Every summer, parents are bombarded with reminders to protect their children’s skin and limit their risk of skin cancer while out in the sun by smearing layers of sunscreen all over their bodies.
However, one U.K. mom just learned the hard way that the sun isn’t the only thing parents should be protecting their children’s skin from. 28-year-old Louise Nickles and her family were on a family vacation to Mexico and did what any mother would do to protect their kid from the strong sun: apply sunscreen throughout the day.
Nickles had brought along her own sunscreen from home, but after seeing how strong the sun was in Playa de Carmen, she decided to buy a new bottle when she saw a local shop was carrying a spray sunscreen. “I thought it would be easier to apply than a lotion. I’d seen it before on offer in the UK so I trusted the brand enough to use it on my daughter,” Nickles said of the Banana Boat Kids Ultramist Spray Sun Lotion SPF 50
“I sprayed it on her a few times throughout the day, after I applied sun cream in the morning, but she still had a t-shirt on as her shoulders were a bit red. I sprayed some on her face and she complained straight away that it was stinging and I took it off.”
However, by the time the family went back to their hotel to shower, nine-year-old Olivia was already complaining that her legs were sore. Nickles figured her daughter had been burnt by the sun, but realized the sunscreen, which was marketed as being hypoallergenic, had caused the burns.
“That afternoon she came out of the shower and I saw where I had sprayed it as it had dripped down her legs and it was bright red. It looked like she’d been sprayed with acid.”
Since returning home, doctors have prescribed moisturizing and steroid creams for Olivia, but the damage might be permanent, and now wears leggings under her school skirt because she is self-conscious about the burns. “It still keeps Olivia up at night with the pain and itchiness. It’s starting to scab and bleed and she might be scarred for life,” Nickles said.
“It needs to be taken off the shelves because it could easily have been a baby.“You just don’t expect it to happen after you buy sun cream to protect your children’s skin.”
Did you know sunscreen could be this dangerous? Let us know what you think in the comments below, and please SHARE this with parents and friends on Facebook.
[Featured image: SWNS]
Banana Boat Sunscreen Leaves Horrific Burns On Girl’s Skin is an article from: LifeDaily