General information

Sunlight is good for our wellbeing and vitality. It stimulates the blood circulation and is important for the synthesis of vitamin D, which the body needs for calcium production for the bones. However, sunlight can also be dangerous to our skin:

• UV-A rays cause premature aging of the skin.
• UV-B rays can cause dangerous cell damage (sunburn); And the skin never forgets sunburn!

With recurrent UV radiation the epidermis thickens and thus reflects the sun’s rays. Another defence mechanism is the formation of pigmentation, which we consider as a tan. The skin pigment Melanin functions here as a protection from the sun and absorbs a great deal of the UV rays. This natural protection is only sufficient for a short stay in the sun.

How to avoid the skin damage caused by UV radiation:

• It is better to stay out of the sun between 11:00 and 15:00, because it is then that the sun’s rays are most intense.
• If you have to stay for longer periods in direct or indirect sunlight, you must wear protective clothing and preferably a cover for your head. This clothing must be comfortable, breathing, moisture-expelling and, of course, UV-resistant. Any uncovered skin should be spread with a sunscreen with a high protection factor. The term Sun Protection Factor (SPF) is used to describe this.
• Children in fact should stay as little as possible in direct sunlight. If this is unavoidable, then they should always wear protective clothing and their uncovered skin should be rubbed with a sunscreen with a high protection factor (more than SPF 20).
• Sunburn creams and lotions must always be applied 30 minutes before exposure to the sun, so that the sun-protection factor can do its work.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR CHILD AGAINST THE SUN !

The sun's warmth feels pleasant on the skin. For children too, the sun contributes to health, and encourages the creation of vitamin D, which is good for bones. Unfortunately, too much sun is not good; this is particularly the case for children. If we have spent too much time in the sun, we can tell by red, sore skin. Every time your skin is burned, skin cells are damaged by the UV radiation. UV radiation also causes an inflammation reaction in the underlying blood vessels. Adult skin is able to replace damaged cells every week, but children's skin is not. This is partly why children's skin is so sensitive to sunburn. Children are also growing: cell division is happening so fast that sometimes there is not enough time to repair all the damaged skin cells before they divide again. These cells carry "scars", as it were, that children can carry with them throughout their life. This cannot be seen on the outside, because the damage is so deep in the skin cells. But the more scars there are, the greater the probability that a child may develop skin cancer later in life. That is why extra protection is so important for children, particularly up to fifteen years of age.

Sunlight

Sunlight is made up of two types of light: the visible light that has colour and light that we cannot see, namely ultraviolet radiation (UV) and infrared light. UV radiation is healthy in small doses. It stimulates, for example, the production of vitamin D, which is important for strong bones. But too much exposure damages the skin.

Babies are very sensitive to too much sunlight. ‘Their skin is much thinner and therefore more vulnerable than that of adults’, explains Arnold Oranje, professor and child dermatologist at the Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. A baby’s skin does not yet have a so-called epidermis. This layer consists of dead skin cells and provides protection against radiation, dehydration and the intrusion of foreign substances. The epidermis is only fully developed when the child is older than a year.

A baby’s skin also lacks melanin, a brown pigment that tans our skin when sunbathing and protects it against the sun. Furthermore, the baby’s skin grows very rapidly and has little time to repair damaged cells. Those cells become ‘scarred’ and this can, at a later age, cause skin cancer.

Research has shown that the emergence of the different types of skin cancer is more or less connected with the total amount of UV radiation to which the body has been exposed throughout its life. According to Professor Oranje, skin cancer is very frequent in adults. And, he says:  ‘The younger you are when exposed to excessive amounts of sunlight, the greater the chance that you will get skin cancer at a later age.’ In particular, people who had sunburn a lot when they were children have a greater chance of getting skin cancer as adults. For this reason, Professor Oranje is adamant in his advice: ‘The best protection against the harmful effects of the sun is to keep a baby completely out of the sun.'

Children need extra protection

It is important to give children extra protection against sunburn. A few pieces of advice:

• Keep children younger than six months out of the sun.
• It is advisable to keep children in the shade on sunny days and particularly between 12.00 and 15.00 hours. You can create shade using a sun shade and/or a parasol. Shade reduces exposure to UV radiation but doesn't eliminate it completely.
• Clothing (T-shirt, possibly with long sleeves and a cap or hat) offers the best protection against the sun. If the clothing becomes wet, the protection decreases.
• There is also UV radiation on a cloudy summer day. Clouds do not completely block the rays.
• Children do not need to wear sunglasses and certainly not toy glasses. Such glasses are, in fact, dangerous, because the dark glasses cause the pupils to enlarge, allowing the UV rays to enter the eye and cause damage. If children want to wear sunglasses, buy a pair with a CE certificate;  these effectively block UV rays.

