SunSafety

Issue 13
Taking the right steps to protect your children from the sun can prevent them from getting skin cancer in later life. Here, Zoe Bolton asks Hazel Nunn from Cancer Research UK for the low down on child sun safety What precautions should parents take with babies under six months old?

It’s a simple message really. Babies less than six months old should be kept in the shade all the time. They can’t get up and walk around so parents need to make sure that they lay their baby somewhere cool and out of direct sunlight.

Do you also recommend putting hats and sunscreen on babies even when they are in the shade?

Obviously, it would depend on the level of shade. If a baby is under the shade of something solid or they are inside then they will not get sunburnt and parents don’t really need to apply sunscreen. But if they’re under a tree and in dappled sunlight then it’s worth protecting them with a hat and some loose clothing.

It’s common sense really, if there’s any chance of sunlight getting though it’s worth taking extra precautions.

I wouldn’t recommend putting sunscreen all over a baby’s body. If they are going to be coming into contact with sunlight, sunscreen should just be applied to exposed areas such as the feet and hands.

n Which factor sun protection should parent’s use?

We recommend factor 15 and above for everybody - for babies and young children the higher the better . The sun is hottest between 11.00am and 3.00pm, so it is especially important to be vigilant during those times of day.

What precautions should parents take with children older than six months?

The advice is slightly different here because once children are able to walk they are more likely to run around and to run into the sunlight.

It is unrealistic to expect them to stay out of the sun all of the time but as their skin is still really delicate it is important to make sure that they are properly protected. Parents should dress children in loose cotton clothing and a wide-brimmed hat, which covers as much of the child’s face as possible. Wrap-around sunglasses, which cover the front and the side of the eyes, are also essential. Again, apply factor 15 plus sun cream to any exposed areas of skin.

What about children of primary school age?

Parents should follow the same advice but another thing that I’m keen to get across to parents is that for primary school age children being a role model is also very important.

Often parents are very, very careful with their children and really put their health first but then they don’t follow the recommended precautions themselves. Primary school children are heavily influenced by their parents, so if mum and dad can put on a wide-brimmed hat, wear loose clothing and apply sunscreen that’s going to have a positive influence on the children.What do parents need to do to protect children when they are in and out of the water?

If children are going in the water parents should reapply sunscreen as often as possible. Dry the child off and then reapply the cream to make sure that it’s covering all exposed areas.

Parents should also try and replace their children’s clothing with dry clothing after they have come out of the water because once a t-shirt is wet it can actually lose up to half of its UV protection. If parents don’t have a dry t-shirt then they should encourage their child to sit in the shade.

Parents should keep children in the shade and out of direct sunlight as often as possible. For those times when it’s not feasible to keep children in the shade and they’re running around madly, the most important thing is to cover their shoulders and the top of their head. Any exposed bits that can’t be covered with clothing should be protected with sunscreen.

What should parents do if their children do get sunburnt?

The first thing is to make sure that they come out of the sun and go somewhere cool. The chances are that the child will be feeling a bit hot and bothered, so parents should make sure that the child drinks plenty of water to stop them from getting dehydrated.

If their skin starts to blister and they’re feeling feverish, or a parent is particularly concerned then it might be worth seeking medical advice. But normally just keeping children out of the sun, cooling their skin and giving them plenty of water is enough.

Should parents apply after-sun to children or is that not something that you would recommend?

I’m not sure that there are any kind of health benefits in terms of protecting the child after they’ve been burnt - the damage is already done. But in terms of moisturising and making their skin feel cooler and nice it can’t do any harm.

How does the sun damage the skin when children are young?

The top layer of the skin is thinner and paler so the sun’s rays go through and they can damage the DNA in the lower layers of the skin and that’s what can cause cancer.

Once the skin’s damaged there isn’t a lot that you can do because there’s no way of repairing the skin.

We hear a lot about skin cancers in older people. Are there instances of skin cancer in young children?

It is very rare for children pre-teenage years to get skin cancer and it only happens in really rare cases, for example if a child has a certain type of medical condition.

What it is important to get across is that the damage caused by the sun when children are young is more likely to lead to skin cancer later in life. We get 80% of our sun exposure by the time we’re 21 so that is why it’s very important to protect children because it’s the time when people get the most sun exposure in their life.

A young child’s skin is delicate and childhood is the most dangerous time for sun damage but it can take 15-30 years or longer for the skin cancer to actually become apparent - that’s why skin cancer rates pick up massively after the age of 15. In fact, melanoma is the third most common cancer in people aged 15-39.

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