Are Sunscreen Creams ok for delicate baby face?

[Emjay]

We're going away on a 6 day camping trip with DS 5 month old next weekend and to prevent sunburn, is it okay to use sunscreen/sunblock lotion/cream on his delicate skin? To prevent windburn on lips is it okay to use lip creams too, considering most of it will be sucked off? I've got a sunhat and will try and keep out of the sun as much as possible. Any thoughts?

emjay, on most bottles it says that it's not suitable for use in infants. However, when dd was 5 months old we went on a summer holiday to France and I asked her paediatrician about it who was surprised and said that of course we should use sunscreen. There are two different types of blockers - chemical or physical. Might be worth going for a non-chemical sun block - you can usually get those from health food shops. I've found that my older dd who has eczema reacts terribly to the chemical sun screens. Also, if you get the chance do a patch test on your ds's arm before you go so your camping trip does not get spoilt by a nasty reaction.

Emjay

Neal's Yard do some chemical free products for children -I've used them before and they are fine.

Keep away from products with PABA in them - most harmful irritant.

HTH

My baby suffered terrible rashes/spots from the age of about 3 until he was 6 months. I used Proderm Sunscreen which not only worked as a sunsreen but actually seemed to improve his skin tenfold. It was originally designed with excema/dermatitis sufferers in mind so it does not irritate the skin. It comes in mousse form so is easy to apply and is easily absorbed - also (unless you go in the water) one application lasts 6 hours!!! I highly recommend it.

Be careful, most sunscreens sting your eyes terribly. 5 month old babies are always rubbing their face and their eyes. I have been to jamaica with a 2 mo. old and just covered him with light clothes and a big floppy hat and kept him in the shade. When my children were 5+ months, I put sunscreen on their bodies + hat for covering faces if we were on the beach all day and it was hot, otherwise I just put long light clothes on them + hat.
Definitely use PABA free lotion and do a test.