Anti-sunburn products

In addition, it is advisable to use an anti-sunburn product. These block some of the UV rays and thus delay sunburn. The following points are important here:

• Use a sun product specially produced for a child’s skin with a minimum protection factor of 30. Your child can spend a maximum of three hours in the sun with a high protection factor. But you should try to limit this. Although there is less chance of sunburn, your child is still exposed to UV rays that damage the skin with all the long-term risks this implies.
• Apply the product half an hour before your child goes outside.
• Apply more to sensitive areas such as nose, ears, and neck.
• Re-apply every two hours, but always after swimming. Waterproof products will partly disappear when drying off or playing in the water and sand (this applies to all products that claim to be ‘waterproof’). Re-apply these products several times, and certainly after your child has been in the water.
• Not just on the beach! Most parents think about taking a sun product with them when they spend a day on the beach. But a child must also be protected from sunburn when it plays outside, during a playtime break in the playground, and at the nursery or crèche.
• Set a good example as a parent.

Sun tips

• Keep children out of the sun as much as possible between 12.00 and 15.00 hours. The sun is strongest at that time and it is therefore extra important to protect children against it.
• Are you pregnant? The baby’s eyes are fully developed by the seventh month, and for that reason it is sensible from then on to cover your stomach with a towel, scarf or something else if you lie in the sun.
• Only use a sun cream with the indication ‘physical protection’. Such a cream does not contain any chemical additions that could damage the skin.

Warning

A cap and a parasol are the first protection for a baby. But it is also important that you apply a protective anti-sunburn cream just in case he or she comes into contact with the sun. ‘But you shouldn’t just use any baby suncream,’ warns Professor Oranje. Many products contain harmful chemical filters, even if the label says they are suitable for a baby’s skin. ‘Only use a product which states on the packaging that it offers physical protection. Physical filters actually reflect the damaging substances in UV rays.’ UV radiation consists of UVA, UVB and UVC. UVA and UVB are the most harmful. They cause sunburn. UVB also causes pigmentation, thickening of the top skin, aging of the skin and skin tumours.

Sunlight is good for our wellbeing and vitality. It stimulates the blood circulation and is important for the synthesis of vitamin D, which the body needs for calcium production for the bones. However, sunlight can also be dangerous to our skin:

• UV-A rays cause premature aging of the skin.
• UV-B rays can cause dangerous cell damage (sunburn); And the skin never forgets sunburn!

With recurrent UV radiation the epidermis thickens and thus reflects the sun’s rays. Another defence mechanism is the formation of pigmentation, which we consider as a tan. The skin pigment Melanin functions here as a protection from the sun and absorbs a great deal of the UV rays. This natural protection is only sufficient for a short stay in the sun.

How to avoid the skin damage caused by UV radiation:

• It is better to stay out of the sun between 11:00 and 15:00, because it is then that the sun’s rays are most intense.
• If you have to stay for longer periods in direct or indirect sunlight, you must wear protective clothing and preferably a cover for your head. This clothing must be comfortable, breathing, moisture-expelling and, of course, UV-resistant. Any uncovered skin should be spread with a sunscreen with a high protection factor. The term Sun Protection Factor (SPF) is used to describe this.
• Children in fact should stay as little as possible in direct sunlight. If this is unavoidable, then they should always wear protective clothing and their uncovered skin should be rubbed with a sunscreen with a high protection factor (more than SPF 20).
• Sunburn creams and lotions must always be applied 30 minutes before exposure to the sun, so that the sun-protection factor can do its work.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR CHILD AGAINST THE SUN !

The sun's warmth feels pleasant on the skin. For children too, the sun contributes to health, and encourages the creation of vitamin D, which is good for bones. Unfortunately, too much sun is not good; this is particularly the case for children. If we have spent too much time in the sun, we can tell by red, sore skin. Every time your skin is burned, skin cells are damaged by the UV radiation. UV radiation also causes an inflammation reaction in the underlying blood vessels. Adult skin is able to replace damaged cells every week, but children's skin is not. This is partly why children's skin is so sensitive to sunburn. Children are also growing: cell division is happening so fast that sometimes there is not enough time to repair all the damaged skin cells before they divide again. These cells carry "scars", as it were, that children can carry with them throughout their life. This cannot be seen on the outside, because the damage is so deep in the skin cells. But the more scars there are, the greater the probability that a child may develop skin cancer later in life. That is why extra protection is so important for children, particularly up to fifteen years of age.

