After weeks of dreary, rainy summer days, beach season has arrived. Since we plan to be out and about more, we checked in with Dr. Peter Sands, a dermatologist at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Concord, about how to manage the aftereffects of our summer adventures.

Okay, so you're sunburned. What should you do? Is aloe really all that? There's only one thing that really works, and that's aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like Aleve or Advil. But nothing on top of the skin really works.

What about other summer itchies - bug bites, poison ivy? One of the best things to know about poison ivy that most people don't' know is you can buy something called ivy block at the drug store and you put that on before you get poison ivy.

Like sunscreen for poison ivy? Yes. The other thing that people always misunderstand about poison ivy is once you wash your skin with soap and water you can't spread it any more.

Any good home remedies? The best thing you can do that's a home remedy is hydrocortisone cream, like Cortaid. You can also do a wet-to-dry soak, when you take a handkerchief or an old shirt, wet it, wring it so it's a little damp, lay it across your skin and let it dry for 10 to 15 minutes.

Are there rashes or bug bites that can suggest something serious, like Lyme disease? With Lyme disease, you're looking for a circular rash. This rash is unusual. It spreads like if you dropped a pebble in a pond. It will grow in a circular, round-wave fashion.

Margot Sanger-Katz