• The skin has several essential functions: perception of pain, heat, and cold; protection from invasion by microorganisms and trauma; temperature regulation; vitamin D synthesis; and excretion.
• Wound healing has three phases: inflammation, reconstruction, and maturation.
• Contact dermatitis is an inflammation of the skin that occurs in response to direct contact with an allergen, causing an immune response or an irritant without an immune response.
• Superabsorbent disposable diapers reduce the frequency and severity of diaper dermatitis because, when wet, a gel forms and keeps the skin drier than cloth diapers.
• Seborrheic dermatitis is an inflammatory skin condition due to an overgrowth of Pityrosporum yeast in areas of sebaceous gland activity. It is commonly found on the scalp, forehead, and postauricular and periorbital areas.
• Treatment of atopic dermatitis involves hydration and lubrication of the skin with moisturizing ointments. Inflammation is treated with wet compresses and corticosteroid ointments.
• Acne medications, tretinoin or isotretinoin, are phototoxic. Avoidance of sun exposure or the use of sunscreen is important to prevent a significant sunburn.
• The classic impetigo lesion begins as a vesicle surrounded by edema and redness. The vesicle fluid turns cloudy and ruptures, leaving a honey-colored crust on an ulcerated base.
• Folliculitis, a superficial inflammation of the pilosebaceous follicle, may be associated with Pseudomonas exposure in a poorly chlorinated pool or hot tub.
• Children with cellulitis appear ill with fever, chills, malaise, and enlarged lymph nodes. The infected site is erythematous, warm, and tender.
• Treatment for lice includes a pediculicide shampoo, distilled white vinegar to loosen the nits' bonds to the hair shafts, and combing the hair with a fine-toothed comb to remove all the nits. A second treatment is needed in 7 days.
• Scabies lesions appear as linear, threadlike, grayish burrows 1 cm to 10 cm in length that may end in a pinpoint vesicle. Often the child's scratching and secondary infection will change the appearance of the lesions.
• Children using oral inhalers with corticosteroids are at risk for thrush (oral candidiasis). Rinsing the mouth well with water after using the inhaler helps to prevent thrush.
• Treatment for tinea capitus involves 8 to 12 weeks of oral griseofulvin. Giving this medication with fatty foods such as whole milk or peanut butter enhances its absorption.
• Children at greatest risk for pressure ulcers are those with limited mobility, sensory deficits, or the inability to change positions.
• Of the four main types of burns (thermal, chemical, electrical, and radioactive), thermal burns are most common in children. They occur through exposure to flames or scalds and contact with a hot object.
• Repeated sunburns during childhood increase the risk for development of malignant melanoma in early adulthood.
• Children are at greater risk for hypothermia because of their thinner skin, limited subcutaneous fat, and high surface area to body mass ratio.
• Frostbite occurs when ice crystallizes in the tissues, causing cellular dehydration and ischemic damage.
• Dog bites account for 80% of animal bites treated in the United States. Children at greater risk for animal bites are boys less than 8 years old. Most children know the dog that bites them.
• Insects and spiders with venomous bites include bees, fire ants, black widow spiders, and brown recluse spiders.
• Venomous snakes living in the wild in the United States include rattlesnakes, copperheads, cottonmouths, and coral snakes.

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