TEACH YOUR KIDS TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR SKIN
Fun Skin Facts for Kids:
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Skin is the human body’s largest organ (an organ is a group of tissues that work together to perform functions in your body, others include your brain, heart and lungs).
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Your skin performs a range of different functions which include physically protecting your bones, muscles and internal organs, protecting your body from outside diseases, allowing you to feel and react to heat and cold and using blood to regulate your body heat.
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The color of human skin depends on the amount of pigment melanin that the body produces. Small amounts of melanin result in light skin while large amounts result in dark skin.
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Skin weighs about 6 pounds
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Healthy skin completely regenerates ever 27 days.
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Unprotected sun exposure is even more dangerous for kids with:
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moles on their skin (or whose parents have a tendency to develop moles)
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very fair skin and hair
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a family history of skin cancer, including melanoma
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Tips for Skin Care and Sun Safety:
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Seek shade when the sun is at its highest overhead and therefore strongest (usually from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the northern hemisphere).
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If kids are in the sun during this time, be sure to apply and reapply protective sunscreen — even if they're just playing in the backyard. Most sun damage occurs as a result of incidental exposure during day-to-day activities, not from being at the beach.
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Because infants have thinner skin and underdeveloped melanin, their skin burns more easily than that of older kids. The best protection for babies under 6 months of age is shade, so they should be kept out of the sun whenever possible.
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Look for SPF numbers on the labels of sunscreens. Select an SPF of 30 or higher to prevent sunburn and tanning, both of which are signs of skin damage. Choose a sunscreen that protects against UVA and UVB rays (usually labeled as a "broad-spectrum" sunscreen).
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One simple way to take care of your skin is to keep it clean. Keeping your hands clean is especially important because your hands can spread germs to the skin on other parts of your body.
Information about skin disease:
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Skin diseases are not contagious.
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There are many different forms of chronic skin disease. The most common are eczema and psoriasis.
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For more information about skin disease, please visit www.csdf.org.
Sources:
https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/sun-safety.html
http://www.livescience.com/27115-skin-facts-diseases-conditions.html
http://kidshealth.org/en/kids/skin-care.html
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/humanbody/skin.html