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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

4 week old baby - severe sunburn

72 replies

LittleNoona · 18/07/2013 22:41

AIBU to be utterly shocked?

Just seen this reported - a 4 week old baby has been rushed to a specialist burns unit suffering from severe sunburn.

This particular burns unit has treated many under 14's for sunburn serious enough to need specialist treatment.

There is no excuse for this that I can fathom, no excuse at all.

The poor mite could have died.

OP posts:

breatheslowly · 18/07/2013 23:35

I taught a 12 yo who came into school with his back very burnt. Apparently his parents isn't believe that sunscreen works . He was pale with red hair, so very susceptible to burning. Accidents happen, ignorance happens. It is very sad, but these things will always happen.

squeakytoy · 18/07/2013 23:35

Havent read how it happened, but I would imagine those parents are in torment right now. The intensity of the sun at the moment is fierce.. I am pretty tolerant to hot sun and even I could only manage a few minutes out in it today..

SisterMatic · 18/07/2013 23:41

Sunburn at such a young age really increases the risks for the future. I hope the little one has a swift recovery. I daresay the parents feel like shit right now.

NightmareWalking · 18/07/2013 23:42

My PIL don't believe in sunscreen either so I can easily believe this (this is why my DD will never be solely on their care). Some people are just thick.

scottishmummy · 18/07/2013 23:46

Don't believe in sun cream?it doesn't require affiliation or belief
Just a firm hand to apply it
I'd not leave my kids with anyone who refuses to apply suncream

Shylepite · 18/07/2013 23:49

I've just read about this in the news and it doesn't sound as bad as I thought from reading this thread. The burns are only on 0.5 - 4 per cent of the baby which sounds like they just missed a patch when they applied the sunscreen. Its still but they didn't cover him/her in oil and leave them outside all day!

honeytea · 18/07/2013 23:51

Poor baby and poor parents, they must feel terrible :(

4 week's old is so young, they may have been given bad advice by family members or maybe they have skin thattans and they assumed the baby would also tan.

We were told not to use suncream on our baby until he was over 1, we do use suncream but ivory to limit how often.

xylem8 · 19/07/2013 00:10

BY DN burned horribly at that age not as bad as in the OP but with blistering .He was in the shade all the time ,but there was sufficient reflected sun to do the damage (by a lake)

stopgap · 19/07/2013 00:17

I have a giant sunshade for my toddler's pushchair (www.amazon.com/Sunshine-Kids-Shade-Canopy-Strollers/dp/B002WB237I) but I live in NYC and am used to it being high nineties for much of the summer.

My own parents are intelligent people, but they are incredibly lax when it comes to sunscreen application when they fly over to see me. I don't think they're used to the hat/high SPF/shade drill that comes from living in a hot climate.

PigOnStilts · 19/07/2013 02:14

I just keep my baby in the shade at all times....their eyes are so sensitive, you'd never want them in full sunlight anyway...obvy cream and shades are in place.

3boysgirlontheway · 19/07/2013 03:47

Sunscreen isn't usually recommended on babies under 1. The advice is to keep them covered up and in the shade.

CoolStoryBro · 19/07/2013 04:00

Dd got her first sunburn at around 3 days old. We had put her in the shade, on a semi-warm day, under a white sheet. And the external part of the house was painted white.

We had NO IDEA that she was in danger from the reflection. And every single one of you will make just as stupid mistakes over the next 18 years. But there goes by the grace, etc.....

LookMaw · 19/07/2013 05:28

Considering the current advice is 'no suncream under 6 months' I can see how this horrible accident may have happened. The poor baby, and parents. Everyone makes mistakes and I'm sure there was no malice behind it.

Panzee · 19/07/2013 05:32

Oh, I didn't realise about the sunscreen rule. I used it on my 5 month old. What's the issue?

Panzee · 19/07/2013 05:34

I found this, they said it's ok (but shade and covering up is better). Use it for the bits you can't cover. That's how I used it.

Longdistance · 19/07/2013 05:41

Really? When we moved to Oz, dd2 was 3mo, I used sunscreen on her. She was in her pram, with hood up, and umbrella.

Never heard of not using sunscreen on a baby. They sell the baby factor 50 here as a roll on cream.

Sparklymommy · 19/07/2013 06:37

When my youngest was born prem she had jaundiced. I was advised to put her in the sun until the midwife could come out. When she arrived my baby had pink hands and face and was orange everywhere her clothes had been!

The midwife said that whilst she was a little pink the action had prevented her being taken back into hospital.

ArabellaBeaumaris · 19/07/2013 06:45

I thought you shouldn't put suncream on babes.

TheRealFellatio · 19/07/2013 07:03

Unfortunately, unlike buying a pedigree dog from a responsible breeder, human beings do not have to pass any tests or answer any questions to test their suitability or preparedness for parenting. Any ol' idiot can have a baby and be sent home to care for it with barely a backward glance. Some people are so stupid and so poorly educated/ignorant that even the most obvious, common sense thing is not obvious to them. Sadly this baby's parents sound like that. It's scary, really.

sparkle12mar08 · 19/07/2013 07:07

Most sunscreen products say in the small print on the back of the bottle that they're not suitable for under six months. We had this discussion 7 years ago in our HV run First Baby groups when my eldest was born just prior to that summer of 2006. Consensus was that the risk of chemicals on delicate skin was far outweighed by the benefits of protecting them from sunburn, but that ideally you should be indoors between 11 and 3 if at all possible. Sun burn and sun stroke can kill. Yes that would be rare in the extreme in the UK but with such tiny vulnerable newborns and young babies, it's a real possibility.

Jenny70 · 19/07/2013 07:25

It is horrendously sad, and obviously preventable. But I can see situations where it could happen without the parents being completely stupid.

I imagine baby was dressed in nappy only to keep them cool - I have seen plenty out and about. The walk home in just a nappy could be enough to give them sunburn if carried in their arms and not in a covered pram.

Or parents have either applied sunscreen and not reapplied.

The shade might have moved and parents not realised baby was in the sun (this could be 15mins of direct sun). Mum might have been changing the toddlers nappy, getting a cup of tea or catching up on mumsnet!

weeblueberry · 19/07/2013 07:43

Sunscreen isn't usually recommended on babies under 1. The advice is to keep them covered up and in the shade

I'd be surprised if the above isn't the exact reason this happened. When I was buying sunscreen I asked the pharmacist which was best for my 6 week old daughter. She scoffed at me and said she should be covered up at all times and in the shade so it shouldn't be necessary. I find this a bit mad though-at some point during the day unless you're housebound the baby is going to get some sun. You just cannot cover it up the entire time without it roasting.

Tailtwister · 19/07/2013 08:20

It is a shocking story, but since we don't really know the circumstances it's not fair to judge. The story about the woman on the beach last year (think it was Brighton?) was entirely different. She was negligent and drunk (if I remember rightly).

I agree it's confusing when you are advised not to use sunscreen under 6 months. We had one of those sunscreen covers for the pram (the parasol was a PITA), but I've seen people peg a muslin over the pram too.

ClockWatchingLady · 19/07/2013 08:38

I'm always amazed that anyone with kids can NOT imagine making a mistake. Surely we all make massive errors, of different types (even if not this particular thing, then something else), all of the time. We may not even discover what they were until much later.

I hope the parents aren't making themselves suffer too much over this. It's hard enough having a new baby.

CakesAreNotTheAnswer · 19/07/2013 08:42

The no sunscreen under 6 months is for the same reason they advise against mineral based baby oil. It blocks the pores and makes it even harder for the baby to regulate their temperature thus putting the baby at greater risk of overheating.

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