I never had a genuine need to put sunscreen on my 6 month or younger baby but what's so bad about it any way? Just curious.
Absorption of chemical?
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My doctor said we could put it on at 3 months as long as it's a natural kind and we give her a bath to wash it off after.
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my ped basically flew in the face of AAP and said at 4 months it was okay to put sunscreen on LO, and didn't mention natural or whatever. but i do imagine the 6-month recommendation is because of the chemicals in most sunscreens. who knows. i'm sure 5 years from now they'll come up with a different recommendation.
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My Dr also said 4 months. She said the risk of sunburn is worse than any short exposure to sunscreen.
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@autumnlove: that's what I keep thinking! That's gotta be worse or skin cancer???
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I always thought it was because they don't develop melanin before 6 months and without melanin, sunscreen is not effective.
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From what I understand it's theoretical based on their skin being so thin and will readily absorb more of the stuff in sunscreen (though I wonder about baby lotion then) and there not being any good studies showing the chemicals won't harm them. There's no studies showing they do harm them but I'd def try and use all natural and mineral based that doesn't get absorbed and no DEET, which some companies have been putting in for bugs. We used it occasionally but mainly tried to limit direct sun exposure.
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From consumer reports:
For one thing, babies' skin is much thinner than that of adults, and it absorbs the active, chemical ingredients in sunscreen more easily, explains Sachs. For another, infants have a high surface-area to body-weight ratio compared to older children and adults. Both these factors mean that an infant's exposure to the chemicals in sunscreens is much greater, increasing the risk of allergic reaction or inflammation.
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In addition to what others have said ive read babies have trouble regulating their temp before 6 months and the sunblock can affect that.. I think that was it. Our pedi said nothing about its other way (we didn't ask)
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I was just wondering about this bc our pediatrician told DH's cousin that it was fine to use sunscreen now. Their son is 2 weeks younger than our son, who will be 5 mo on Friday.
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9 comments