School Sunscreen Ban Leaves Student Severely Sunburned
School Sunscreen Ban Leaves Student Severely Sunburned
It was scorching pain that could have been avoided.
Violet and Zoe Michener came home from field day so burned that their mother rushed them to the hospital.
The sisters aren't just fair-skinned. Zoe has a form of albinism that makes her particularly sun-sensitive.
"Yeah, I was crying about my sunburn," Zoe said.
Mother Jesse Michener of Tacoma, Wash. said she regrets not putting sunscreen on them that morning since it was raining.
Even so, doctors recommend re-applying every 2 to 3 hours when outside but that's against their school rules.
"They couldn't even reapply sunscreen without a doctor's note. They couldn't carry that in their backbacks," said Jesse Michener.
The school district said it has to ban sunscreen because it's state law.
"Because so many additives in lotions and sunscreens cause allergic reaction in children, you have to really monitor that," said Dan Voelpel, Tacoma School District Spokesman.
Sunscreens are regulated by the FDA as an over the counter drug.
Many American schools don't allow them without a doctor's note
In fact, California is the only state to allow sunscreen in school without one.
With millions of kids gearing up for summer camps and daycare where they'll be exposed to midday sun, the situation has doctors worried.
"Having a sunburn in childhood dramatically increases your risk of skin cancer later in life," said dermatologist Doris Day.
Day believes even though suncreen allergies are very rare, they don't justify a ban.
"I can't see any justification for any school to tell a child that they are not allowed to apply sunscreen," she said.
Quoting TruthSeeker.:
This is the third post on this article:)
But, I will say it again.
Parents need to take responsibility for their children. With the girls skin condition(albinism) the mother could have easily gotten a Dr's note. She could have come to the school herself and put the sunscreen on. She could have requested they be kept in or she could have kept them home.
I do think the ban is a bit ridiculous, especially when all day outings are concerned. However, I agree with you that the responsibility ultimately falls on the parents. The pictures in the OP show a sunburned sholder. That's easy enough to prevent with a short sleeved t-shirt or even one of those swim shirts that prevents sunburn. The face? That's a little harder but the mom could've at least applied sunscreen at home, which would've lessened the severity of the burn. She could've also given her daughter a hat to wear to shade her face from the sun.
There are ways to work around a sunscreen ban and if it's important enough, which it sounds like it was for these girls, then the mom should've found a way.
49 states have the same rule. If I knew it was field day, I would make sure my kid has sunscreen on before leaving the house. She knows how sensitive her daughters' skin is; she could have easily received a doctor's note for the sunscreen, put sunscreen on her kids before school, and sent her kids to school with sleeved shirts. She could have also called the school when it stopped raining and ask for her daughters to be sent inside. The schools allow sunscreens, but they don't allow teachers to apply sunscreen. Sunscreen has to be accompanied by a doctor's note and be kept in the nurse's office (in my state anyway). If my dd had sensitive skin, I would make sure she applied sunscreen and called the school to make sure she applied the sunscreen before field day.
I can understand why teachers cannot apply sunscreen. For one, the teacher does not know what type of the reaction the kid may have from the sunscreen. Second, the teacher would be taking a risk. Kid goes home and tells mom the teacher "rubbed her leg" and now the teacher is being charged with sexual molestation of a child and the school is being sued. I find it hard to believe the teachers noticed the little girls were burning and didn't send them to the nurse. Did the girls even complain? I was at the pool for 3 hours on Friday with a friend. I felt fine the whole time. I got home, and realised I was burned. My friend also had a sunburn, neither of us noticed until we got back to the house and out of the sunlight.
Many people are allergic to external products. What many people don't understand is that anything you put ON your skin goes INTO your body (remember the recent realization that certain soaps made babies test positive for THC?), ESPECIALLY if that product is an oil based product. So it is a potential allergen, and schools have to protect themselves against lawsuits should a kid get a horrible reaction to something the school thought would be okay to put on his or her skin.
Quoting muslimahpj:
A doc note for sunscreen? Really?
smh
If you know people in OK help out with getting people together
- Veni.Vidi.Vici.
on Jun. 25, 2012 at 3:37 PM