Tips for Protect Your Family From the Sun While Traveling

31 March 2017
 Categories: , Blog

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Did you know that most skin cancers are preventable? It would be devastating to face a skin cancer battle when you have it in your power to prevent many types of it. Follow these tips when traveling with your family to protect you, your spouse, and your little ones from the damaging effects of enjoying too much fun in the sun.

Take Extra Care with Babies

Extra care should be given to protect babies from the sun. If babies get a sunburn, it can greatly increase their lifetime risk of skin cancer, and it can also expose them to a variety of other ailments and complications, including dehydration, blisters, and heatstroke. Those would be very difficult on you and your baby, and some may even be life-threatening in some situations.

Newborns should be kept out of the sun altogether whenever possible, and you should apply sunscreen to babies who are at least six months of age every single time they are going to be exposed to the sun. Since a baby's sensitive skin has less melatonin in it, they can be more susceptible to sunburns. It's important to be proactive in protecting their delicate skin. If you're going to have any babysitters during your travels, make sure they know how important safe skin care practices are to you.

Get Your Sunscreen On

Always use a sunscreen on yourself, and you should carefully select sunscreen that has an SPF of at least 15. Otherwise, ultraviolet rays can damage your skin even on a short outing when the sun doesn't seem to be beating down on you. Any time you go outside during the daytime, wear sunscreen. Make no exceptions.

Try to apply sunscreen about 15 minutes to a half-hour before you venture outside. Apply it to your kids then, too. Be sure that teenagers know how to properly apply sunscreen and that they know the importance of wearing it every time to protect their skin now and in the future. Reapply it as needed, keeping in mind that no sunscreen is completely waterproof.

Finally, keep in mind that it's up to you to lead the way with optimally protecting your skin. Children will learn from what you do and how you talk about skin protection. Emphasize the importance of always wearing sunscreen and be sure to follow through on that. If you only wear it sometimes, that's a habit that may emulate. Set a great example and be serious about protecting yourself from the many preventable kinds of skin cancer. 

To learn more about protecting your skin, visit resources like Vail Dermatology.