A Horrified Mom, Jessie has taken to the Cancer Council Australia Facebook page to warn other parents about the possible dangers of the Charity’s 50+Peppa pig sunscreen.
She shared images of her 3-month-old son Thomas’s skin, which looks as if it’s been scalded in some way.
In her post she said:
“This is my 3 month old son. He has not been in the sun, he was simply outdoors so I put screen on him just in case,” she says.
“We’ve been in hospital for 3 days, 2 nights so far trying to treat this horrible rash/burn caused by your 50+Peppa pig sunscreen.
“DO NOT BUY THIS SUNSCREEN. Please explain how your product could possibly do this?!”
The post along with the shocking image attracted a phenomenal amount of attention and it got many parents lashing out.
The majority of commenters to the post claim that they have experienced similar reactions with their own kids which have prompted some to call for the product to be pulled off the shelves.
Some of the comments said:
“This Peppa pig sunscreen is the worst I have used! Me and my 4.5 year old son have got badly burnt every time we have used it, will be going in the bin and will buy never again.”
“Omg! I hate this sunscreen. I lathered my daughter in it when going to the beach, and she got soooooo burnt, almost like she had no sunscreen on at all. I will never ever ever buy this.”
“Wow, only last Saturday we were at the beach. I put the Peppa pig sunscreen on my daughters face and another brand everywhere else. Her face was terribly burnt but no where else. But maybe it wasn’t burn and a reaction.”
The odd commenter, however, said they never had a problem with it, like this one:
“I have never had a problem with it- I reapply every 2 hours to ensure no burning- Not every child will react to it – and let’s not forget that parents and kids forget to reapply so hence they get burnt anyway.”
Fortunately, Thomas was released from the hospital and the skin is healing. However, his Mom is quite shocked by the number of parents with similar concerns. She said on the post:
“I would expect maybe one or two comments about similar reactions, but I’m appalled by the amount of others who have gone through this. This can’t be right – a product aimed at children should be gentle and safe,”
The Cancer Council Australia responded to the post in part, saying:
“Yesterday we were saddened to learn via Facebook that a young child had a negative experience with our SPF50+ Kids Sunscreen.
“We take any concern raised about our products very seriously and have been in direct contact with the boy’s mother, Jessie, to investigate this further.
“This product has been on the market for a number of years. Since it was introduced more than 250,000 bottles have been sold. We have only received a very small number of complaints regarding this product, some of which related to issues with the function of the pump spray, not the sunscreen itself.
“We investigate all feedback regarding our sunscreen products individually. On some occasions, we conclude that there has been an allergic or chemical reaction to particular, but different, ingredients in the product – this is why we always recommend doing a small patch test before applying any sunscreen to yourself or other family members.”