Protect Your Baby From The Sun
Minimizing Sun Exposure Now Can Prevent Skin Cancer In The Future
Follow these simple tips to guard your baby from the sun and decrease their chances of getting a Melanoma later in life.
You do so much to enrich your baby's mind. You read to her. You feed her organic baby food. You play classical music for her. You take her for long walks in the park. On those long walks, how much do you think about protecting her fragile skin from the sun?
A University of Minnesota study reported a few disturbing facts about kids and sun exposure:
- Just one or two sunburns in childhood can double the risk of developing a malignant Melanoma later on in life.
- Children get an average of three times more sun exposure than adults.
- 80 percent of sun damage occurs during the first 18 years of life.
Shielding babies and children from the sun is easy enough; it's remembering to perform a few simple steps before leaving the house that might be difficult for busy parents. Dr. Sears recommends a few easy steps to make sure your child is protected:
- Minimize sun exposure during the peak hours of 10 AM to 3 PM.
- Cover your baby head-to-toe in lightweight and lightly colored fabric. Dr. Sears recommends a white adult T-shirt and a wide-brimmed hat.
- After six months of age, apply children's sunscreen liberally. The effects of sunscreen on a newborn's thin skin have not been adequately studied. Do not use alcohol-based, clear sunscreen on baby skin, because it can irritate it. Use a milky white sunscreen made for kids.
- If your child is playing in water, reapply sunscreen every two hours.
- Beware of reflective surfaces that can make sunburns worse: water, white sand and concrete are examples. Be aware of how often sunscreen is being applied when these surfaces are present.
- Don't forget baby's eyes! When you need sunglasses outdoors, so does your baby. Look for sunglasses that offer "100% UV Protection." Toy sunglasses that have no UV protection built in may make exposure worse; they dilate baby's pupils and make her eyes absorb more light. Dr. Sears recommends setting an example by putting your own sunglasses on before trying to make your baby wear hers.
- Always use an umbrella when at the beach, and the canopy on baby's stroller when outdoors.
- There are companies, like Solartex, that make clothing that resists UV rays. The swimsuits with UV protection are more expensive than regular swimwear, but some offer SPF (Sun Protection Factor) 50 protection. The higher the SPF covering a person, the longer they can last in the sun without getting burned. MedicineNet explains:
"The SPF rating is calculated by comparing the amount of time needed to produce a sunburn on protected skin to the amount of time needed to cause a sunburn on unprotected skin. Let us take for instance a fair-skinned person who would normally turn red after 10 minutes in the sun. Ten minutes is their "initial burning time." If that person uses a sunscreen with SPF 2, it takes 20 minutes in the sun for that person's skin to turn red. Now, if that person uses a sunscreen with SPF 15, it multiplies the initial burning time by 15, so it takes 150 minutes, or 2 and half hours, for that person's skin to turn red. Sunscreens with an SPF of 15 or higher are generally thought to provide useful protection from the sun's harmful rays."
By educating themselves and following this simple advice, parents can guard their kids against health concerns later in life and help them have a happier childhood.
