Sunburn:

How to avoid:

Summer is a time when families like to spend lots of time outdoors. Unfortunately, the hot summer sun can cause quite a lot of problems for babies, kids, and their parents. Here are a few tips designed to help you have a safe summer:

• Use a good sunscreen, with a minimum SPF of 15 for adults, 25 for adolescents and 30 for younger children.
• Keep babies out of direct sun. Some sunscreens can be absorbed through babies’ skin, and should not be used. Also, babies are in grave danger of overheating. Because they are so small, they cannot cope with extremes of temperature.
• Drink plenty of water. Water is superior to almost all other liquids when out in the sun. Pop and other sugary drinks actually can make you thirstier, and alcoholic beverages act like a diuretic – they make you pee, and that loses more water.
• Limit your time in the sun. Go easy at first, until you know how much sun you can handle.
• If you get a sunburn, it can act just like a thermal burn. That is, severe burns will blister.
• The pain of a sunburn does not start until 2-4 hours after the burn actually occurs. So, if you wait until you feel the sunburn, you are in real trouble.
• If you get a sunburn, get inside to cool off and drink plenty of water. Cool baths will help the pain, as will ibuprofen or other analgesics.
• If blisters form, do not pop them. Let them drain on their own, trim away the dead skin with small clean scissors, then apply antibacterial ointment.
• The most effective treatment for sunburns is to avoid them in the first place. Make certain that you and your children use high-protection sunblocks.

Call your doctor if:

• Your child starts to look sick.
• You think the blisters are getting infected.

As always, call your doctor if you have any questions.