Safety Tips

• It is important to remember a few basic health care steps to keep your summer safe for you and your family.
  
  
• You can prevent sunburns by using a good sunscreen and staying covered up. A hat with a wide brim is always good and remember, whatever isn't covered with clothing or shade, cover with sunscreen. One bad sunburn substantially increases the chance of getting melanoma (skin cancer). Sun exposure and burns also increase the rate of skin aging.

• Be sure to drink a lot of water and take frequent breaks in the shade to prevent heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. The very young and old are especially susceptible to the hazards of heat-related illnesses.
  
  
• Warmer weather means more open windows. It is important to install summer screens on all your home windows to prevent small children or even animals from falling.
  
  
• Fireworks are inherently dangerous. Every year there are injuries and burns, some of them serious, even when fireworks are being used responsibly. Every patient we see in the Emergency Department with fireworks injuries states that they can't believe it happened to them.
  
  
• Mixing alcohol with summer-time activities markedly increases the risk of injury. Don't drink and drive, swim, water ski, hike, mow the lawn, bicycle, operate saws, etc.
  
  
• The risk of bee-stings increases dramatically in the summer. If you are allergic to bee stings, be sure to carry a bee-sting allergy kit.
  
  
• Drownings increase dramatically in the summer. A high percentage of children who drown do so with a parent or guardian nearby. You cannot take your eyes off a child for even a minute when near water. Children who are unable to swim must wear a life jacket when boating, swimming or any activities near water.

Additional Safety Tips:

• The earlier you give CPR to a person in cardiac or respiratory arrest, the greater their chance of survival.
  
  
• Learning CPR and quickly dialing 911 can mean the difference between life and death.
  
  
• Healthy eating habits help reduce three risk factors for heart attack and stroke -- high cholesterol, high blood pressure and excess body weight.
  
  
• High cholesterol is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke - adults should have a total cholesterol check once every five years.
  
  
• Smoking is the number one preventable cause of death in the US. If you don't smoke, don't start. If you do, get help to quit now.
  
  
• Statistics prove that helmet use reduces head injuries from bicycle crashes by eighty five percent.
  
  
• Parents – be smart and be an example -- wear a bicycle helmet.
  
  
• Drowning is the second leading cause of accidental death of children. Never let them swim alone.
  
  
• Unintentional injury is the number one killer of America’s children; taking more lives than disease, violence and suicide. Prevention is the cure.
  
  
• Parents! Always remember, store firearms unloaded, locked up and out of children’s reach.
  
  
• Parents! Never leave potentially poisonous household products unattended while in use. It takes only seconds for a poisoning to occur.
  
  
• Precious minutes lost while responding to an emergency can be the difference between life and death. Help us help others by pulling to the right and stopping!
  
  
• Every thirty three minutes someone dies in an alcohol related crash. Please drink responsibly.
  
  
• One out of five Americans will develop skin cancer. Remember to use sunscreen with UVA/UVB on the bottle with a SPF of at least 15 before you go out in the sun and during your time in the sun.
  
  
• UVA Rays - Do not cause painful damage. They are sneaky -- their damage does not show up right away. Although their effects are very real and long lasting. UVA Rays release energy throughout the daylight hours and account for about 95% of all ultraviolet energy. UVA's do permanent damage to our DNA, as well as to the elastin and collagen fibers that make our skin firm and healthy, which explains why people who have spent too much time in the sun often have premature wrinkle and brown leathery skin. UVA Rays can pass through all glass including windows, windshields, and sunglasses.
  
  
• UVB Rays - UVB rays are the ones responsible for the painful angry red sunburn you experience after being outdoors too long. While their damage doesn't go as deep into the skin's layers as UVA's, UVB's inflicts damage to the DNA at the cellular level and are a major factor in the development of skin cancer. Luckily, UVB's can't pass through glass although their effects can be intensified when reflected off light colors such as white sand or snow.