Ouch, that sunburn hurts
May 20, 2008 by Kenneth Carlson, MD
With the sudden arrival of summer sun we are seeing a parade of red shoulders from patients and staff. Many are quite uncomfortable. Even though we live in Oregon, sunscreen is very important for all age groups. We are having some visits asking us for relief of the sunscreen after the damage is done. Unfortunately there isn’t much to do after the sun damage besides moisturizer lotions and pain relievers.The best treatment is prevention.The best sunscreen is shade. Hat, T-shirt and tree shade goes a long way to protecting skin. Avoiding the time of day with the most direct rays (your shadow is very short) is very helpful. For chemical sunscreens apply at least SPF 25 to all exposed skin 20 minutes before going outside. Reapply every 1-2 hours, especially if swimming or at the beach. What to do once sunburn has happened:
- Use ibuprofen to decrease pain and skin inflammation
- Hydrocortisone 1% cream can be used on intact skin to decrease skin inflammation
- For any popped blisters use topical antibiotic creams to decrease chance for infection
- Increase fluid intake
- Call office for lots of blistering on face
- Call office for blistering covering >10% of body surface
Car Seat Assistance Program
May 14, 2008 by Kenneth Carlson, MD
If you need help to purchase a car seat there are several agencies supporting a program to get you a car set at low cost. The program is administered by Safe Kids here in Salem. Our office is not directly involved in the program but do support its efforts to make car seats available to families. This is also an excellent program to check if you are installing it correctly. It is very common for the seat to not be installed in the absolute correct way. For general information check out our page on safety seats. Read more
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