In order to celebrate Child Health Month this October, it may be a good time to address a growing concern in children's health: the use of sunscreen. According to the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, people receive approximately 23 percent of their lifetime exposure to the sun's ultraviolet radiation by age 18. This makes it important to protect children when they're young, and also to instill healthy sunscreen habits at a young age.
While some parents may feel that October, which is often heralded as the beginning of autumn, isn't a month in which they'd typically use sunscreen, most doctors would advise otherwise. UV rays are present in every month, even during winter, and children's skin needs to be protected to ensure skin health – not only now, but later in life as well. Doctors are now advising that sunburns during childhood can present increased dangers of melanoma and other skin cancers in adults, so creating healthy preventative habits can help reduce this risk.
How to keep children safe with sunscreen
Sunscreen labels can be difficult to read, using marketing language that's potentially confusing and often meaningless, such as "broad spectrum." Until recently, any sunscreen was allowed to proclaim "broad spectrum" effectiveness, however, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently set guidelines in place to determine which formulas are allowed to make this claim. Now, only sunscreens that are proven to protect against both UVA and UVB rays can make this claim.
Parents should look for a broad spectrum sunscreen that's SPF 15 or higher. While the SPF numbers may seem endless, the FDA stated that the effectiveness of these claims peters off around SPF 50. Choose a sunscreen with a strength between SPF 15 and SPF 50 and apply it liberally to your child's skin, and reapply every other hour or so if he or she is playing outdoors. If it's a bright day, dress your child in protective clothing as well, such as long-sleeved shirts, pants, wide-brimmed hats and sunglasses.
Celebrate Child Health Month this October by keeping your kids safe and healthy. FLAVORx makes medicinal flavorings that can help keep kids healthy by helping them take oral medications more easily. Ask your pharmacist how you can get your child's prescription in his or her favorite FLAVORx flavor today.
