I don't think these images even begin to show how awful this really looks. My boys spent 4 hours at the city pool on Monday.  They had waterproof sunscreen with SPF 50, they had instructions to put it on every hour, and wait 10 minutes after each application before getting back into the pool. When I picked them up, I about died when I saw my oldest twin.  I immediately asked about the sunscreen and they both swear they put it on just like they were supposed to (I had even called them to remind them).  And while my youngest got a little pink (already brown the next morning), my oldest son is horribly burned.  I called the pharmacy today to ask if they had anything stronger/better I could put on the burn than what I'd already bought and eventually talked to the pharmacist and he said "doesn't he take tetracycline?"  Yes, he does.  Well, apparently, this antibiotic makes you photosensitive - according to the pharmacist, I probably won't be able to find a sunscreen strong enough to protect him as long as he's taking this medication.  I'm sure this was in the fine print somewhere when they gave me the prescription.  I feel like a horrible mom.  And I just want to cry when I look at him.  I took him to the dr. today and he ended up putting him on steroids, giving him pain medication (the same stuff my husband had after surgery!) and some kind of liquid to put on the burn.  So this is my public service announcement:  if you take any kind of medication, please find out if it causes photosensitivity before sun exposure! His entire back, shoulders, chest and upper arms look like this:

 

 

 

 

 

Yikes! That looks terribly painful! I'm sorry he is burned so badly!  

OUCH and do NOT feel like a bad mom, whichever pharmacist filled that script for your son should have TOLD YOU THAT, especially given your sons age and knowing that in the summer kids are outside ALL THE TIME....you need to send these photos to him and let hm (or her, sorry) what your son is going through because he/she did not warn you....I am sorry your guy is goiing through this....i know they hand out the sheet with the "reactions" etc. with all scripts but......i would still think it's there ( or even their)   job to make a parent AWARE of the dangers of sun.....

holey moley===  yikes!

 

i had blistering sunburn when i fell asleep on an inner tube and floated downa  river for an hour- i thought i still had my tshirt on but i didn't

they had me put ice water soaked and wrung out towels on it for a day before the lotions and gels to help suck the heat out... so it wouldn't scar....

my mom just had a bucket of ice water- dip towel ring and lay on my back- it would get hot within a miunte and be almost dry. it really helped with the peeling too... becasue had it peeled really bad i would have been miserable!

so you may try to that for a few hours. if it is still warm to the touch- you can still do that.  the gels and lotions just tend to trap the heat in by closing off the pores the cool water opens them up and lets them breathe a bit...

and don't feel bad babe... it was probably either not on their or on the 5 page package insert no one ever has any time to read......

Oh, wow, poor, poor thing!  One of my twins has fair skin and has burned like this over the years.  No matter how many times I have insisted she wear sunscreen, she has insisted on not wearing it.  Can you believe she is a lifeguard???  Her legs got fried the other day.  Not as badly as your son though, but she has been that burned and even ran a fever from it.  You would think she would learn.   

Thanks for making me feel better - I guess it's just a mom thing to feel guilty about everything, ya know?  And it just makes me sick to see him hurting so much.  He was up until 3:00 this morning - I just knew those pain pills would knock him out but they didn't.  He just cant get comfortable at all.  He finally fell asleep after 3:00 - but I'm not sure how long it will last.  

Jen - the first day he had a temp of 101 - and when we put wet towels on him they did exactly as you described.  It was sickening.  But I just thought he'd be better the next day......  It wasn't until these huge blisters came up and he started having chills that I realized it was more than I should be trying to treat at home and he needed to go to the dr.  I've had many sunburns as a child, I have almost flurescent white skin with freckles all over and can't tan no matter what I do.  But I've never had anything like this.  I got burned in Florida on the bottoms of my legs (was sitting under an umbrella, but the sun reflected off the white sand, apparently) and they looked a bit like this, but it was just on the front of my legs.  This is all over him.

I asked the pharmacist about the warning and he said it was on the printed sheet they gave me when I picked up the prescription - but it's not on the bottle.  I'm sure I read it at the time - several months ago in the dead of winter.  (He's been taking this for a while for acne.)  I was planning to take him off the medicine this summer anyway because usually when he spends a lot of time outside, his skin clears up anyway.    

