Sun Care

Sun Care

Headaches and Children

As we welcome this unseasonably warm weather into the Pioneer Valley, our kids will be spending more and more time outside. While that's a good thing, it's important to remember to protect their skin from the harmful effects of UV radiation. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) offers several recommendations for safe sun-related care.

 

Prevention of sunburn:

  • Keep infants younger than 6 months shielded from direct sunlight. An umbrella or stroller canopy are great forms of shade to protect your infant.

  • Cool, lightweight clothing that covers the arms and legs help protect your child’s skin from direct sunlight.

  • Avoid exposure in the mid-afternoon, when sunlight rays are at their peak.

  • Sunglasses are important to protect the eyes from damaging UV rays. Your child’s sunglasses should fit well and have at least 99% UV protection.

Use sunscreen:

  • For infants younger than 6 months, only use sunscreen on small areas of the body when shade is unavailable. Protecting your infant from sunlight is prefered over the use of sunscreen.

  • For children and infants older than 6 months, apply sunscreen to cover all areas of the body that will be exposed to the sun at least 30 minutes before going outside.

  • Select a sunscreen with an SPF of 15-50. The AAP suggests avoiding sunscreens with Oxybenzone as an ingredient

  • Reapply sunscreen after the skin gets wet (swimming, sweating) and at least every 2 hours. There is no such thing as “waterproof” sunscreen.

If sunburn happens, keep your child well-hydrated. Burns to the skin cause the body to lose fluid. Do not allow your child’s skin to be re-exposed to direct sunlight until the sunburn has completely healed. Over-the-counter pain medicines may help alleviate your child’s discomfort.

Give us a call if:

  • Your baby’s (less than 1 year old) skin is sunburned

  • Your child’s skin is blistered or if they have pain/fever with their sunburn.

You can find more information here on the Healthy Children website.
 

Contact Us

Our Address
31 Hall Dr.
Amherst, MA 01002
Tel: (413) 253-3773
Fax: (413) 256-0215
Email: [email protected]

Patient Care Hours:
Monday-Friday
8:00 AM - 4:45 PM: In-office and MyChart Telehealth visits
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM: MyChart Telehealth visits only

Sat
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM: MyChart Telehealth visits only

* Please note: It is our policy that we do not approve referral requests for visits to outside urgent care centers during times that our office is open.

Holidays
We are open for urgent visits only on most Holidays. However, our office is closed on the following holidays:

- New Year's Day
- Easter Sunday
- Memorial Day
- July 4th
- Labor Day
- Thanksgiving Day
- Christmas Day

For urgent concerns, you can always reach an on-call provider, even when our office is closed.