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.

There is no evidence that the chemicals in the sunscreen cause anything harmful
BUT THERE IS TONS OF INFO ABOUT UNFILTERED SUNLIGHT CAUSING DAMAGE TO SKIN.
Some of the damage is not immediately cancerous but some is. So any sun screen is better than nothing.

@emmypa There are lots of other common food items/ingredients if you look up what's in them when they are stored and/or processed you would feel quite queasy. However the vast majority of the UK and European populations who consume these products daily/regularly are not ill.

(I've deliberately not said what the food items are.)

In regards to sunscreen it is apparently cheaper in the UK than in lots of other countries particularly due to the German supermarkets. There is a campaign to remove VAT from it by some of those who have had skin cancer and survived, but there are arguments that it wouldn't reduce the price.

Suncream is cheaper in the UK because of German supermarkets? I'm not following that one. I think suncream in Germany and UK is of a comparable price depending on the brand. I've never noticed a big difference

NTRFT but agree with op’s that your anxiety level seems disproportionate to any possible risk.
What would the risk have been if you had never applied sunscreen? Your children may well have burned.
By applying sunscreen you did exactly what a responsible parent should do and you are one of millions.

Do you use the kids green people one or the mineral? Iv been using the kids but wondering whether i should move to the mineral

This is such a helpful, grounded post. Yes pp are right, the levels of chemicals are almost certainly not harmful anyway. But at some point it will turn out that something we’ve been using actually is harmful. And we didn’t know. So we have to change behaviour then but that’s not a reason to panic now.

@TealPoet you’re so right, I went down a rabbit hole of looking at everything we use - mattress protectors, saucepans, lunchboxes etc - and just had to stop as it's overwhelming. Could count on one hand what’s considered 100% safe!

You said "An increasing amount of studies are showing that this degrades into a carcinogenic chemical (benzophenone) over time."

Well I seriously doubt each application of suncream was left on your children long enought to degrade. Even a bottle of the stuff left for a year would probably not have enough degraded chemical in it to be an issue. Loads of things are carinogenic, most of them are not in the levels you encounter daily.

There’s no evidence that sunscreen causes cancer. Do you know what is proven to cause cancer though? Sun exposure. Chill out.

Seriously crying over this OP? You need to get a grip