Sunscreen and other products that protect our skin from sunburns while sunbathing is a must. What’s most, most of us use these products even when we are not at the beach, but taking walks outside when it’s too hot.
When younger kids and babies are exposed to sun rays, the prevention of sunburns should be even higher as their skin is more sensitive than that of an adult.
One mom named Rebecca Canon went to visit her sister together with her 14-month-old daughter. But it was an extremely hot day in Newfoundland, Canada, and Rebecca got concerned for little Kyla safety so she asked to borrow sunscreen from her sister.
Little did she know, Kyla would end up with second degree burns on her cute face.
The product called Banana Boat Kids Sunscreen Spray was intended for kids aged six months and above and everything listed on the label list seemed fine, so Rebecca put some on her hands and then rubbed it on Kyla’s face, making sure she keep it away from the girl’s eyes.
However, as the day progressed, Kyla’s face started turning red. Rebecca didn’t think she should be concerned so she put her daughter to sleep. In the morning, Kyla’s whole face was swollen and she even had blisters.
Rebecca rushed her to the emergency room where she was treated for burns.
No one in the family had any allergies or ever suffered sunburns before, so Rebecca was surprised by what happened to Kyla.
The reason behind Kyla’s situation was the sunscreen her mom applied on her face, so everyone assumed there might have been dangerous chemicals in it.
Luckily for this sweet girl, she will likely not deal with long-term issues and won’t be left with any scars.
Not wanting anything similar to happen to other children, Rebecca contacted the manufacturer of the sunscreen product, Banana Boat, who said they were taking such incidents very seriously and agreed to investigate the case further.
Health Canada performed their own investigation but they didn’t find anything suspicious in the product, so it was determined Kyla was likely allergic to some of the ingredients.
Further examinations confirmed the product was in fact safe to be used. Kyla was the first and only child who suffered injuries.
The truth is that we can never know whether we are allergic to a product or not, so the best thing to do when trying something for the first time, especially on children, is to do a test before using it.
So before full coverage, apply it on a small part of your body.
When it comes to the U.S. most personal care products are not regulated, so patch testing may end up saving a life.
Please share this story to raise awareness and avoid incidents like this one from happening.