Sunlight

Sunlight is made up of two types of light: the visible light that has colour and light that we cannot see, namely ultraviolet radiation (UV) and infrared light. UV radiation is healthy in small doses. It stimulates, for example, the production of vitamin D, which is important for strong bones. But too much exposure damages the skin.

Babies are very sensitive to too much sunlight. ‘Their skin is much thinner and therefore more vulnerable than that of adults’, explains Arnold Oranje, professor and child dermatologist at the Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. A baby’s skin does not yet have a so-called epidermis. This layer consists of dead skin cells and provides protection against radiation, dehydration and the intrusion of foreign substances. The epidermis is only fully developed when the child is older than a year.

A baby’s skin also lacks melanin, a brown pigment that tans our skin when sunbathing and protects it against the sun. Furthermore, the baby’s skin grows very rapidly and has little time to repair damaged cells. Those cells become ‘scarred’ and this can, at a later age, cause skin cancer.

Research has shown that the emergence of the different types of skin cancer is more or less connected with the total amount of UV radiation to which the body has been exposed throughout its life. According to Professor Oranje, skin cancer is very frequent in adults. And, he says:  ‘The younger you are when exposed to excessive amounts of sunlight, the greater the chance that you will get skin cancer at a later age.’ In particular, people who had sunburn a lot when they were children have a greater chance of getting skin cancer as adults. For this reason, Professor Oranje is adamant in his advice: ‘The best protection against the harmful effects of the sun is to keep a baby completely out of the sun.'

Children need extra protection

It is important to give children extra protection against sunburn. A few pieces of advice:

• Keep children younger than six months out of the sun.
• It is advisable to keep children in the shade on sunny days and particularly between 12.00 and 15.00 hours. You can create shade using a sun shade and/or a parasol. Shade reduces exposure to UV radiation but doesn't eliminate it completely.
• Clothing (T-shirt, possibly with long sleeves and a cap or hat) offers the best protection against the sun. If the clothing becomes wet, the protection decreases.
• There is also UV radiation on a cloudy summer day. Clouds do not completely block the rays.
• Children do not need to wear sunglasses and certainly not toy glasses. Such glasses are, in fact, dangerous, because the dark glasses cause the pupils to enlarge, allowing the UV rays to enter the eye and cause damage. If children want to wear sunglasses, buy a pair with a CE certificate;  these effectively block UV rays.

Anti-sunburn products

In addition, it is advisable to use an anti-sunburn product. These block some of the UV rays and thus delay sunburn. The following points are important here:

• Use a sun product specially produced for a child’s skin with a minimum protection factor of 30. Your child can spend a maximum of three hours in the sun with a high protection factor. But you should try to limit this. Although there is less chance of sunburn, your child is still exposed to UV rays that damage the skin with all the long-term risks this implies.
• Apply the product half an hour before your child goes outside.
• Apply more to sensitive areas such as nose, ears, and neck.
• Re-apply every two hours, but always after swimming. Waterproof products will partly disappear when drying off or playing in the water and sand (this applies to all products that claim to be ‘waterproof’). Re-apply these products several times, and certainly after your child has been in the water.
• Not just on the beach! Most parents think about taking a sun product with them when they spend a day on the beach. But a child must also be protected from sunburn when it plays outside, during a playtime break in the playground, and at the nursery or crèche.
• Set a good example as a parent.

Sun tips

• Keep children out of the sun as much as possible between 12.00 and 15.00 hours. The sun is strongest at that time and it is therefore extra important to protect children against it.
• Are you pregnant? The baby’s eyes are fully developed by the seventh month, and for that reason it is sensible from then on to cover your stomach with a towel, scarf or something else if you lie in the sun.
• Only use a sun cream with the indication ‘physical protection’. Such a cream does not contain any chemical additions that could damage the skin.

Warning

A cap and a parasol are the first protection for a baby. But it is also important that you apply a protective anti-sunburn cream just in case he or she comes into contact with the sun. ‘But you shouldn’t just use any baby suncream,’ warns Professor Oranje. Many products contain harmful chemical filters, even if the label says they are suitable for a baby’s skin. ‘Only use a product which states on the packaging that it offers physical protection. Physical filters actually reflect the damaging substances in UV rays.’ UV radiation consists of UVA, UVB and UVC. UVA and UVB are the most harmful. They cause sunburn. UVB also causes pigmentation, thickening of the top skin, aging of the skin and skin tumours.