Children who regularly spend time playing outside are generally more fit and have a lower risk of childhood obesity. They should enjoy the summer sun, but remember—too much exposure may not be good for them.
Research indicates that one serious childhood sunburn could trigger skin cancer later in their life. Mary Stone, MD, PhD, dermatologist at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, talks about sun safety:
Is direct sun exposure for an infant dangerous?
Small babies (infants) should be kept out of intense sun. They sunburn very easily. Burns are dangerous in infants. There's also eye injury with excess sun exposure, so, in general, doctors say that babies less than six months of age should be kept out of the sun. That doesn't mean you can't walk your child to the car or go for a walk around the block, but certainly sunbathing adult by adult standards is inappropriate for a small child.
When should a parent apply sunscreen on a child?
The sunscreen will say on the bottle that it's not approved for children under age six months of age. But, sun exposure can't be avoided. Ideally, small babies should not be out in the sun; but if sun exposure cannot be avoided, it is safer to apply the sunscreen to exposed areas than have the baby out in the sun without sunscreen. In general, the zinc oxide and titanium dioxide based products are very broad screen blockers and are often products that are suggested for infants.
Even with sunscreen, can a child still get sunburn?
Absolutely! Sun blocks and sunscreens do not screen out all of the sun. You can get sun burns after applying sunscreen, particularly if they're waterproof, because they can be sweated off, they can be rubbed off. For appropriate sunscreen use, they should be reapplied every two to three hours.
Could you explain for us what SPF on a sunscreen bottle refers to?
The SPF—sun protection factor—is a mathematical number. When you take, in an ideal laboratory condition, how long someone's skin takes to sunburn and then apply the sunscreen and retest; it gives you, for example, an SPF 10 would mean you could stay out in the sun 10 times longer, but that is under ideal laboratory conditions, and a lot of times those numbers aren't achieved with how we use sunscreen. So the higher the SPF, the better the sun protection or the longer one can stay out it the sun.
That being said, sunscreens have to be applied appropriately. A waterproof sunscreen needs to be used if people are swimming, if they're doing a lot of toweling or rubbing, they need to realize they're rubbing the sunscreen off. For optimal use, we recommend a sunscreen with a minimum of SPF 15, 30 is even better. It should be reapplied every two to three hours.
Can parents use other measures to protect their child from sunburn?
Absolutely! Clothing and hats help protect from sunburn. Shade is important, like sitting under an awning or umbrella instead out in the middle of the sun. Scheduling outdoor activities where the sun is not as intense—avoiding the 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. middle of the day. If you take tennis lessons at 8 a.m. or 5 p.m., you're going to get a lot less sun than doing it at high noon.
Adults know they can get sunburn even on a cloudy day, but what about putting the child's pool or general play area in the shade? Will shade from a tree, pavilion, or open tent help minimize sun damage?
Absolutely, shade is helpful. You can still get burnt on a cloudy day or in shade because you still get sun, It's definitely protective. I also want to mention tightly woven clothing is more protective. People can still sunburned through a wet, white T-shirt. Every little bit helps, but nothing is 100 percent. Ppeople need to be cautious.
If a child has a sunburn, red and blistery, how should a parent treat that burn?
Sunburn is a burn just like a burn from a stove or hot liquid. If your child is running a fever, if there's a large area burn with blistering, you should take your child to a physician. Small areas of sunburn can be treated with cool compresses or cool baths. Ibuprofen can be used for pain.
Keeping Vaseline or some bland moisturizer on the area can be somewhat soothing. Nothing undoes the sunburn, though. Once the burn is there, what you're doing is comfort measures. But a burn can be dangerous. If there's extensive sunburn, it's like being burned from the stove or hot liquid, and certainly if a child is acting ill, he needs to be taken to a doctor.
Skin is our body's largest organ and it repairs and renews itself constantly. Why is sunburn as a child running a greater risk of developing skin cancer as an adult?
Sun causes changes in the DNA of the skin cells that can later lead to cancer. You accumulate these hits throughout your lifetime and you have more time over your life to further insult the DNA and further insult the skin that leads to skin cancer.
The skin turns over, but not all the cells turn over. We hear about stem cells that are there all through your life, sort of the mother cells of things that reproduce. You don't get a whole new slate with your skin every time the top layer peels off;. |
