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Our mountain kids mean Trusted Care for Kids! Learn more at

www.RockyMountainHospitalForChildren.com

We all need some exposure to thesun. It’s our primary source of vita-min D, which helps us absorb calcium forstronger, healthier bones. But it doesn’t take muchtime in the sun for most people to get all the vita-min D they need, and unprotected exposure to thesun’s ultraviolet rays can lead to skin and eye dam-age, immune system suppression and cancer.Even people in their 20s can develop skin cancer.“Most children experience 50 to 80

percent of their lifetime sun exposurebefore age 18,” says Sue Kirelik, MD, chair ofthe Pediatric Emergency Department at Sky RidgeMedical Center. “It’s important that parents teachtheir children how to enjoy fun in the sunsafely. With the right precautions, you cangreatly reduce your child’s chance of developingskin cancer.”

Now a service of all HealthONE hospitals: The Medical Center of Aurora, North Suburban Medical Center, Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center, Rose Medical Center, Sky Ridge Medical Center and Swedish Medical Center.

May 2011

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Facts About Sun ExposureThe sun radiates invisible UV rays thatcause tanning, burning and other skindamage. Sunlight contains three types ofUV rays:

_UVA rays cause skin aging andwrinkling, and contribute to skin can-cer, such as melanoma. UVA rays makeup the majority of our sun exposure.

_UVB rays, which are also danger-ous, cause sunburns, cataracts and im-mune system damage. They alsocontribute to skin cancer. Melanoma,the most dangerous form of skin can-cer, is thought to be associated withsevere UVB sunburns that occur be-fore the age of 20.

_UVC rays are the most dangerous,but are blocked by the ozone layer anddon’t reach the Earth.

All Skin Types are at Risk

UV rays react with a chemi-cal called melanin, whichabsorbs dangerous UVrays before they do seriousskin damage. Thelighter your child’snatural skincolor, the lessmelanin it has toabsorb UV raysand protect theskin. The darker

your child’s naturalskin color, the moremelanin it has.

Both dark- and light-skinned kids needprotection from UVrays because any tanning orburning causes skin damage.Sunburn develops when theamount of UV exposure isgreater than what can be pro-tected against by the skin’smelanin. Unprotected sun exposure is always dangerous, but even more so forkids with moles (or whose parents have atendency to develop moles), very fair skinand hair or have a family history of skincancer — including melanoma.

“Not all sunlight is equal in UVconcentration,” notes Dr. Kirelik.“The intensity of the sun’s rays dependsupon the time of year as well as altitudeand latitude. UV rays are strongestin summer, and certainly living inColorado increases our expo-sure. Be sure to apply plenty of sun-screen in winter months if your familygoes skiing or is playing outdoors as UVrays reflect off both snow andwater, increasing the probabil-ity of sunburn.

Protect Your Child From Harmful RaysFollow these precautions to letyour kids play safely in the sun:

_ Avoid the strongest rays of the day. Inthe Northern Hemisphere, that’sfrom about 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.Clouds and pollution can give a falsesense of protection, but they don’t fil-ter out UV rays. Even on cloudy, coolor overcast days, UV rays travelthrough the clouds and reflect offsand, water and concrete. Oftenkids are unaware that theyare developing a sunburn oncooler or windy days because

the temperature orbreeze keeps theirskin feeling cool.

_ Cover up! It’s one ofthe best ways to protect

your family from the sun. Tosee if clothes will screen out

harmful UV rays, place your hand in-side the garment. If you can see yourhand through the clothing, your childwon’t be adequately protected.

Since babies under sixmonths old should notwear sunscreen, theyshould be kept out of the sunwhenever possible. If yourinfant must bein the sun,dress her inclothing thatcovers herbody, includ-ing hats withwide brims toshadow her face.Use an umbrella tocreate shade for your babyand to provide an escapefrom the sun for older kids.

