When deciding on your sun screen, take into account what type of activity you will be participating in, and choose accordingly. Remember there are sunscreen lotions that are better for kids and softer on sensitive skin. Let me educate you about what sunscreen is and how it works.

What is Sunscreen?
Sunscreen is a chemical agent that helps to protect your skin from UVA and UVB rays. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, “SPF is a measure of a sunscreen’s ability to prevent UVB rays from damaging the skin.” In other words, if it takes your skin twenty minutes to start turning red in the sun, a sunscreen with an SPF of 15 should prevent the skin for 15 times longer. The higher the SPF number the more protection the product offers. While this sounds like great protection, the Skin Cancer Foundation also recommends reapplying sunscreen every two hours to ensure maximum protection.

It is recommended that everyone over the age of six months use sunscreen daily, but especially if you are going outdoors for a long period of time, for instance on a run or swim. Certain sunscreen products are made with specific activities in mind. For example, there are waterproof sunscreen products made to be used by those who will be swimming. There are also products that are made to be “sweat proof”, and ones made especially for athletes. Even though these products claim to have added protection, always reapply frequently. Pick up sensitive sunscreen for your young children ages 6 months to 2 years. Many children have extremely sensitive skin and using an adult or athletic sunscreen can cause skin irritation. Also keep in mind that children like to touch their eyes and mouths, and most sunscreens will greatly irritate their eyes if they rub them when they have sunscreen on them.

Taking the steps to improve your physical fitness is wonderful, but you also have to take care of your body as a whole, and using sunscreen helps to do that. So, grab the sunscreen before you head out into the sun, with your kids or to exercise.

About the Author:
Kerri has made it a life goal to teach mothers and fathers how to raise their children in a healthy way. She feels childhood health can be improved with education and action. If you are concerned about working out in the hot sun Kerri suggests trying an indoor at home workout. A fantastic workout for mothers is the Chalean Extreme Workout, and a great workout for fathers is the Insanity Workout By Shaun T.

Now when I look at the same area on her belly, all I see are a few very small scars which the doctor said will go away in time.

While every doctor I have talked to has said that molluscum are simply a virus and will go away on their own, I am truly convinced that our tea tree and bleach routine kept them from getting infected and lessened the duration. Basically we applied Tea Tree Essential Oil to the individual molluscum daily using a Q-tip then once a week I added a 1/4 cup of bleach to her bath water.

All in all, we still dealt with the unsightly bumps for about 8 months, but considering I have heard they can last up to 2 years, I will consider us lucky.

You can read more about our experience with Molluscum in these two posts: Dealing with Molluscum and Treating Molluscum with Tea Tree Oil.

Every winter when the cold viruses start going around, I usually have at least one cold sore (also known as a fever blister) outbreak on my lips. The moment I feel that tingling sensation and the area around it get warm, I head for the refrigerator. We keep a bottle of
MMS Pro’s Entrin Acidophilus 90 caps in the refrigerator year round.

At the first sign of an outbreak I take two acidophilus capsules with a large glass of water. I then take two every hour for the next few hours. If I catch the cold sore early enough, I can prevent it from erupting in to a full blown blister. Even if I don’t catch it early enough, I have been able to dramatically reduce the duration and size of a cold sore just by taking acidophilus repeatedly throughout the day.

Acidophilus is a good bacteria that helps restore balance in the intestinal tract and boosts the immune system. It is also helpful for preventing yeast infections and some gastrointestinal issues. Read more on acidophilus.

1. Stay hydrated. Up your intake of good old H2O and reduce your intake of dehydrating, caffeine-loaded soft drinks and coffee.

2. Soak. Soften dry skin and callouses by soaking feet in warm water.

3. Scrub. Use a gentle, but abrasive scrub to remove dead skin and reduce callouses. You can also use a pumice or Gilden Tree’s terracotta foot scrubber.

4. Moisturize. Get in the habit of putting on a thick moisturizer after showering but before you put on your socks. I tried out the Kiran Forest foot lotion from Gilden Tree. The moisturizer is very rich, smells great and my feet were so smooth by morning.

5. Protect. After massaging a nice moisturizer into your feet, pull on some snuggly socks to keep the moisture in.

With just a few steps and minutes a day, you can keep your feet soft and smooth all winter long.

Visit Gilden Tree for Natural Healing Foot Care and Dry Feet & Heel Solutions and Gilden Tree will send you one free sample/gift with purchase. The more you buy, the greater your reward.
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We have been dealing with molluscum (a viral, pearl like wart that doctors say will go away on its own) for almost a year. In the past the cycle has been that a new outbreak would occur, with 2-5 new molluscum appearing. Usually one of these molluscum would end up getting extremely infected before it erupted and went away. Because they were getting so infected, I had to keep taking my daughter into the doctors where they would lance the molluscum, drain the infection, send it off to be tested (because my doctor is obsessed with MRSA) and then put her on antibiotics.

I didn’t feel like this vicious cycle was getting any better and frankly, I don’t like my kids being on antibiotics on a regular basis.

After doing more research and consulting with my doctor, we came up with a plan that seems to be working.

On Sunday evenings when I bathe my daughter, once we are done with all the hair washing, my doctor recommended adding 2-3 tablespoons of bleach to her bath water. I add the bleach and she continues to soak for 5-10 minutes. This helps to eliminate any bacteria on the outside of the skin.

Every morning and evening, she plays dot-to-dot with a cotton swab and Tea Tree Essential Oil . The tea tree oil has its own natural antibiotic and antifungal properties.

The combination of the two treatments really seems to be working. The molluscum are smaller, they are crusting over on their own and much quicker, and we have not had one get infected for almost two months.

GET THE UPDATE: The molluscum are finally gone!

My 5 year old daughter has these little bumps on her arms, legs, and trunk that the doctors keep telling me are molluscum warts. The problem is that they keep getting infected and becoming abscessed. According to our doctors the molluscum are viral and will go away on their own. They have not mentioned them being contagious and neither of my other children have them – and my girls sleep in the same bed frequently.

I just can’t help but to think that there is more to it than meets the eye. I have been doing some research and then there is the family history part of it all. My mom had similar skin issues as a child and now has diabetes. There is also celiac in the family, too.

The warts are not breaking open and then getting infected, rather the infection seems to come from the inside. I know the infection is taking its toll on her little body. She is tired, cranky and has no real appetite.

When we are at the doctor’s today, I am going to see if they are willing to do more research, run some tests and help me get to the bottom of this.

If you have any experience with kids and molluscum, I would love to hear about what worked, what didn’t and such.

<strong>GET THE UPDATE:</strong> <a href=”http://raisingahealthyfamily.com/the-molluscum-are-finally-gone/”>The molluscum are finally gone! </a>