Oh bless his heart (and yours because I know you feel bad)!  As a mom we always blame ourselves.  I actually knew about the photosensitivity myself and did the same sort of thing...though not this bad.  I was taking a medication that I KNEW did that and played a whole lot of softball and ended up with a freakish rash on my arms.  Poor guy...he is going to be miserable for a while.  It sounds like everyone has given you good advice...hope he finds some relief soon.

God love! it's not your fault! a couple things that help, from experience! let them soak in a bath of milk, not skim. the casein(sp) in the milk will draw the heat out. also, noxema face wash, the creamy type, will make it feel better. don't ask me why, but it does! another thing. if you can get a script for some triamcinalone(sp) cream, it's a topical steroid, it does wonders. i have very fair skin, and when i was younger, had a burn like that at least twice a year,due to my own stupidity.

sorry if these are repeats of what someone else said, but i just read your posts.

as for the pharmicist saying it was on the sheet, it's supposed to be on a label on the bottle!

OH that poor kid.  Those things hurt so dang bad too.  Really feel for him.  And you.  I know how it feels to think you did something wrong.  You didn't, that info should be on the bottle and he should have told you.

My daughter is a freckled face white skinned person too.  And she really has too work to get a tan.  Although she should stop that and she isn't gonna listen to me.

When she was 13, we took her and a friend to Padre Island for a day and we all got horrible sunburns.  We were all miserable that night.  This was before the protective suntan lotions were available.  Just the kind to supposedly get a good tan.  And we were still on vacation headed to Carlsbad Caverns....wasn't a good trip after the burns....everyone was pretty miserable.

Brenda got the worst of it.  Her burns turned purple and blistered on her upper thighs and sides of her hips she got burned so bad.  It was horrible looking.  I felt so bad for her and felt so guilty that I had let her stay out that long.  We were using suntan lotion, but sure didn't help a bit.  She has scars from it.

So don't feel bad, you thought you were doing the right thing.  You sent the lotion, told them to use it and even called to remind them to use it.  I'd say you more than did your job.

OUCH!  I once had a blistering sunburn....I fell asleep and woke up two hours later!  Yikes!

Vinegar stinks, but it will take the heat out.  Douce a soft rag, (not a wash cloth, like a tshirt that has been cut up) and gently pat it on the burn.  I did that before bed and it helped me to sleep.  Also, soft cool sheets are a must, because he will feel every little pill on regular sheets.

 

Oh Michell!  OUCH!  I am sorry he is hurting and you are too.  Someone at the office should have told you about this when he started Tetracycline, they shouldn't have left if to you to try to find on the med sheet.  Don't beat yourself up, really they should have discussed this with you.  Kids are always out in the summer and part of their responsiblity when giving him a rx like this is to talk with you about the side effects.  I feel so sorry for you both.

Ouch!  Hope he feels better soon!

So does he have sun poisoning?
I hope he feels better soon

That happened to me when I went to San Diego when I was 21 or so.  I got so sick....on the plane flight home they gave me my own row of seats because they felt sorry for me and let me lay down and sleep.

You're not a bad mom....it happens....I'd imagine they will just want to sleep soon.  I know I did.  I slept for 2 or 3 days straight.  I got up to eat and drink water.  It's miserably painful. 

Youch!!

Oh, how awful.  The poor thing - and you too. I was on that med once and luckily the Dr. was very upfront with me about the dangers.

I grew up on the ocean, back when we used to put on baby oil instead of sunscreen. 

The cold salt water heals like nothing else but barring that here is my unsolicited advice: 

 Aloe is better to use then any other "home" remedy.  The more pure the better even though it does not smell very good.  It will soothe the burn AND moisterize the skin so the burn doesn't feel so "tight" and painful.  (I tried the noxema thing once and the greasyness of it made the burn way way worse.)

In the future - there are waterproof sunscreens that go to 85 Nutragina makes one, Coopertone waterbabies  only goes to 50 but you can get 75 and 85 at the different baby specialty stores.

ALSO they now sell shirts that have built in SPF factors AND can go in the water.  Often they are called "rashguards"  and you can get them long or short sleeved.

If you haven't all ready, talk to the Dr. to make sure he does not have sun poisoning because there are special precautions if he does. 

 

Poor thing...I had a bad burn like this when I was young, it is very painful.  I hope he fells better soon!