How to protect your child from sunburn
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- Dr. Doris Day , Dermatologist
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Dr. Doris Day
Dermatologist
Do you know what kind of sunscreen to use on your kids' tender skin? Dermatologist and author Dr. Doris Day explains the best ways to protect children from the sun's damaging rays, and tells you what to do in case your child gets a severe sunburn.
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Instructions
How to protect your child from sunburn
Make sure you keep your kids safe from the sun this summer. Dr. Doris Day has great advice on safety in the sun for children that will help lower your child's sunburn risk.- Use sunscreen with an SPF 30 or higher. A good gauge of adequate sun protection for kids is to apply enough sunscreen to fill a shot glass.
- Look for products that offer both UVA and UVB protection.
- UVB rays penetrate the skin to cause burning. This is what SPF refers to.
- UVA rays have a longer wavelength that can penetrate through glass. So UVA rays can affect you even while you’re in the car.
- Photo-stabilized products offer even more protection by making the UVA and UVB protection last longer. But you still have to reapply them often to maximize safety in the sun and reduce the risk of sunburn.
- Younger skin is more susceptible to sunburn and sun damage. Your child's skin is still developing.
- A child's body surface to volume ratio is also much different than adults. So the symptoms and consequences of a sunburn are much more severe.
- If your child's sunburn is accompanied by grogginess, vomiting, fever or chills, then they may have sun poisoning. If these symptoms are present, you should take your child to the emergency room or call your doctor for advice.
- A tan is a sign of sun damage. So even if your child doesn’t burn – but gets tan – they’re still damaging their skin.
- Avoid the noonday sun, when it’s at the highest point in the sky.
- Wear clothing that offers a SPF of 30 or higher.
- You can also buy a fabric softener that adds some SPF protection to your clothing.
- Use products with zinc oxide because they don’t actually penetrate the skin, but create a protective coating.
- New FDA rules mean that sunscreens can no longer say “water proof” – they’ll say “water resistant.”
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