Life Lessons

I remember, when I was kid, running around in the summertime in a spaghetti straps and shorts.  I would watch the older girls in the neighborhood baste themselves in baby oil trying to get that deep Malibu Barbie tan.  No one talked about sunscreen until I was well into high school...college even.  I remember our band trip to Hawaii, and one of my very fair-skinned friends going snorkeling and coming back the color of a well-cooked lobster - but never thinking twice about "SPF".

Now, as an adult I buy clothes specifically made to protect my kids from the sun.  I slather SPF 50 onto their little faces and arms and train them to wear sunglasses at a very young age.  But even with all of that - sometimes burns happen.

When Urban went to the cabin last week we were sure to pack his sunscreen and his swim clothes.  We knew he would be out in the sun and in the lake A LOT.  He is a boy who loves water and loves adventure.  And although we expected him to come home full of stories and a little pink in the cheeks, we never expected the result of an ivory-skinned boy + a lot of time outdoors + not enough sunscreen.

Here are the pictures we expected to get -

Urban with a frog

Urban Goofing Around

Perhaps less expected - 

Urban holding a snake

Urban Shooting a Bow and Arrow

Definitely unexpected was this 

This is Urban at the ER with 2nd and 3rd degree sunburn across his nose, cheeks and eyes.  

When he returned on Friday evening I was concerned.  His face was red and swollen to the point he didn't look like himself.  I called the nurse line, and they said cool washcloths and aloe and to watch it closely for any changes.  That night, his nose began to blister and his eyes swelled even more.  By morning his under-eye area was so swollen it had gone from deep red to white with fluid.  His eyes were matted shut with discharge and his nose showed obvious blistering.  We decided to take him to the ER incase there might be infection or something else.  I had never seen a sunburn like this.

He was excited to get to go to the hospital again.  We felt terrible.  He looked beaten.  His bottom lip was so swollen!  The doctor checked him thoroughly for all bruises and other signs of trauma.  It was somewhat humiliating.  She chuckled a little seeing how white the rest of him was.  "You were serious when you said he always wears his SPF clothes, huh?"  She said.  Yeah.  I am serious.  I just wish he had an SPF spiderman mask.

The doctor prescribed Ibuprofin for the pain and swelling, cool compresses and oatmeal baths.  (Aveeno makes an oatmeal bath that we mixed with water and used to gently pat on his face with a soft cloth.  It helped with some of the itchiness and heat.)

He woke up the next day with his eyes matted shut, but the blisters had already begun to rupture and peel.  He was less swollen but still not back to normal.

Here is Urban Day 3:

You can see the peeling, burnt skin and puffiness around his eyes.  We continued with the ibuprofin and cool compresses.  By Monday he was back at school - peeling like crazy, but all the swelling was gone.

He was also very much over my photographing his burn.

Today he just has a few spots where the dead, burned skin is still hanging on and this tender pink skin is emerging from below.  It is amazing how quickly the body heals itself.  I have a little concern because his skintone looks really uneven right now.   Hopefully that will clear up with time.

But, I tell you, always use sunscreen.  Use more than you think you should.  Put your kids in hats or sunglasses to protect those tender eyes.  Let your kids have fun outside in the beautiful weather, but remember to take breaks and drink water.  The shade is a beautiful thing too.  

We all learned a lesson about sun protection this weekend.  I hope I never have to see my one of my boys like this again, but I'm sure the next thing will come.  And we'll live through that too.