Skin cancer is the seventh most common cancer in Singapore, according to the Singapore Cancer Society.
Singapore lies 70 miles from the equator, with one of the world’s highest ultraviolet (UV) index scores.
Sun damage in childhood is one of the most important causes of skin cancer in adults. Bad sunburns in childhood significantly increase the risk of developing malignant melanoma, which is the most dangerous type of skin cancer.
On average, a person would get 80% of our lifetime sun exposure by age 18
Unprotected sun exposure is more dangerous for kids with:
- Very fair skin and hair;
- Moles on their skin (or whose parents have a tendency to develop moles);
- A family history of skin cancer, including melanoma.
Children’s skin is more susceptible to sun damage.
Children’s skin is thinner than an adult’s and therefore more sensitive to the sun - even a short time outdoors in the midday sun can result in serious burns.
Compared to an adult, a young child has more skin relative to his body mass (more skin exposed), thus sunburn would be more serious.
Children less than 6 months old are at the most risk as their skin is not yet protected by melanin and therefore extremely sensitive to the sun. Even children born to parents with deeply pigmented (dark) skin require optimum protection.
Tips on protecting your kids from sun damage.
Keep children out of the sun between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., when the sun rays are at its most intense.
Stand under a shade whenever possible.
Cover exposed parts of your child’s skin with sunscreen of at least SPF 30, with UVA/UVB protection as well, paying attention also to areas such as the nose, cheeks, shoulder tops and feet.
Use waterproof sunscreen for swimming and sports (because of perspiration).
Reapply sunscreen often, approximately 2 to 3 hours. (recommended by the American Academy of Dermatology)
Reading SPF (Sun Protection Factor)
The SPF number tells you how much longer you can stay in the sun without burning if you apply the sunscreen.
For instance, if a person would burn after 10 minutes in the sun, a SPF 10 sunscreen would give him 100 minutes (SPF10 x 10 mins) of protection before he burns.
