Linda Hall: Common sense does us no harm

Linda Hall is assistant editor at Hawke's Bay Today.

Here we go again. Another product that it has been drummed into us to use because it's good for us, may now be bad for us. I'm talking about sunscreen.

Now before I upset anyone I'll say that slip, slop, slapping is the absolute right thing to do. What concerns me are these reports that say ingredients in same sunscreens can be harmful.

Does this mean that the generation of children whose parents have been slathering them in sunscreen from the moment they ventured outside are going to have health problems down the line?

I sincerely hope not because I have some little people in my life that always wear protection from the sun.

In fact one of them, Miss Three, was standing outside with me on a hot day recently. She stopped talking in mid-sentence (very unusual for her to stop talking) and said, "I think I need sunscreen".

I'm always paranoid about sunscreen when I'm looking after my little people. Returning them to their parents with sunburnt noses would not go down very well.

How times have changed.

We never had sunblock on as kids. What we did have was Qtol which we would cover ourselves in after the fact. I still remember the smell of that pink stuff.

We would lie in the sun for hours. Hopefully I don't pay the price for that later in life.

I didn't cover my children in sunblock, however, we did live in Dannevirke. I still feel guilty about the time we went to Porangahau Beach for a few nights. My son was about 3 or 4, it was windy and he played on the beach and in the water along with his sisters for a few hours. He got so burnt his shoulders blistered. The girls were fine. I felt absolutely terrible.

My daughters were teenagers when sunbeds were all the rage. I tried to dissuade them from going on them but they assured me they were safe. They had part-time jobs so they paid for it themselves.

I begged to differ but of course they took no notice of me. Now they have been banned in some territories and there is a move to restrict them here.

And that brings us back to today's problem. How are we meant to protect our children and ourselves if the rules keep changing?

Must we try to read the tiny print on everything we buy?

Surely it is up to the manufacturer to put a warning on their products that some ingredients may be harmful to some people.

But of course they are not going to do that. The minute "warning" is printed on any product it literally spells its death.

Then there are still more reports that say because we are covering ourselves in sunblock we are not getting enough Vitamin D.

So therefore we need to go outside without sunblock. But for how long? Well that depends what colour your skin is, what time of the day it is and what season it is, if it's cloudy ... It is just way too scientific for me.

I think a big dose of common sense is called for here.

We all know at this time of the year in Hawke's Bay if you have sensitive skin you are going to be going pink after 10-15 minutes on a really hot day. Get your Vitamin D at a safer time of the day.

As for sunblock, well they have come a long way from the stuff that was so sticky sand stuck to your limbs.

There are literally hundreds of brands out there, but when I've finished the one I have I'm going to try Skinnies. It's made right here in Hawke's Bay and I've been hearing good things about it.

However you choose to protect yourself this summer, I hope you get the chance to get outdoors and enjoy the wonderful Hawke's Bay summer.