Summer vacation is right around the corner, and your family is looking forward to long days of outdoor fun. Whether you’re on vacation or in the backyard, keep these safety tips in mind to keep your family healthy all summer long.
Importance of Wearing Sunscreen
The skin is the most sensitive body organ to the sun. Sunlight exposes it to direct contact with invisible ultraviolet radiation, which causes skin damage such as skin cancer, sunburns, and aging. Fortunately, you can prevent such damage by wearing sunscreen, which boasts active ingredients approved by the FDA. Sunscreen is available in various forms such as creams, lotions, gel, sprays, and pastes. It is recommended that you use sunscreen with SPF over 15, even on cloudy days. Be sure to check your sunscreen’s expiration date, and reapply every two hours (more if you’re swimming or sweating).
Besides wearing sunscreen, you can also protect yourself by:
- Limiting your time in the sun between 10 AM and 2 PM, when the sun’s rays are the strongest.
- Keeping covered with sun-protective clothing like long sleeve shirts, pants, and sunglasses.
- Protect your scalp, ears, face, and neck with a wide-brimmed hat. Fabrics like canvas work best to shield against UV rays.
Stay Hydrated
Your family spends a lot of time outdoors in the summer months, whether you’re hiking, biking, swimming, or getting in some beach time. While enjoying all these activities, it’s important to stay hydrated. Dehydration happens when your body loses or uses more fluid than it takes it, and it comes with some serious risks. Dehydration can cause potentially life-threatening heatstroke, kidney failure, and seizures. It’s also one of the leading causes of summer falls since it can cause you to become dizzy and disoriented. Falls can cause major injuries. In fact, 22% of slip/fall incidents result in more than 31 days away from work.
To keep your family well-hydrated, be sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day. Other ways to stay hydrated include:
- Eating foods with high water content, like cucumbers, watermelon, stone fruits, celery, grapefruit, peppers, and strawberries.
- Mix it up and add fruit like lemons, limes, and berries to your water.
- If you have trouble drinking plain water, try seltzer or coconut water, which are just as hydrating.
- Avoid drinking too much coffee, alcohol, and sugary drinks.
Always Wear Proper Safety Gear
If your kids are avid bike riders or skateboard lovers, always make sure they’re wearing the right safety gear. They should wear helmets, knee pads, and proper shoes to keep serious accidents at bay. Ankle, knee, and wrist injuries are all common in the summer months. If anyone in your family injures themselves, seeing a physical therapist may be able to help them recover. According to a recent study, physical therapy reduces patients’ costs by almost 72% because most injuries get treated without specialized surgery.
Keep Bug Spray Handy
Bugs are a summer nuisance. You are likely to come across mosquitos, ticks, ants, and flies. Certain insects can cause diseases such as malaria, tick fever, and even serious bites. To prevent this from happening, buy an effective bug spray and keep it handy for outdoor adventures. Read the label and follow all the directions, and be sure to spray the repellent in an open area. Only spray it on the outside of your children’s clothing and on exposed skin, avoiding their eyes and mouth. Never apply bug spray to children younger than two months old, and don’t spray it on open cuts or wounds.
Practice Water Safety
As temperatures rise in summer, many people engage in water activities such as swimming. Whether at the pool or the beach, be sure your family follows water safety rules, such as:
- No pushing or pulling each other in the pool
- No diving in the shallow end
- No swimming in the absence of an adult supervisor
- Always wear a life jacket when boating or swimming in open water.
Talk to Older Teens about the Dangers of Drinking and Driving
Drinking and driving is a dangerous practice and a common problem for teenagers during summer. Impaired driving leads to thousands of motor vehicle accidents a year and can cause serious injury and even death. It’s always a good time to talk to your kids about the dangers of impaired driving. It’s important to set rules and consequences and be consistent when enforcing these rules. Be sure that your child knows their options for an exit plan if they’re feeling pressured. Make sure they’re comfortable calling you for a ride home or suggest they use a ride-sharing service like Uber or Lyft. Also, talk to them about other risks associated with impaired driving. For example, if they are injured in an accident and need to be on painkillers, that could lead to prescription opioid abuse. In 2008, there were 750,000 methadone prescriptions written for pain relief. Impaired driving is completely preventable. You just need to have the conversation and show your kids you care.
Summer is a time for family fun in the great outdoors. Have the happiest, healthiest, and safest summer by following these tips.
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