Knowledgebase: Child Safety, Injury Prevention and Treatment

Questions about child safety and injury prevention, as well as treatment for minor injuries.

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37. What strength SPF is best for long exposure to the sun? - Top

Sun protection is important to prevent painful sunburn now and reduce your chance of skin cancer later in life. A recent report from Harvard Medical School revealed that children or adolescents who experience a single blistering sunburn double their chances of developing skin cancer later in life.

People with fair skin, red or blond hair, and freckles are at the highest risk of sunburn and skin cancer-. People with darker skin are at a lower risk.

SPF in established on the basis of time of protection. A SPF of 15 protects you 15 time" longer than no sunscreen and so on. If a fair skinned person burns in 5 minutes, then a SPF of 15 will delay burning until 75 minutes. So the choice of SPF should be based on 1) skin type and 2) expected time of sun exposure. A point to remember is that when in water or on sand, sunburning time can be cut in half because of the reflection off of the sand or water.

Generally, fair skinned people should use at least SPF 15 and higher if any lengthy exposure is expected - Updated: March 22, 2001

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James L Horwitz, MD

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