The perfect time to hit the beach is during the summer season. Since school is out, children get to enjoy participating in various beach activities. However, with too much sun exposure, they can become prone to eye damage, sunburn, and other negative effects of UV rays. More often than not, parents consider shielding kids with clothing, but it is not enough. Your kids also need additional layers of protection to protect their skin against the harmful rays. Using sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30 can lower their risk of getting sunburn.
Additional steps to stay safe under the sun
1. The sun can be harsh when you are outside, so you need to keep yourself protected most of the time. You can address this by wearing clothing and a hat to protect yourself. You should also wear sunglasses that are capable of blocking 99% of UV light.
2. Do not go outside without applying sunscreen protection with SPF 30 or higher. The sunscreen must be reapplied every two hours or after sweating or swimming.
3. As much as possible, you should minimize exposing yourself to the sun between 10 am and 4 pm because these are the times with the strongest UV rays.
4. Everyone loves getting a tan during summer but sunlamps and tanning beds can cause skin damage. These things can also be a contributing factor in increasing the risk of skin cancer.
How to choose the right sunscreen for your kids
Aside from wearing sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher during summer, it is also important that you know which sunscreen you should use. Not all sunscreens that you see in the market can be trusted. You have to make the right choice.
- When buying a sunscreen, be sure that it contains a broad-spectrum protection label because it can protect your skin against UVB and UVA rays. Most sunscreen products are only capable of providing protection against UVB rays, which causes sunburn. Sunscreens with protection against UVA rays are also essential because UVA rays can cause premature aging and skin cancer. Sunscreens that are unable to protect you from UVA rays will also contain a label indicating that the formula is only good at protecting skin against sunburn.
- Be aware of the SPF number because it is an indicator of the level of protection that the sunscreen can provide. For sunscreens with higher SPF numbers, it only means that they can do more than just protecting your skin. If SPF 15 sunscreens can provide 93% protection against UVB rays, SPF 30 sunscreens can provide 97% protection. The rule of thumb is that the higher the SPF the better protection you can get.
- While you may confuse water resistant for being waterproof, these terms have different meanings. Sunscreens are not made to be sweatproof or waterproof. So if ever you see a sunscreen to be water resistant, it means that the product may last for a specific period when sweating or swimming. Which is why you need to apply sunscreen every 2 hours for the best result and more frequent if you are sweating or swimming. When you towel yourself dry, you are rubbing off the sunscreen as well so you need to reapply it to protect your skin.
Lovers Key Adventures
8700 Estero Blvd,
Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931
239-765-7788
