, as proteins in the milk coat and soothe the skin.'

He adds that applying a breathable treatment like aloe can sooth the burn without locking heat into the skin, and anti-inflammatory pills like ibuprofen 'can calm inflammation from the inside out.'

Once the burn becomes more bearable, 'I advise applying a petroleum-based moisturizer to form a protective seal over the skin's surface.

'The newest generation of these moisturizers even come in easy to spread lotion formulations that won't weigh the skin down.'

Huckabay treated his bulging burn with Advil and ice, which 'got the job done.'