How to protect children from the dangers of sunlight

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Medical Video: Sun Protection for Babies and Toddlers

Children really need sunlight to support their bone growth. Yes, sunlight is a good source of vitamin D for bone growth. Therefore, many children are advised to at least play outside for a few minutes to be exposed to the sun. However, sunlight can also harm a child's health so you as a parent also need to protect the child from the sun.

How can sunlight harm a child's health?

Unlike adults, children need special protection against sunlight. Indeed, children are in dire need of sunlight but on the other hand children are also vulnerable to the dangers of radiation produced by sunlight.

READ ALSO: How Can Solar Radiation Cause Cancer?

Children have a higher risk than adults to experience damage due to exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight. This happens because:

  • Children's skin is thinner and more sensitive than adults. Spending a few hours in the middle of the day when the sun is shining hot may cause the child's skin to burn.
  • Childhood is a time when someone is more exposed to the sun. It is estimated that sun exposure throughout a person's lifetime is accepted before the age of 18 to reach 80%.
  • Children prefer to play outside and are usually not aware of the dangers of UV light caused by exposure to sunlight.
  • Research has also proven that being too exposed to the sun and experiencing burns during childhood can increase the risk of melanoma at the next level of life.
  • Children have more time to develop disease. Health that is not maintained since childhood can result in health losses in old age.

Then, how can children get sunlight that contains vitamin D safely?

We already know that sunlight is needed by children but it also saves danger for children. Therefore, you as a parent must be able to protect your child from the dangers of the sun. Not that children cannot be exposed to sunlight at all. This is called your name, limiting the child to get the nutrients (vitamin D) he needs.

Protecting here means that children can still get vitamin D from the sun but avoid the danger of sunlight. There are ways how children can get safe sunlight, namely:

Avoid very hot sunlight

Playing outdoors or drying the baby is good for getting vitamin D. However, pay attention to the time too. Not all sunshine every hour is safe for your health. Avoid the sun at 10-16 a.m. because the sun at this time is hot. So, if you want to dry the baby or let the child play outside, it should be under 10am or above 4pm.

Wear clothes that cover all parts of the skin

The best way to protect your child from the sun during the day is to wear a closed child clothes. Like, long sleeves and trousers. Also make sure that your child's clothes are not transparent so that the sunlight does not penetrate the clothes to the child's skin. Choose clothes with dark colors to wear to children because darker clothes can better protect children from the sun. Laying out children's clothes in layers can also increase protection against UV rays.

READ ALSO: Frequently hot without glasses? This is the danger

Wear children hats and glasses

You can also add hats for children. The hat can protect the child's face, scalp, ears and neck from the sun. So, not only for style, it turns out the hat has a function that is very important for children's health.

Glasses are also important to protect a child's eyes from the sun, not just for style. Not only the skin must be protected from sunlight, but also the eyes. Sunlight can also damage the eyes, can cause the cornea to burn or cause cataracts in old age. Choose sunglasses that have UV protection for your child. Also, choose the size that fits the child's face, not too big or too small, so that it covers the entire eye of the child.

If you have to take your baby out during the day, you can also use an umbrella so that all parts of the baby's body are completely protected from the sun. Even though, you have put your clothes covered and headgear on the baby. Umbrellas also make the environment around the baby shady and the baby does not glare in the sun.

Use sunscreen (sunscreen) for children

Sunscreen is not only used by adults, children can also use it and even need it. If the child is forced to leave the house during the day, make sure the child uses sunscreen to protect his skin from UV light. In fact, if the day is cloudy or cloudy because clouds cannot block UV light to get to your skin, clouds only filter sunlight and sometimes only a little is filtered. The clouds only provide fake protection from the sun.

Therefore, to provide more protection for children, you should use sunscreen on children. Apply sunscreen (which has an SPF of at least 15 and has UVA and UVB protection) in children every time the child wants to leave during the day. For the best protection, you should apply sunscreen to the child 30 minutes before the child comes out. If the child is too long outside, you may need to apply sunscreen again to the child every 2 hours. The use of sunscreen is also needed again if the child sweats or swims.

However, if the child has used sunscreen it does not mean that the child can be exposed to the sun for long. Sunscreen only helps prevent children from the dangers of worse sunlight. For this reason, you also need to limit children from playing outside during the day.

Some things that you should also consider when choosing a sunscreen for children are:

  • Note the expiration date printed on the package
  • Do not choose sunscreens that contain PABA, this can cause a child's skin to experience allergies
  • For children who have sensitive skin, choose a product with the active ingredient of titanium dioxide

READ ALSO: What Is SPF, and What Is the Difference Between Sunscreen and Sunblock?

How to protect children from the dangers of sunlight
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