To have crippling guilt over chemical sunscreens

[nevertearusapart]

I read this morning that the baby suncream that we used daily on my children for years had Octocrylene as an ingredient up until recently. An increasing amount of studies are showing that this degrades into a carcinogenic chemical (benzophenone) over time.

So basically I have been rubbing a cancer causing substance onto my babies every day for almost a decade. I haven’t stopped crying since reading it and feel like I’m loosing my mind. Am usually on top of what they’re eating, using, wearing etc and cannot believe I was so stupid to just trust a ‘natural’ baby brand. And there is nothing I can do about it.

Would really appreciate a handhold as I’m properly struggling and spiralling. Thanks.

Get a grip and move on. I tears about it all day OP, really?

Arsenic, cadmium, lead and 13 other metals have been detected in tampons sold in the European Union, the US, and the UK, that personally is more worrying to me, than some sunscreen.

Thank you so much, each and every one of you. I really appreciate the time you’ve taken to post, it’s a huge help and I’m reading and re-reading your responses. @KreedKafer thanks for your straight up posts.

@Dinosaurlover and @Ellythe, sending positive thoughts and wishes to you both.

I’m going to stop googling and try and figure out what’s going on in my head as this is a real wake up call.

Well this is so very helpful in a post clearly made by someone with health anxiety (even if she doesn’t recognize it as such)

good days work!

Just sending you a hug. I clicked on this thread as I also recently had concerns about kids sun cream. I think mainly because I only found out about any sort of link to do with any sort of cancer and sun cream from an Instagram post talking about the best mineral suncreams. I was so confused. I was like mineral sun creams? What? Why would I need that? Then googled it and was horrified at some of the stuff and the fact I had no idea there was any risk at all with it.

I’m not crying myself to sleep over it but it is a legitimate concern or query to have when it involves your health or your kid’s health. The fact-based comments on here are reassuring that maybe in the small quantities used in sun cream they are safe(ish) but I think it’s the fact that you think you’re being safe by putting sun cream on more often rather than less!

That's a massive overreaction. The OP does not need to see a GP about this unless this is a regular occurrence which she.has said it is not.

Have you really put it on them every day though?

No, not at all. I feel very sorry for the OP, who is suffering significant, and unnecessary, distress. I want her to realise that it doesn’t have to be that way and that she can manage her anxiety with a bit of help.

Yes I would have it on faces and arms most days, I’ve had a lot of dodgy moles cryo’ed / removed over the years as am very fair and sunburnt loads as a child. Am not in the UK.

Are you in the UK?

Sorry just seen you edited it

Thank you for writing pretty much what I wanted to say but didn't have the energy to write. 👍

Exactly. People are very naive here. Big pharma may millions to bury evidence every year.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/johnson-johnson-baby-powder-settlement-talc/

OP it is no coincidence that cancer rates have doubled in twenty years. We are using more and more forever chemicals that degrade into carcinogens. You can only go off the information you have at the time.

The consultant dermatologist I know has been saying for many years we should all be using mineral suncream but going around to the newspapers explaining why just isn't going to happen for all the NDAs and cover ups.

Don't get caught up in guilt just switch to as few products you can that have any carcinogens going forward.

Group litigation and compensation culture in the States feed the conspiracy theories.

Exactly the same conversations were being had about smoking in the 40s as women were being prescribed fags for anxiety. It takes decades for any issue that involves human behaviour and convenience to change. Even with the climate crisis denial ain't just a river in Egypt.

This is a really good post, OP. The word 'chemical' has become synonymous with 'toxic' which is really inaccurate but highly convenient for marketing purposes whether that's for skincare or food or even bloody furniture!

Suncream is highly tested. Anything that claims to be OK for children's skin is HIGHLY tested! If you want your product to make medical claims for children's products you have to prove it.

