As mothers around the world can attest, it’s sometimes hard to get your kids to listen to you about sun safety. Unfortunately, rebelling against that kind of parental advice can have dire consequences. In this case? Blistering third-degree sunburns.
11-year-old Nathan Herbert went for a swim in the English sea last week during a heatwave in which temperatures broke nearly 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Nathan’s mother, Nicola Williams, had warned her son to be sure to wear sunscreen while he swam, but he didn’t take it with him.
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By the end of the day, Nathan had second- and third-degree burns on his body, forcing him to cancel his birthday party on the upcoming Sunday.
The blistering burns prompted him and his family to share photos to reinforce the importance of applying sunscreen, particularly during the summer months. Nicole shared that Nathan “doesn’t want any of his friends to get burned the way he has, so he agreed to share the pictures.”
Nicola shared with the Daily Mail that Nathan has been “so upset, firstly because of the pain but now he’s just fed up.”
His mother took him to see the doctor after he returned from the beach. The doctor confirmed he had second- and third-degree burns. Nathan was prescribed antibiotics, burn creams, and silicone dressings that need to be changed daily.
The CDC recommends wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants to protect against UV rays, a hat, sunglasses, and a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher. It recommends reapplying sunscreen at least every two hours, as well as after swimming, sweating, or toweling off.
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