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Use sunscreens to protect children

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Staff Report 12:33 PM Monday, June 29, 2009

LIBERTY TWP. — Most of the more than 1 million cases of non-melanoma skin cancer diagnosed yearly in the United States are considered to be sun-related, according to the American Cancer Society.

Melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer, accounts for about 8,110 of the 10,850 deaths due to skin cancer each year.

Too much exposure to the sun in childhood or adolescence is a major cause of skin cancer and premature skin aging later in life, experts at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center said. Dr. Marty Visscher, director of Skin Sciences Institute at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, said it’s critical people use sunscreen and sun-protective clothing to reduce the risk of sun damage during the summer.

Visscher advises the following ways for people to protect themselves from the sun:

• Use water-resistant sunscreens that help protect skin from both UVA and UVB rays and that have SPF numbers of at least 15; reapply a minimum of ever hour or more if you are in the water and wiped the sunscreen off with a towel.

• Apply the sunscreen 20-30 minutes before going out into the sun.

• The nose and lips get high exposure and require use of sun blocks containing zinc oxide or titanium oxide.

• Parents speak with camp counselors to make sure they apply and reapply sunscreen on their child (or at least supervise the child when he or she is applying the sunscreen. • Keep babies younger than six months out of the sun. Sunscreens may irritate baby skin, and an infant’s developing eyes are especially vulnerable to sunlight. • Wear sun-protective clothing that lists the garment’s ultraviolet protection factor, the level of protection the garment provides from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. • Parents should limit children’s playtime during the hours when the sun is at its strongest, which is between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. in the summer months. If a person is outside during these peak hours, one needs to remember to take breaks in the shade.

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