Long Term Impact of Sunburn

10/09/2003

"Life begins as a quest of the child for the man and ends as a journey by the man to rediscover the child." - Laurens Van Der Post

LONG TERM IMPACT OF SUNBURN

The Canadian internet publication "Who Cares? Recent Developments on Caregiving," offers this story on exposure to sunlight . . .

Mike Repacholi of the World Health Organization on September 16, 2003, released a study finding that since a child's skin is unusually sensitive to the sun, having even one serious sunburn in childhood increases the risk of developing skin cancer later in life!

The WHO is launching a global campaign to involve schools in teaching dangers of excess exposure to ultraviolet light, and is distributing booklets to encourage children to wear sunhats and sunglasses and to avoid being outdoors on hot sunny days from 10 am to 3 pm. Ultraviolet rays have increased in strength over the past few years due to the thinning of the earth's ozone layer and efforts to cut emissions which destroy the ozone layer have not been completely successful. Each year 130,000 new cases of skin cancer melanoma are diagnosed.

For advice from Dr. Susan Aronson on protecting children in early childhood settings from sun exposure, go to:
https://secure.ccie.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=5012669&search=aronson&category=all

To subscribe to "Who Cares?" go to: [email protected]

For more information on the WHO findings and recommendations, go to: http://www..who.int/mediacentre/releases/2003/pr66/en/

For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.