Preventing Sunburn and Skin Cancer in Children

On a recent daytrip to the Farmer's Market, our youngest granddaughter, age 1, received a mild pink sunburn. It lasted only a few hours, but the pinkness was noticeable and was disconcerting to her mother and I, who had applied sunscreen liberally. She was also riding in a stroller so we felt she was shaded by the roof of the stroller, but what we hadn't noticed was that the sun was shining into the front of the stroller onto her arms and her legs.

We were also out for about 3 hours, during which time, apparently her sunscreen wore off, especially since it was in the middle of the day from 11 to 2 or so. Children absorb 80% of their lifetime sun exposure before age 18 and just two childhood sunburns can increase their risk for developing skin cancer at a later age, according to the Center for Disease Control website.

Fortunately skin cancer is rarely lethal, with a high recovery rate for early diagnosis. But skin cancer is now the most common form of cancer in the United States and new research shows, that childhood melanoma cases are on the increase.

Almost all of the preventing skin cancer websites that I researched when considering this topic stated the same five basic skin cancer prevention tips.

Five most important skin cancer prevention tips

Seek the shade, especially between the hours of 10 am and 4pm.

Avoid sunbathing and tanning, especially in UV tanning booths

Do not let your skin burn!!

Use a sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher every day to protect against both UVA and UVB forms of sunlight. Use a stronger SPF rating if you are going to be outdoors for an extended period of time. And use a waterproof sunscreen when near pools and involved in water activities. And this is the step we didn't take for our granddaughter, reapply every two hours!

Covering up is the best defense, including light long sleeves, broad brimmed hats and UV blocking sunglasses. Wearing UV sunglasses not only protects your eyes from sun damage but also the skin around the eyes, which is often very tender and thin. Those prairie bonnets that are grandmothers wore and big brim straw hats worn by our grandfathers, were a good thing and a habit that we should reinstate in our children.

UV rays not only affect us on hot and bright, sunny days, but also on cloud filled days. In addition UV rays will reflect off any hard surface, such as water, cement parking lots, sandy beaches and even snow. It is these lethal UV rays that damage our skin.

Every child loves the sun and sand and outdoor activities during the summer. But a few minutes to teach them how to avoid dangerous UV rays will lessen your fears and protect their precious skin. I know that our brief skirmish with a bit of pink sunburn on a dear baby, has made all of us more conscious of what we need to do to protect her. Keeping Kids Healthy has a great article on this subject.

Resources used in Research

Center for Disease Control

Keeping Kids Healthy

My Optimum Health