An Auckland mother has shared a reminder for parents to use age-appropriate sunscreen this summer after her two-year-old son suffered a severe reaction to children's sunblock.
Carla Beaumont was visiting her mother at Snells Beach with her sons, Jackson, two, and Braxton, five, when she applied sunblock to the children on Sunday morning.
Miss Beaumont was later horrified when Jackson's body turned red, irritable and itchy just hours after using the cream, which she had previously used on Braxton.
She usually uses a baby sunblock on Jackson, but hadn't planned ahead for the hot weather and the Smart365 Kids product was at the boys' grandmother's house.
The Pukekohe resident told Newshub she put a hat and the sunscreen on Jackson around 10am before waiting 20 minutes to go outdoors.
By mid-afternoon, Jackson's skin was blotchy with a red, itchy rash which spread to his shoulders, neck, lower back, ears and caused swelling under his eyes.
Miss Beaumont can't help but feel like "a bad mum", having expected the cream to work as normal as it had on her older son.
"You don't want another kid to go through it," she said.
"I was only thinking about protecting their skin from the sun and I just assumed it would be alright.
"I'm thinking it's just too strong for a baby's delicate skin."
Miss Beaumont took to Facebook to share her experience with other parents in the hopes of preventing at least one parent from making a similar mistake.
"Definitely not recommended for bubbas, off to get him his normal baby sunblock today, just a warning to all other mums with bubs," she wrote in a post on a parenting page with a description of what happened.
Miss Beaumont said that the rash is getting better with creams and but Jackson is a little sore and irritable.
A senior writer at Consumer NZ told Newshub it's time to start being vigilant about sun protection - especially for kids.
She explained sunscreens that are specially formulated for children have a mild base designed especially for their sensitive skin.
"They are often fragrance-free but some still contain preservatives, which some people can find irritating.
"It's a good idea to patch test a small amount on the inside of their forearm first to check there's no reaction."
Newshub.
