DD is sunburnt - what to do?

[Pollyxplummer]

DD (7) played outside in the paddling pool all day today, having a great time.
I reapplied her factor 50 x3 times, so I don't understand why she's now sunburnt??!!

She is red all over her back and shoulders, and her skin is warm to touch. She says it doesn't hurt though.

I gave her a cool bath and covered her all over in after sun. I've just been in to check on her and she's fast asleep so no discomfort but her skin is still warm to touch and still quite red.

Any suggestions for what else I can do?

Thank you

If she’s asleep I would leave her now, plenty of after sun tomorrow
three times won’t be enough if she’s been in and out of water and it’s not a waterproof one, it’ll just come straight off. Maybe get a UV top?

Was the sun cream old?

Aloe Vera tomorrow 3 or 4 times during the day and keep her in for 4 or 5 days.

Just keep applying after sun to keep moist. Keep her hydrated.Dd12 went out to the local summer fair, she was out for 4 hours, my mum told me before she went she was smothered in factor 50, her face still burnt. Same with me, I was in the garden for 2 hours and my face got burnt even with sun cream. Obviously the smart thing to do is to not go in the sun but you gotta get on with life.

Some sun cream is not waterproof.

I agree with UV top and hat, sunscreen isn't enough on high UV days.

Give paracetamol if she wakes in pain, but finger crossed she is ok by morning.

Is it our of date, check the months it lasts on the back once opened and have a think about when you opened it.

I wondered this. I've only recently become aware that sun cream can start to lose its effectiveness if the bottle was first opened more than a year ago. It's also possible it may have washed off in the paddling pool.

If you don’t already have some it might be worth buying some Aloe Vera gel tomorrow. I buy it from the local health food shop. Calamine lotion is also good (available from chemists).

In future, I would say that instead of reapplying sun cream it is better to cover up - with a hat to protect the face/neck and a lightweight long sleeved T shirt or rash vest to protects arms and back. Also, place the paddling pool in the shade!

Definitely don’t let her play out in the sun tomorrow without adequate protective clothing, to give her skin a chance to recover.

Hope she is ok.

Thanks all.

No, suncream wasn't old, it was bought last week, kept out of the sun in the medicine cabinet and labelled "water resistant".
She's at school tomorrow so I'll have to just lather her in after sun in the morning as I doubt the school will be able to do it.

My rule of thumb is to reapply every hour or every time after they've been in the water whichever comes first.

factor 50 doesn’t mean you can be out all day without burning, even if reapplied, as some sun will get through. What it does is allow you to stay in the sun for the length of time it would take you to burn, but without burning. I will burn through factor 50 if I am in the sun for an hour , I think I could do around half an hour without burning.
Sun creams do vary in effectiveness too, and the vast majority of people don’t put enough on. The actual factor in use is usually much less than 50.
To be out all day and not burn, especially in water, is pretty much impossible, especially as even with factor 50, a rash vest and hat, there is so much reflection from the water.

Second Aloe Vera gel. Put it in the fridge for extra cooling quality, and apply it tomorrow after school and before bed. Superdrug usually has it.

Aloe Vera stored in fridge to soothe it.

Place a parasol over the pool to protect her

I would wet a cloth and place it on her burnt back to cool the skin. Cooling a burn should always be the absolute priority.

sun factor is a time not a strength spf 10 = 10 mins full coverage in the sun spf 30 = 30 mins, before application should be reapplied. 3 x in a day isn’t anywhere near enough especially when swimming water proof or not. Not many people realise this about spf. A cold shower or bath will help take the warmth out of the skin.

It doesn’t matter what factor of cream you use if they are out in it too long. A factor 50 will give you 50 times your natural protection, so if you have olive skin that could be out for 1 hr without burning you’d get 50 hours, if you are like me and super fair skinned and would start to burn in about 5 minutes you’d get 4 hours protection.

Most people are going to be somewhere in the middle of that but you get the idea.

Add to that jumping in and out of a pool and slaps hung around all day and you decrease the protection significantly, even the most waterproof creams need to be reapplied between every 1-3 hours.

The best thing as others have suggested would be a hat and rash vest and a break out of the sun between 1-3 pm when the UV is strongest.

Hope she’s feeling OK tomorrow.

Try these next time it will surprise you how often you need to reapply and how much you need. Water resistance isn’t water proof. https://www.amazon.co.uk/uv-detection-stickers-sun/s?k=uv+detection+stickers+sun

It's the reflected sunlight off the water too - I have got a fair bit of costume shaped suntan from swimming daily in my neighbour's pool, despite always being out of the water by 10am (earlier on a weekday because of work), even on my legs.

Sudocrem

@Pollyxplummer Did you allow it to “take” before she went in the water each time? My kids always sit for 30 mins indoors before they are allowed in the pool. And 20 mins before going out in the sun at all once it’s been applied.

A cold wet flannel tonight and Aloe Vera gel. And a long UV suit next time. So much better/safer/easier than a small cossie and having to sun cream the whole body.

Agree with @caringcarer aloe Vera is a must.

Keep putting after sun on and keep her covered from anymore sun. A lot of people have been caught out by the power of the sun this last few days - factor 50 every half hour especially if playing in water whilst the sun is this strong.
I’d say she’ll be fine as she’s not hurting and is asleep etc x

not sure if you did but you need to wait 20 mins from applying it to when they go out, it needs time to absorb. I set a timer. We live in a hot country and I apply it every two hours when at beach or in the pool. Even though it says four I prefer two with the kids. Also zinc on the face is fantastic

If it doesn't hurt there's no need to do anything. After sun gel only reduces the discomfort, it doesn't heal the skin in any way.