Studies have estimated that if a child is protected with a sunscreen with at least SPF 15 from early infancy to age 18, his or her lifetime skin cancer risk will be reduced by as much as 78%.  So if we can educated young children to the need for sunscreens, by the time they become adolescents we won’t be seeing as many skin cancers, melanomas, or other sun damage, such as premature aging and wrinkling.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:  Follow these important guidelines to better protect your children from the sun.

• Keep infants and young children out of the sun as much as possible during the first year of life.  A bad burn in a small infant can be very  serious.
• Watch the time.  The sun’s rays are most intense between 10 A.M. and 2 P.M..  If your child is at high risk (fair skin with blond or red hair and light eyes), try to schedule outdoor activities for early morning or late afternoon.
• Cover up your child with a sun hat,  sleeved shirt, and long pants.  For the newborns, a carriage with a hood is preferable to an upright stroller.  With an infant or toddler, use a canopy stroller or get an umbrella attachment.
• Apply a sunscreen½ hour before every exposure to the sun, and reapply frequently and liberally, at least every two hours, as long as they stay in the sun.  The sunscreen should always be reapplied after swimming or perspiring heavily, since products differ in their degrees of water resistance.  We recommend sunscreens with an SPF (sun protection factor) of 15 or more printed on the label. Don’t forget to use a sunscreen on overcast days.  The sun’s rays are as damaging to young skin on 
• cloudy, hazy days as they are on sunny days.
• Beware of reflective surfaces!  Sand, snow, concrete, and water can reflect more than half the sun’s rays onto the skin.  So children sitting in the shade are not guaranteed protection from sunburn. Be especially careful at certain altitudes and latitudes.  For every 1,000 feet above sea level, radiation increases 4 to 5 percent;  And the closer you are to the equator, the stronger the sun’s rays.  Take special care if you live in or visit warmer climates.
• Consult your physician or pharmacist before letting your child go out in the sun while under medication.  Photosensitivity - an adverse reaction to sunlight characterized by rash, redness, and swelling can be a side effect of certain medications. 
• Examine you child’s skin periodically, as well as your own.  Watch for any new raised growths, itchy patches, nonhealing sores, changes in moles, or new colored areas.  Skin cancer is extremely rare in children, and uncommon in teenagers.  However, concern for the health of their skin needs to be taught from the beginning.
• Set an example for your child.  The principles outlined here apply to people of all ages.  Use these simple measures to protect your own skin, and it is more likely that your child will also adopt sensible sun care habits.

HOME CARE for sunburns:

1. Pain relief

The sensation of pain and heat will probably last 48 hours.  Ibuprofen products started early and continued for 2 days can greatly reduce the discomfort.  Nonprescription 1% hydrocortisone cream or moisturizing creams applied three times a day may also reduce swelling and pain but only if the cream is used soon after your child was sunburned.  Continue using the cream for 2 days.  Do not use petroleum jelly or other ointments because they keep heat and sweat from escaping. 

The symptoms can also be helped by taking cool baths or putting cold wet cloths on the burned area several times a day.  Showers are usually too painful. 

Your child should drink extra water to replace the fluid lost into the swelling of sunburned skin and to prevent dehydration and dizziness. 

Peeling usually occurs in about a week.  Put a moisturizing cream on the skin. 

2. Blisters

If your child has broken blisters, we can trim off the dead skin. Apply an antibiotic ointment - bacitracin or polysporin. Never use neosporin on children’s skin. Wash off and reapply the ointment twice a day for 3 days.

3. Common mistakes in treatment and prevention of sunburn

Avoid putting ointments or butter on a sunburn.  They are painful to remove and not helpful. 

Don't buy any first aid creams or sprays for burns.  They often contain benzocaine, which can cause an allergic rash. 

Don't confuse sunscreens, which block the sun's burning rays, with suntan lotions or oils, which mainly lubricate the skin. 

CALL YOUR CHILD'S PHYSICIAN IMMEDIATELY IF: Your child starts acting very sick. 

CALL YOUR CHILD'S PHYSICIAN DURING OFFICE HOURS IF:

• The sunburn looks infected (red streaks, yellow pus, etc.)

• You have other questions or concerns.