Children love to spend time outdoors during the warm summer months. In order to ensure that your child is protected from the harmful rays of the sun, slathering your toddler with sunscreen is important. Unfortunately, there are times where sunscreen is forgotten or not applied often enough and your toddler could end up with a sunburn. While most sunburns are not cause for major concern, there are instances where your toddler might need medical attention after receiving a sunburn.
Here are three signs that you can be watching for when trying to determine if your child needs medical attention for sun exposure in the future.
1. Check the severity of the sunburn.
The first thing that you should do when determining if your child needs immediate medical attention for his or her sunburn is assess the severity of the damage. Carefully examine how much of your toddler's body is affected by the sunburn, and look for any indication that blisters are forming in the affected areas.
Blisters can pop open and leave the body susceptible to infection. If you see significant blistering on your child's skin, it's best to take him or her to an urgent care center in order to prevent potentially dangerous complications caused by infection.
2. Look for accompanying signs of heat stroke.
If your toddler has spent enough time in the sun to receive a serious sunburn, then he or she could be at risk of suffering from heat stroke as well. You should take the time to monitor your child for signs of a fever, dehydration, headaches, or confusion.
These could indicate that the sunburn your child received is contributing to heat stroke. Taking your toddler to an urgent medical care center immediately when you suspect heat stroke is accompanying a severe sunburn will help you prevent the heat stroke from compromising the health of your child.
3. Determine if home remedies are effective.
Many parents know that severe sunburns can be treated using aloe vera gel or other after-sun products that are designed to help ease the pain and discomfort associated with sun exposure.
If you notice that your child's sunburn doesn't appear to be responding to these home remedies, then you should consider taking him or her to an urgent care center. A doctor will be able to prescribe a corticosteroid cream that will help your child's skin heal from the harmful effects of a severe sunburn.
Knowing when to take your child to an urgent care center after too much exposure to the sun will help you prevent serious sunburns from compromising the health of your child this summer.
Share