Hi All. My son took a tumble at the park yesterday and his face is full of superficial scratches. We are invited to the beach today in a southern city. I am afraid of his scarring....and I do not want to stop his life.
Would you go? If so is putting on a hat enough? Should I put on sunblock on top of scratches?
Please be kind...I really don't know what to do.
Best,
Thank you all for the good wisdom. We went. Had a great time. :)
I wouldn't worry about it at all.
A little sunshine won't hurt him any and it won't have any adverse effect on scratches.
If the scratches are pretty much scabbed over, the sunscreen won't sting. Just put it on as you always would, and move your hand in straight strokes rather than a heavy back-and-forth motion which could loosen the scabs. (They will fall off anyway but don't rub the kid's face raw, that's all.) But remember that it's November, and the sun is not that intense, and I doubt he's going to burn to a crisp even with no sunscreen at all. We need some plain sunshine every day anyway - Vitamin D and all that. Scarring is highly unlikely anyway - cuts have to be super deep for that to happen, and the sun won't affect that.
If it makes you feel better, my son was playing with a metal rod he found in the garage, went down a slide, and poked a good sized L-shaped scar in his cheek. It was something they decided not to stitch because it would have been made even worse. They said to let nature take its course, and we could address plastic surgery later on if there was a bad scar. It was definitely noticeable for about a year or so but even that kind of a bad injury faded and is totally disappeared now. And your son has a lot of scratches but certainly nothing as deep as what my son had, so I think you have to unload the guilt you mentioned in your prior post, accept that kids get hurt, and that 99.5% of the time there is no lasting damage.
Go to the beach, have fun, put a hat on him if you want to, and relax! You definitely need some relaxation too!!
if they're really superficial i'd just put on the sunscreen and go about your fun day. if he has cuts that are actually open, i wouldn't.
khairete
S.
scars are a part of life. My kids have a ton. Teeny little artificial scratches are nothing.
Las golpes de la vida.
Superficial scratches? No big deal. Let the kid play in the sand. I've gone to the beach with stitches under a bandage.
If they are minor topical scratches you could use natural (google the safe sunblocks) with a hat. If they are real abrasions with tender skin showing and cuts I wouldn't do it, personally. It's only one day of not doing something.
I don't think I'd put sunblock on a cut .. just because I wouldn't want to irritate it, I'd likely have Polysporin and a bandage on scrapes if it were me. But yes, you should always use sunblock on new scars because they can get darker in the sun than surrounding skin.
If it's just a scratch and not open? I'd probably use sunblock unless it stung him or made the scrape worse. Hard to say without seeing it.
I have put sunblock on top of scratches only because my kids are permanently scratched up. If you're concerned and going to be worried, I'd consider whether it's worth stressing out over. Personally, I'd go but that's just my comfort level.
