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Home › Articles › Toddler Health › Put a Stop to UVA and UVB

Put a Stop to UVA and UVB

Protective Sun Gear for Infants and Toddlers

By Renee Roberson

Pages:  1  2  3  

As for the array of sunscreen aerosol sprays that have grown in popularity over the past couple of years, while they are convenient and easier to apply, Dr. Eichler says that many of them don't contain the UVA sunscreen ingredients he typically recommends, such as avobenzone (or parsol); zinc oxide; titanium oxide; or mexory.

Protective Clothing
Staying under the shade of umbrellas while at the pool or beach is always recommended, particularly during the middle of the day, but that isn't always possible. Instead, Dr. Eichler recommends keeping the face and body covered with a broad-brimmed hat and shirt.

Sun protection offered by clothing varies widely depending on the type of clothing a child is wearing, but the tightness of the weave of fabric is more important than the color of clothing, Dr. Eichler says.

"A black shirt absorbs a bit more than white," Dr. Eichler says. "A white T-shirt may only have a UPF (ultraviolet protection factor) of 4. A polo shirt has a UPF of about 8." UPF measures the amount of ultraviolet radiation that penetrates a fabric and reaches the skin.

There are several manufacturers of sun protective clothing that offer sun protection above UPF 30, as well as a laundry additive that helps increase the UPF of T-shirts up to UPF 30, lasting about 20 or so washings.

Those Cool Shades
Sunglasses should be an important part of your child's summer wardrobe as well.


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