_ Use sunscreen consistently. There arelots of good sunscreens for kids on themarket, including formulas for sensi-tive skin, brands with fun scents, long-lasting waterproof and sweat-proofversions and easy-application varietiesin spray bottles.

_ Choose a sunscreen based on the

degree of UV protection it provides.

The SPF (Sun Protection Factor) num-ber on the label indicates how longyou can stay in the sun without

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burning if you apply the sunscreen. If your childtypically burns after 20 minutes of sunexposure, applying a sunscreen with anSPF of 15 gives him 15 times the protec-tion. For kids age six months and older, choose a sun-screen that has an SPF of 15 or higher (to prevent bothsunburn and tanning) and that protects against bothUVA and UVB rays (a “broad-spectrum” sunscreen).

To avoid possible skin allergy, avoidsunscreens with PABA. If your child has sensi-tive skin, look for a product with the active ingredienttitanium dioxide (a chemical-free block).

_ Purchase protective eyewear. Just one day in thesun can result in a burned cornea (the outer-most, clear membrane layer of the eye). Cumulative ex-posure can lead to cataracts later in life, which results inblindness.

The best way to protect eyes is to wearsunglasses that provide 100% UV protec-tion. Since some children don’t enjoy wearing sun-glasses, let them select a style they like. And if you wearsunglasses regularly, your kids are more likely to followyour example.

_ Check your child’s medications. Some medica-tions increase the skin’s sensitivity to UVrays. Even kids with skin that tends not to burn easilycan develop a severe sunburn in just minutes if they aretaking certain medications. Ask your doctor or pharma-cist if a prescription (especially antibiotics and acnemedications) or over-the-counter medications increase

sun sensitivity.

If Your Child Gets a Sunburn

Kids with sunburns usually ex-perience pain along with a sensa-tion of heat — symptoms that maybecome more severe several hoursafter sun exposure. Some children also develop chills.

To help your child feel more comfortable:

_ Give the child a cool (not cold) bath, or gentlyapply cool, wet compresses to the skin.

_ Apply pure aloe vera gel to any sunburned areas.It relieves sunburn pain and helps skin heal quicker.

_Give your child a pain reliever like acetaminophen oribuprofen, and spray on over-the-counter “after-sun” painrelievers. (Do not, however, give aspirin to children or teens.)

_Apply topical moisturizing cream to rehydratethe skin and help reduce swelling. For the most severelyburned areas, apply a thin layer of 1% hydrocortisonecream. Do not use petroleum-based products. They pre-vent excess heat and sweat from escaping. Also, avoidfirst-aid products that contain benzocaine, which maycause skin irritation or allergy.

_Keep your child in the shade until the sun-burn is healed. Any additional sun exposure will onlyincrease the severity of the burn and increase pain.

The American Academy of Dermatology recommends thatall children — regardless of their skin tone - wear sunscreenwith an SPF of 15 or higher. For more information go towww.aad.org and www.cancer.org.

Rocky Mountain Hospital for Childrenandits family of locations in every HealthONE hospital bringstrusted experience and proven care to you and your children.For information on parenting, health tips and more, visitwww.RockyMountainHospitalForChildren.com.

At Presbyterian/St. Luke’s

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RockyMountainHospitalForChildren.com

When your doctor’s office is closed...

Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children after-hours advice line

First Call® for Children ...Our nurse advice line has the answers to your after-hours questions

303.563.3300(Out of Denver area call toll-free 1-877-647-7440)

For medical emergencies ALWAYS call 9-1-1 Open Mon-Fri 5:00 pm - 8:00 am | 24 hours weekends and holidays

For after-hours questions about your child’s health,there’s First Call for Children every night and everyweekend and holiday:

_ FREE pediatric advice and information line

_ Brought to you by Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children, the pediatric services from HealthONE

_ Staffed by specially trained pediatric nurses

_ Based on national illnesses and injuries guidelines

©2011 HealthONE

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