Protecting yourself from the sun in the right way is not always easy during the summer months. We want to spend our days outdoors and enjoy the benefits of the summer, especially during the long-desired holidays. However, let us remember to pay special attention to our baby and to protect him from the sun and the heat.
According to paediatricians, in fact, babies should stay in the shade in the first year of life, avoiding direct sunlight. The skin of small children is much thinner than that of adults, as their natural defense system – epidermal thickening – is not yet fully developed. This means that they are not yet able to produce enough pigments to effectively protect themselves from the sun.
A baby could get burned in less than ten minutes of exposure to the sun, which could also cause fever. It is therefore advisable to take the right precautions and keep the child in the shade. However, remembering that the intensity of the sun is only reduced by half in the shade, so let us not forget a total sun protection.
Here are a few tips to ensure your child is fully protected:
- Avoid the hottest hours of the day (midday), preferring instead the chilly morning or evening hours.
- Protect the stroller with a sunshade, umbrella or cloth, so as to create some shade for the baby.
- Dress up your child with a long-sleeved bodysuit and long but light shorts and do not forget a bonnet to protect his little head.
- Always use sunscreen with total protection factor and micropigments. Spread the cream taking into account the time of effectiveness of the total screens (sometimes it takes up to 30 minutes for them to be effective).
- Use baby oil very sparingly during the summer months, as it makes the skin more sensitive to light.
- Dry thoroughly and immediately and the baby after bathing, and re-apply sunscreen. The water droplets act as a focal lens on the skin.
- Protect your child’s eyes from the sun by using sunglasses for children: their crystalline lens is not yet fully developed, so it is much more sensitive.
- If, despite all your precautions, your child has taken too much sun, apply an after-sun lotion to soothe and regenerate their overheated skin.
Enjoy the summer by protecting your child’s skin properly. Likewise, protect your child’s future health by preserving umbilical cord stem cells: visit the Nescens Swiss Stem Cell Science website to find out how to do it.