To hate the start of summer purely because of daily sun cream dramas?

[santsandpocks]

They hate having it put on, I hate putting it on them. It's all such a faff

Well yes, Mrs Pratchett. That is the extreme scenario. I'm not red headed myself and am very cautious on holiday.

No - I'm talking about the other extreme of kids in this country slathered in cream from dawn until dusk, march through October.

These kids are receiving no natural sun on their skin at all.

There are consequences of that and I wouldn't be surprised in future years if the risks are greater than the minuscule risks of a little natural sunevery day, out with peak burning times. Cancers, autoimmunity and MS are all connected to low vitamin D.

The t shirt being like spf6 can't be right can it? I spent a summer in Egypt as a teen and wore no sunscreen under my clothes and spent sometimes hours outside in long sleeved cotton tops (with cream on my hands and wrists!) and never burned. A friend got the wrists application wrong and burned about an inch of skin where her shirt had ridden up and it was so bad it blistered :(

I think it's important for children and adults to get a bit of sun exposure without sun cream.
I read somewhere that we need 10 minutes of sun exposure daily (at least uncovered arms) for our bodies to produce enough vitamin D.
If I'm taking DS (15 months) to the local shop, a 10 minute walk there and back, I don't slather him in sun cream but if we are going to be spending longer outside then I do.
However, before he was 6 months old I never exposed his skin to the sun, as babies that age and younger have thinner skin.

Humans are hugely affected by light - circadian rhythms etc - and it's not fully understood

Sunscreen doesn't block light - just UV

future years if the risks are greater than the minuscule risks of a little natural sunevery day, out with peak burning times. Cancers, autoimmunity and MS are all connected to low vitamin D.

Most people in the UK are deficient - we should all be taking supplements (which will work with vit k2 in the same was as D3 produced by the body)

My GP said that everyone living in Cumbria should take vit D supplements all year round. So we all do now.

I had UV-B light treatment for guttate psioris (sp?), and had to sign a lot of forms to say I fully understood the implications of my treatment. I now 'blotch' instead of tan, so use a lot more sunscreen than I did.

DD3 has spotty impetigo, so I'm super careful with her. Thanks for reminding me...

amic your GP sounds very well informed. Many are still catching up on the vit D deficiency - it's actually really hard to be tested on the NHS which is a mistake.

Supplements are never as good as the real thing.

I have just had my younger pair out before lunch - bare arms - no cream. They never burn but are always lightly tanned by the end of summer.

I was covered neck to elbow and knee yesterday and burned my chest

I HATE sun cream. I have sensitive skin so any kind of cream makes it feel like I've been wrapped in slimy cling film. I can't bear it. I don't use moisturiser or lotion either. Anyway, when pushed I use the Nivea Invisible stuff that you don't really rub in. I can tolerate that and it comes in 30+ SPF.

I send slimy white normal stuff to nursery because they have more patience than me.

But here's the thing. Regardless of the "do they really need it" question, isn't a more important question "where's the harm?" It doesn't take much to get them into the habit of using it. And aren't the consequences of not having it and needing it far worse than the consequences of using it and not needing it?

The consequences of using it when you don't need to, if you really hate it, are that you will avoid going outside, with all the obesity/Vit D/allergy/lungs issues that go with it. Just as antihistamines allow DH to leave the house in summer, long-sleeved tops allow me to!

Another one who has had a melanoma removed. I am olive skinned and tan easily. I rarely burn, but the dermatologist said it was probably due to an incident of over exposure as a child (melanoma takes years to develop). So my two dc put on SPF 30-50 every morning from late April onwards. It's part of our morning routine, no question.

I dunno Isles. Sounds like your kids would never be allowed to burn anyway. LowVit D in itself seems to contribute to melanoma..
Low level sun exposure does not cause melanoma.

Melanoma is less prevalent in outdoor workers. It seems more likely in people who suddenly blast themselves for 2 weeks.

I think this is one of these things we need balance on.

Signing off now - I have banged on long enough. Interestingly there is good guidance on the melanoma cancer website on this subject.

Melanoma is less prevalent in outdoor workers. It seems more likely in people who suddenly blast themselves for 2 weeks.

Melanoma is not the only form of skin cancer Frequent exposure gives you squamous cell carcinoma instead.

Supplementing is way safer than sunshine.

I HATE sun cream. I have sensitive skin

Try Aloe Vera - Amazon

Rates of squamous and basal cell carcinoma (SCC and BCC) skin cancers are rising year on year. And yes, they won't kill you, but surgery to remove them can be disfiguring. And there is a direct correlation between sun exposure and development, so wearing sun protection of all types is really important.

head-desk at some of the ignorance on here. Did no-one pay any attention at school to the laws of physics, basic orbits, earth tilt, radiation????

Did no-one pay any attention at school to the laws of physics, basic orbits, earth tilt, radiation????

Er no. I was too busy listening to Alice In Chains, lamenting the untimely death of Kurt Cobain and writing about my teenage angst in my diary

Wish we had some of this summer sun you are all worrying about. Here is Scotland it's still cool and not raining. That's about as good as it gets

MrsHathaway have you tried the Eucerin sun cream range?
Boots sell it and a good store will let you take a small sample home so that you can test to see if you're allergic.

At the risk of sounding like a special snowflake, Quietlife, it's not just about allergies: I can't bear to have any cream on my skin at all, particularly my face. You know in Quantum of Solace (?) where the woman gets covered in crude oil which sort of cooks her from the outside in because her skin can't breathe? It feels like that.

Now that I've discovered the invisible mist stuff, I cope far better. It's suspended in alcohol or something so it's more like putting on perfume that just magically dries in seconds rather than sitting stickily on your skin for hours.

I've burned in a thick miserable layer of SPF30 under a thick parasol not in the middle of the day, within half an hour. Sunstroke and sunburn. With the mist stuff (Nivea Sun Protect and Refresh) I don't even get more colour or freckles so I know it's working.

Ladival is very good. One of the only ones that has uv protection, and it doesn't sting eyes

UV rating is 6 at its peak today. It doesn't go over 8 in the uk - most is normally 7.

I'm sun creaming mine! (After about 10:30 having played out all morning). Factor 50...

I will be honest, I would rather slather myself and the children in sun screen than risk skin cancer.

All skin cancers carry risks. Disfigurement at best (very commonly on the face - particularly the nose and ears) and horrendous suffering/death at worst. It can literally happen to anyone.

Serious and life altering Vit D deficiencies happen in people with almost zero sun exposure - those who don't leave the house (as UV doesn't penetrate glass) or those who cover themselves completely in the sun. UVB rays can and do penetrate sun screens, allowing the production of Vit D.

A large majority of Vitamin D comes from our diet in things like eggs and oily fish, and some cereals and spreads.

It's 26 degrees here today, not a cloud in the sky. Children are outside all day at a scouting event. They had factor 30 on arms,legs, face, ears at 9am and took the bottle to reapply at lunch. They're wearing hats.

I've been running this morning, and now gardening. I have factor thirty on my face and arms.

We buy the clear non sticky sprays. Takes two minutes per child. Mega quick.

Astounded by the number of comments saying they don't use sunscreen on children. Totally irresponsible and dangerous.

We use factor 50 from the minute sun shine starts. We are of med and African descent so don't burn easily BUT everyone should use sunscreen when possible.

We have lovely healthy 'tans' even though we use sunblock and it lasts nearly all year, though very light

Shocked