FAQ: Dermatology for Kids | Jennifer Moller MS, PA-C

Many kids have asked me some really good questions over my time working with Dr. McNeill. Here are the best FAQ that I thought I should address, as the answers are valuable to know!
What happens when you get a sun burn?
Any time your skin tans or burns it’s a sign that it has been damaged by the Ultraviolet rays from the sun. The change in color comes from something in your skin called melanin. It’s what gives your skin its color; it’s there to protect you. When you body senses your skin being damaged by the sun’s rays, it produces more melanin to try and protect your skin from being damaged even more. This happens whether you have dark skin or light skin
Why do I have freckles?
If you have light colored skin it’s very possible you’ll have freckles, especially during the summer when you are playing outside. This is because of melanin, something in your skin that gives it color and tries to protect it from the sun. When you body senses your skin being damaged by the sun’s rays, it produces more melanin to try and protect your skin from being damaged even more. Sometimes this is an all over color like a sun burn or tan, and sometimes its small patches of freckles!
Why is hair different colors?
Like your skin, hair color comes from something called melanin. Some people call it pigment. People with darker hair make more melanin than people with lighter hair. How much melanin you make depends on your genes, which you get from your parents.
As you get much older you make less melanin… what do you think happens to the color of your hair when you get older? Gray or white hair!
Why does it not hurt to get a haircut?
The roots of your hair are alive, but the rest of your hair is dead. Hair grows out of little pockets in your skin, called follicles. Your hair begins growing from a root in the bottom of the follicle. Once the hair is long enough to poke out through the skin, a funny thing happens, it dies!
How many layers of skin do I have covering my muscles?
3 layers of skin cover your muscles. Epidermis is the top layer that protects your body. The Dermis is the middle layer helps you feel things. The third layer is subcutaneous (under the skin) fat. It attaches the dermis to your muscles and bones with fat and special connecting tissue.
How do you get gum out of your hair?
Head to the kitchen and grab creamy peanut butter. Ask your mom or dad to help you cover the gum completely with peanut butter using your fingers or an old toothbrush. The oils in the peanut butter will help the gum crumble. It might take a few minutes. Then, using your fingers or toothbrush, pull the gum and peanut butter out of your hair. Then shampoo your hair so that you don’t smell like a sandwich!
What really happens to your nails if you bite and swallow them?
Your body can’t digest nails the way it does when you eat food, they come out in your poop! Biting your nails is a bad idea because you create cuts in your hands that allow germs to get in. You also put germs that might be on your hands into your mouth. Both can make you sick!
Hopefully these FAQ were helpful!