BELLE HAVEN, Va. -- A summer-like weekend led to first and second degree burns for three-year-old Liam Sayers on Virginia's Eastern Shore.
“I had too much sun,” Liam said.
Too much sun, yet Liam’s mom Jennifer Sayers said the family prepared for it by coating Liam and his brother with SPF 50+ Banana Boat kids spray sunscreen.
The bottle shows the sunblock is pediatrician tested and recommended by the Skin Cancer Foundation.
“Multiple times during the day we had the kids come out of the water, dried them off completely and then reapplied the sun spray as directed,” Sayers said.
Sayers said she even sprayed the sunscreen into her hand so she could apply it directly onto her child’s face.
“To make sure they’re actually getting the coverage they’re supposed to,” she said.
Sayers said she followed the bottle’s directions and her son was fine on the way home from the beach, but the next morning was a different story.
“When he got up for the day, his eyes were almost swollen shut, he had swelling and blistering all over his face, primarily on his cheeks and nose,” Sayers said.
“I can never guarantee to a family you won’t get burned despite doing all of the right things,” Dr. Eric Freeman, a pediatrician at Old Dominion Pediatrics, said.
Dr. Freeman said spray sunscreen is just as good as lotion sunscreen, but he recommends parents also buy different types of sunblock for the face.
“We look for sunscreens particularly for those sensitive areas that include zinc oxide or titanium dioxide,” Dr. Freeman said.
The Banana Boat spray does not include those ingredients.
CBS 6 reached out to the makers of Banana Boat, Edgewell Personal Care, about Liam’s burns.
The company sent us the following statement:
“Nothing is more important to us than the well being of the people who use our products. Consumers can rest assured that Banana Boat products provide safe and effective broad spectrum UVA and UVB protection when used as directed on the product label, and with other sun protection measures as necessary.”
Other parents can also provide recommendations on sunscreens.
Dad Jeff Dowdy said he does his homework before heading to the store.
“We actually found the research shows just a standard Target brand actually performs as good or better than some of the others,” Dowdy said.
