With the arrival of the first warm days, we forget about our problems, and we try to spend more time outside. We smile more often and somehow our depression disappears. The feeling of sunlight on our face and body affects our mood in a positive fashion. But this pleasant feeling may also lead to "too much of a good thing". Our kids in particular need "children protection" because once they get outside; they don't want to come in!

Everybody knows that the sun produces ultraviolet. But do you know enough how UV rays affect our bodies and skin?

Ultraviolet reacts with a chemical, melanin, which is our first defense against sun rays. Melanin protects us from dangerous rays before they cause us any damage. The lighter your child's skin is the less melanin it has to defense against UV rays. But nevertheless children protection against the sun should be on the first place for every parent. Too much sun exposure is very dangerous for children who have moles on their skin, fair skin or hair or if someone in their family had skin cancer.

The problem of newborns and sun increases with the coming of summer season. Children's skin is very gentle, that's why you shouldn't stay with a baby outside during the strongest rays of sun (between 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM). But if you have to be outside, make sure that your child is protected with clothing and hat. Try to make a shadow for him, for the reason that newborn's skin has underdeveloped melanin.

Children protection consists not only of wearing clothing and shadow. Every child likes to play on sand or in the water and he can spend several hours there. Without good protection happy playing may turn in the evening of pain. It is necessary to apply kid's sunscreen in order to avoid unpleasant feelings later. But still, being in the sun for too long will not bring your baby any advantage. On the contrary, too much sunshine makes child feel tired, may cause headaches or nausea.

Consider then, the following suggestions for children protection and also used for teenagers working outside protection:

1. Wear protective sunglasses. Not all sunglasses provide a good ultraviolet protection. Sunglasses that do not have special UV filters only seem to protect your eyes. Make sure that the sunglasses you bought provide 100% protection from ultraviolet. But it is rather hard sometimes to persuade your child to wear sunglasses. To solve this situation, look at the problem of wearing or not wearing sunglasses from their side. Let them choose the ones that he or she likes best of all. The market industry offers various models of sunglasses - funny, with pictures of cartoon heroes, with multicolored frames and so on. Another good variant is to show them that you wear sunglasses, too. Many small kids like to look like their mommy or daddy. So, if you wear glasses your child might do it also.

2. Another aspect of children protection is baby's medication. Some medications prescribed by a doctor may increase sensitivity of skin to the UV. The result may be very painful for a child. Pay attention to the medication that was prescribed and try to find out if it can increase sensitivity (especially if your child is taking antibiotics)

And now, some words about sunburn treatment. Once your child has been burned, the first rule of thumb is to keep them in doors or in the shade. If they are severely burned, prepare a cool bath or apply cool compresses to the skin. Use Aloe Vera gel as it has a regenerating effect on burned skin. And finally if the sunburn is strong and severe call your doctor. It's better to be safe than sorry.