I agree with others, be kinder to yourself & entertain the idea that though your reaction is understandable (your a mum!) it's not proportional & you might need some help with that. You're only human & there's no shame xx

Sending you a big hug OP - your fears are entirely disproportionate to the risks. Being a parent is such a wonderful experience. Sadly for a lot of people nowadays it is marred by fear, as a result of too much ( often bogus or inflammatory ) information being available through google. I wish more mothers would trust their instincts rather than beating themselves up. Please no more tears and maybe see a doctor - mild concern might have been an ok reaction to this 'threat' but even a single tear is concerning when looking at the issue through the lens of your own health .

Just when I thought the bar for being "vile" on mn couldn't get any lower 🤨

OP please consider getting some support for health anxiety, that is not a normal way to feel. Everything has chemicals in unfortunately. It's far more important for anyone, especially kids, to not get sun damaged skin, this has a far stronger link to cancer than a chemical.

I don’t know what it is about this that has tipped me over but appreciate each and every one of your posts as it’s clear now that my risk assessment and reactions have gone off kilter.

Being a parent is so hard - it’s impossible to get everything right. @Jobsharenightmare mentioned about going with the best info at the time but potentially harming our babies by missing things and basically being human is just awful.

And yes, have rang my GP so taking that advice. Thank you.

The 'proving' it is very subjective though because the pharma companies seem to fund the regulators - https://www.investigate-europe.eu/posts/deadly-prices-big-pharma-influence-hangs-over-europes-medicines-regulator

There was this story a few years ago where the sun cream spf's seemingly weren't correct but the companies responded by saying they were basically happy with their own testing. So who is right? - https://www.bbc.com/news/health-27439734

Calpol is an interesting one. Used by probably 99% of families in the UK but its banned in some countries because of the e numbers. Given the e numbers are just the colouring i cant understand why they wouldnt just make it not purple anymore?! - https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/make-it-better-child-medicines-contain-banned-additives-linked-to-hyperactivity-8895331.html

And then there was the film a few years ago called Dark Waters about Teflon (not medicine but another giant).

Theres a really interesting book called Bad Pharma that talks about how the pharma industry works. Its written by a doctor. Id recommend it. Its not so much about particular products but just a generally interesting read.

I guess everyone can only do their best. Iv never given much of this any thought until having children. I try and use non toxic /organic products where possible but they are often v expensive and sometimes more hassle to get so i guess everyone grabs what they can from the supermarket a lot of the time. In 50 years or so it will be interesting to see the outcome.

Someone on here posted a video a few months ago that was really informative. It was an Asian American (I think) dermatologist but I can't remember her name or find the video. She did a deep dive into chemical Vs mineral sunscreens and the conclusion was use what you like to use most as it's better than sun damaged skin cells! If anyone knows who I mean please could they link and it put my mind at ease.

I get the anxiety as it's something we feel we can control but honestly there are forever chemicals/micro plastics/other nasties all over the place and in our environment, food and bodies. There's nothing we can do about it so you might as well not worry too much. Just eat as healthy as you can, exercise, drink water and hope for the best. In Bill Brysons book about the body he does a paragraph on cancer and when you consider how many cells there are in our bodies although it's a 'common illness' its actually a very rare event on an individual level. Again changed my mindset a little.

I personally don't use chemical sunscreens on my kids for the reasons you mention, but I also wouldn't be as worried as you are about past use either.

Your kids will be fine. It's not a life and death choice, it's more of a 'optimising' choice if you know what I mean. And we all make different choices and assessments about what we deem 'optimal'.

We use a zinc sunblock called Shade and it's fantastic. And extremely aquaphobic which is so useful.

I don't not use the chemical sunscreens because i'm terrified that my children will get cancer, but it's such an easy thing to swap out to ease that accumulation of environmental toxins we are constantly bombarded with.

If I don't have any zinc sunblock with me, I'll happily borrow a pals normal stuff.

Labmuffinbeautyscience is a great resource on Instagram and YouTube. She’s a very qualified cosmetic scientist who breaks down ingredients etc and busts myths and scaremongering in a very digestible way. Highly recommended if you’re nervous about stuff like this 👍🏻