The skin of children is less able to protect itself from sun damage, which makes frequent application of sunscreen crucial to preventing burns and skin cancer. If your child suffers a sunburn, prompt treatment can reduce the severity of symptoms, ease pain and shorten the recovery period. Sunburn in children can also lead to dehydration, a potentially serious complication that requires medical attention if it becomes severe or occurs in very young children.
Step 1
Bring your child indoors at the first sign of sunburn. The symptoms of sunburn might not develop right away, which means the burn may actually be worse than you realize. Do not wait for symptoms to worsen before removing your child from the sun.
Step 2
Call your child's pediatrician if he is younger than 1 year or develops severe pain, lethargy, blistering or fever.
Step 3
Bathe your child in tepid water to cool his skin and ease his discomfort. Adding colloidal oatmeal to the bathwater may be soothing.
Step 4
Lightly apply a soothing moisturizing lotion; do not rub it into the skin and avoid lotions that contain antihistamines, alcohol or other medications. Lotions with aloe vera may be particularly beneficial.
Step 5
Ask your child's pediatrician about using a topical corticosteroid to reduce skin inflammation and pain. These medications are available at most pharmacies and can help treat sunburn when used several times each day for the first few days following sun exposure.
Step 6
Offer your child frequent drinks of water or fruit juice to prevent dehydration. If symptoms of dehydration --- such as sunken eyes, headache, dark or strong-smelling urine, dizziness or dry lips --- develop, switch to a rehydration solution and consult a doctor.
Step 7
Treat fever with over-the-counter ibuprofen or acetaminophen to make your child more comfortable. Sunburn can cause a slight fever in children. Ibuprofen offers the added benefit of reducing inflammation.
Step 8
Keep your child indoors and away from the sun as much as possible until his sunburn is completely healed. In addition to increasing his pain, additional sun exposure can cause sun damage.
Step 9
Cover small blisters with gauze. Do not break them and keep your hands off them to prevent infection. Report large blisters to your doctor.
Things You'll Need
- Colloidal oatmeal
- Moisturizing lotion
- Topical corticosteroid
- Over-the-counter ibuprofen
- Rehydration solution
- Gauze pads
