Mom's Summer Survival Guide: Fun in the sun ... safely

Temperatures are getting hotter, the days longer and school is almost out for  summer. WSBT is continuing its series "Mom's Summer Survival Guide," by taking a look at protecting your child's skin and eyes this summer.

There are three things no one should go without this summer: Hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen ... the three most important items when it comes to sun protection.

Memorial Hospital Family Doctor Dr. Dale Patterson has seen skin cancer show up in people as young as their 20s ... because of sun exposure. Patterson says people should always wear sunscreen when they are in the sun, especially between the hours of noon and 4 p.m. when the sun is the hottest. And reapply often ... at least every 3 to 4 hours.

For children, sunscreen is crucial. UV damage is cumulative and the majority of UV exposure happens when you are young because children are outside so much. DPatterson says wearing a 30 SPF is the best option to prevent damage.

SPF means sun protection factor. The SPF number represents time. Patterson says, if you have an SPF of 15 that means you can be out in the sun 15 times as long as you could if you didn't have any sunscreen on.

"People with light colored skin will burn faster than people with darker pigmented skin," says Patterson, "so if they would normally burn in 10 minutes when they are outside and they put sunscreen on that is SPF 15, they have 150 minutes until they get burned."

Patterson says, sunscreen above SPF 30 doesn't offer any more coverage. That is why he recommends using 30 SPF and then just reapplying often. Too much sun exposure at an early age has been linked to skin problems later in life. So for kids, sunscreen is crucial.
 
Memorial Hospital Opthamologist Dr. Steve Gerber says UV light can also damage your eyes. That means, when you put on your sunscreen, also wear sunglasses and a hat to protect your eyes. For children ... a hat will cut down as much as 50 percent of those UV rays. Sun exposure over time can cause some major issues.

"There is a few things that sunlight can do to your eyes: One is you can get skin cancer around your eyes. That is very common in older people from lifetime sun exposure," says Gerber, "But the cumulative effects to the eyes are cataracts and macular degeneration which are in the eye."

When you are looking to buy sunglasses, they should indicate a 100 percent UV blocking.

Since most children don't want to wear sunglasses, a hat will help cut down on the sun exposure to their eyes.