While you enjoy the outdoors this season, and especially the beach, it’s crucial to keep your baby safe in the sun! Babies can quickly suffer the short and long term damage of sunburn that might cause pain, fever and even dehydration! Moreover, the latest studies have proved that just one sunburn during childhood, raises the risk of skin cancer later in life! This is why, nothing is more important than protecting your baby from the harmful rays of the sun by following these tips:
If your baby is younger than 6 months, keep him completely out of the sun and make sure that they’re wearing clothes that cover their whole body and a nice big hat. The concern with using chemical sunscreens is that we don't know the extent of absorption that happen in newborn babies. Use only sunscreen when shade is not available. The most important is to keep your baby in the shade, under an umbrella and give him plenty of liquids.
Knowing that the sun is the strongest between 10 and 4 o’clock, avoid exposing your baby to it during these hours.
Choose a sunscreen product designed specifically for children with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 50. Make sure that you apply the sunscreen every two hours and if your baby goes into the water, reapply it as soon as you towel him off, even if it’s been less than two hours that you applied it.
Remember that keeping your baby in the shade, under a tree, or under an umbrella isn’t enough because it’s not the heat of the sun that burns the skin, but the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays. And you should know that more than 80% of the UV rays penetrate even through the clouds.
Choose for your baby a UV swimming suit which has been already tested for UV protection strength; it gives great protection and is comfortable to wear both in and out of the water.
A hat is a must! Choose for your baby a hat with flaps at the back to protect the neck, and with a wide enough brim to shade the face. A brim that protects the ears is better than one that protects only the front.
Commenti