10 Tips for Treating Your Child for Sunburn

If your child experiences a sunburn¸ you have two tasks to do:

a) Treat the burn.

b) Review your sun protection techniques to prevent recurrences. Each sunburn, especially during childhood, increases the risk of serious skin problems decades later. Read the following TenTips to prevent future sunburns: The Sun is No Friend of Children, Protecting Your Children from the Sun, and ABCs of Using Sunscreens.

Here is what you have to know:

1. Treat promptly.

Prompt and proper treatment of sunburns reduces soreness, helps prevent infection, and speeds recovery, but probably does not undo skin damage.

2. Think sun- and heat-related conditions when pre-verbal children become excessively cranky or lethargic while out in the sun.

Symptoms can occur in as little as fifteen minutes of intense exposure, especially in light-skinned infants.

3. Recognize early symptoms.

Reddening of a child’s skin is your wake-up call. Skin damage has commenced. Most commonly, symptoms surface in 4 to 6 hours. Get out of the sun immediately. Ideally go indoors. Next best, cover the child with clothing and find shade where no sky is visible directly overhead. Stay away from bodies of water and white sand; these reflect the sun.

4. Immediately start weight-appropriate doses of ibuprofen (Advil or Motrin).

This may reduce the severity and discomfort of visible symptoms. Repeat every 6 hours, as necessary.

5. Offer liquids to drink.

Any liquids will do as long as your child is relatively happy and active and willing to drink. Never force-feed liquids.

6. Give cool baths or apply cool compresses.

This reduces itching, which in turn minimizes scratching, and helps prevent infection. Some experts recommend using skimmed milk compresses. Soak a cloth in the milk and place the cloth on the injured skin.

7. Apply hydrocortisone cream to the affected area.

Hydrocortisone is soothing and actually aids the healing process. Other commonly used substances (vitamin creams, moisturizers, and aloe, for example) merely soothe. Avoid antihistamines and “caine”-containing skin anesthetics; these may be irritants, especially to damaged skin. The effectiveness of the numerous available home remedies and health store products is largely unknown; most have not been scientifically tested. Excessive itching and discomfort can be relieved with oral antihistamines.

8. Breaking blisters increases the risk of infection.

If blisters do break, wash the area very gently with soap and water, apply antibiotic ointments several times a day, and keep them covered with a sterile dressing.

9. Seek medical help if your child appears sick.

If children with burns are reasonably happy and active, your treatment suffices. Children requiring professional evaluation have some of the following symptoms: fever, listlessness, refusal to drink, vomiting, or skin that is oozing purulent (pussy) material.

10. Recognize that total recovery can take 5 to 7 days.

Stay out of the sun until recovery is complete. Avoid irritants to the skin such as tight clothing and hot showers.