Parents protect their children from the dangers of the sun better than themselves

Wear a hat, avoid the hours the warmer, put on sunscreen every two hours: parents protect their children more than they themselves against the sun, according to the 2015 Cancer Barometer published on Monday.

"Revealing fact of this new survey, (the parents' protective behaviors towards their children (are) relatively well put into practice ", note the authors of this telephone survey carried out every five years with 4,000 people.

Problem: parents are significantly less vigilant for themselves, notes this document dedicated to solar risks and published by the health agency Public Health France and the National Cancer Institute (INCa).

Thus, in the sun, 78% of children under 4 years of age make sure to always wear a hat but only 13% do so themselves.

Similarly, exposure between 12 pm and 4 pm is systematically avoided for 62% of children but only 20% of parents.

Finally, the fact of systematically recovering from sunscreen every two hours concerns 54% of children but only 15% of parents.

In addition, the "misconceptions are still Too frequent. "

For example, 47% of the population mistakenly believe that if childhood sunburns are well cared for, they are of no consequence in adulthood.

"Sunburn received during childhood greatly increases the risk of skin cancer in adulthood," says the Barometer, which recalls that the sun can also "cause serious problems of sight"

Similarly, 24% wrongly think that artificial UV before the holidays can prepare the skin for protection from the sun, while "artificial UV, also carcinogenic, are only add to the UV of sun and strengthen the carcinogenic effect. "

The INCa estimates at 80,000 the number of skin cancers per year, including 14,000 melanomas – the most serious – for the year 2015. That same year, these cancers, of which two-thirds are "linked to excessive exposure to the sun", have caused nearly 1,800 deaths.

"In a context of global warming that foresees an increase of the sun to more or less long term, the cancers cutaneous and other pathologies induced by UV can only continue to progress in the coming years, warns the Barometer.

The health authorities recall the preventive actions on the site www.prevention-soleil.fr