Be a SunSmart family

An alarming number of infants, children and teens are presenting at Victorian hospital emergency departments with sunburn.

Victorians are being reminded to protect themselves and their families as data shows children and teenagers accounted for more than half the number of emergency hospital presentations for sunburn last summer.

A recent report citing Victorian emergency department presentations for sunburn during summer 2018-19 shows one in two (53%) hospital presentations were children and adolescents aged 0-19 years of age.

Of the total 296 sunburn presentations reported, one in three (32%) were adolescents aged 10-19 years, while an alarming one in five (21%) were children under nine years of age.

SunSmart recommends Victorians protect their skin in five ways:

Slip on loose protective clothing that covers as much skin as possible.

Slop on SPF30 or higher, broad spectrum, water resistant sunscreen 20 minutes before going outdoors. Reapply every two hours; particularly when kids are playing in the water.

Correct application of sunscreen includes a full teaspoon for each limb, the face, neck and ears, back and front of the body – seven teaspoons in total.

Slap on a broadbrim, bucket or legionnaires style hat that covers the face, neck and ears.

Seek shade wherever possible outside; particularly in the middle of the day when the UV is highest. For infants and young children, prolonged periods of sun exposure should be avoided all together.

Slide on close fitting, wrap-around sunglasses that cover as much of the eye area as possible and that meet the Australian Standards.

For more information and tips on protecting your skin visit sunsmart.com.au.

The free SunSmart app which provides UV alerts and reminders for sunscreen application can be downloaded on the App store and Google Play.