Can one bad sunburn cause significant sun damage to the skin there was one time in my life that i had a really bad sunburn. my skin swelled up and i became lightheaded during the evening it was so bad. after a burn like that, i never went back into the

The : The answer is yes, but the probability is low if it was only once and you are staying out of the sun and using a sun block.

Data : Data does show that even a single blistering sunburn substantially increases the risk of a person's chance of getting melanoma over their lifetime. Melanoma is more of a concern for single or multiple episodes of blistering sunburn, whereas non-melanoma skin cancers seem to be more of a concern with chronic sun exposure. Self-awareness of your skin, periodic skin checks as part of your routine physicals, and proper skin protection are obviously important. A good rule of thumb is to apply the abcde rule for any pigmented lesion of the skin, whose pneumonic is a= asymmetry, b= irregular borders, c= color variegation, d= diameter > 6 mm, e= evolution of the lesion over time. These factors, singly or in aggregate, raise the level of concern ( as would any symptomatic or non-healing skin lesion).