Be smart in the sun
Sun care
If you spend too much time in the sun without sun cream on, you will get sunburnt. Sunburned skin is bright red, is very sore to touch and feels hot. If you have really bad sunburn, you might even get blisters on your skin.
Too much time in the sun can also lead to sunstroke – this is when your body overheats and you feel really sick and dizzy.
To stop both these things from happening you can:
- Reapply sun cream every two hours. Ask someone to help you put your sun cream on to make sure that you don’t miss tricky areas like your back. Don’t forget your ears and toes too!
- Wear a sun hat and sunglasses at all times – this will protect your head and eyes (and help you look super cool!)
- Don’t spend all day playing in the sun – even if you have sun cream, a sun hat and sunglasses on, you need some time cooling down in the shade or indoors.
To stop yourself getting sunburnt, get your parent or carer to help you put on sun cream that is SPF 30 or above at least 20 minutes before you go out in the sun. For more information, head over to the NHS Choices website.
You can still get sunburnt even on a cloudy day! Vitamin D
We need vitamin D to keep our bones and our teeth strong. We make vitamin D when our skin is exposed to the sun – but only for a short amount of time!
To get enough vitamin D you should spend 10 – 15 minutes in the sunshine (without sun cream on!) with bare arms, hands and face two to three times a week. If you have darker skin, then this is 25 – 30 minutes two to three times a week. The rest of the time you should make sure you use sun cream, a sun hat and sunglasses.
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