A Guide to Sunscreen

There is a lot of confusion over sunscreen use and sun exposure in children. Simply stated Ultraviolet light can cause skin damage including dry, wrinkled skin, skin cancers and age spots. It can age your skin about an extra year for every summer month of unprotected sun exposure.

Our problem locally is worse with higher elevation, more sunny days and less humidity. We therefore have more sun exposure problems to worry about. 80% of sun exposure occurs before age 18 years. Skin cancer increased by 40% over the last generation. 83% of patients report at least one sunburn in the last 12 months.

Sunscreens:

The SPF number refers to skin protection from the sun. “SPF 15” means your skin tolerates 150 minutes of sun like unprotected skin would tolerate 10 minutes. Numbers above 30 are not of any additional help. “Waterproof” and “Sweat Proof” simply mean the product sticks to the skin better and lasts 1½ to 2 times longer in the sun. You need to apply sunscreens 10-20 minutes before going out into the sun because it takes some time for the ingredients to bind to the skin.

Not all products protect from Ultraviolet A and B.

UVA can cause skin damage and sensitivity to the sun and UVB is the main cause of sunburn and likely the link to skin cancers. Be sure to carefully read the label about coverage to UVA and UVB in your sunscreen!

The broadest coverage against both UVA and UVB is zinc oxide and titanium oxide. Include sunscreen use on cloudy days as the Ultraviolet light may still be 80% of a sunny day exposure.

Recommendations:

Infants below 6 months should use protective clothing and avoid exposure. It’s OK to use PABA free screen SPF 15 to 30 on infants if necessary.

Older infants and toddlers must use SPF 30 screen and reapply every 2 hours while in the sun.

Older children and teens should use SPF 30 screens frequently in the day (every 2 hours) and limit their sun exposure to no more than 4 hours daily. This age group can use PABA containing screens which protect skin better from UVB exposure. It’s better to plan outdoor activities avoiding peak UV times of 11 am to 3 pm in the day.

If sunburn occurs, it takes 4-6 weeks to replace top skin layers, so increased protection is needed in sunburned areas of skin.

Call our office for Sunburn recommendations and further information about skin protection.

Kent M. Kleppinger, MD

Marci Newell, FNP

Laramie Pediatrics, PC

1252 North 22^nd Street

Laramie, Wyoming 82072

24 hr phone: (307) 745-3704

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A Guide to Sunscreen

Send mail to Klep@Laramiekids.com with questions or comments about this web site.