Summer health tips

Keeping your kids healthy and safe during the summer should be one of your top priorities. Many children suffer from dehydration during the summer because they simply do not drink enough water when they are outside in the sun. Children are also prone to infections and harmful diseases from mosquito bites and other inset bites. Since many parents fail to create a summer routine for their children, they tend to stay up later and sleep in. Improper sleep habits are detrimental to their health and their cognitive development. It is also common for people to cook outdoors more during the warm summer months. Parents need to take proper steps to make sure their food is not being contaminated by the insects around them and they need to keep surface areas clean to prevent food borne illnesses.

If your child plays outside during the summer, make sure they put on sunscreen and stay hydrated. Heat exhaustion occurs when the temperature and humidity rise and the body's cooling mechanism becomes overloaded. Make sure your children are drinking plenty of water during the summer and teach them to take breaks in the shade when they are outside playing. Do not give your children beverages that contain caffeine and large amounts of sugar. Caffeine and sugar actually worsen the effects of dehydration. Try to keep your children out of the sun from 10-4, when the sun is at its highest intensity. Purchase lightweight clothing for your children to wear so that their body is able to stay cool. Doctors have stated that you are dehydrated when you are thirsty. Once you wait to long to rehydrate, heat exhaustion can set in. Heat exhaustion usually has the following symptoms:

• Headache
• Cramping
• Weakness
• Vomiting or nausea
• Moist, pale or flushed skin
• Heavy perspiring
• Dizziness
• Dry mouth

If your child is suffering from heat exhaustion, get them out of the sun immediately. It is important to get them to a cool place, like the shade or inside an air-conditioned room. Loosen their clothing and give them plenty of water and fluids to drink. A cold bath and a nap will help to relieve the symptoms of heat exhaustion. If your child is suffering from a more severe form of heat exhaustion, called heat stroke, contact a medical emergency team immediately. You need to cool your child immediately and do not give them fluids. Some people will have seizures and convulsions due to heat stroke. Some of the symptoms of heat stroke include the following:

• Hot, dry, red skin
• Temperature above 103 degrees
• Dizziness
• Confusion
• Nausea
• Hallucinations
• No sweating
• Loss of consciousness

Always keep water bottles with you during the summer to keep your kids hydrated. Gatorade is another good drink in the summer because it replaces the electrolytes your children lose in the sunlight. Just remember to never give them caffeine and sugary drinks if they are going to be outside playing.

Another important summer health tip for kids is to keep them safe from water illnesses. The chlorine in pools is intended to kill germs, but it doesn't always work. Children can fall sick from contaminated water and can suffer from swimmers ear, swimmers itch, and other sicknesses. Swimmers ear is quite painful because the ear is inflamed and can itch. Many children can get swimmers ear because they do not properly dry their ears after swimming or the pool does not have the proper amount of chemicals in the water. Antibiotic eardrops can treat swimmers ear.

Children can also suffer from swimmers itch if their skin has an allergic reaction to the parasites in contaminated water. Small reddish bumps will occur and the skin with tingle, burn, and itch. The small reddish bumps may develop into painful blisters. Swimmers itch cannot be spread from person to person and it normally goes away after a few days. Anti-itch lotion and calamine lotion can help to reduce the symptoms of swimmers itch. You can also try applying a baking soda paste to the itch and covering it with a cold compress. If other children have contracted swimmers itch from visiting a certain pool or beach, avoid taking your children there. Many children will feed seagulls and other birds when they are playing on the beach, do not attract the birds to areas where people are swimming as they carry harmful parasites that can cause swimmers itch. Do not swim in marshy areas or in areas where snails are found. Always towel dry off after leaving the water and if possible, shower immediately after leaving the water.

Always watch your children when they are swimming. Never leave them alone in a pool. Children need to have approved life vests when they are swimming in lakes or in the ocean. Once your child has taken swimming lessons and they know how to swim does not mean they know what to do if they are drowning or if their friend is drowning. If you take your child to a public pool, make sure a trained lifeguard is watching the pool at all times. You should also watch your children or swim with them to prevent any accident from occurring.

Because children spend more time outside in the summer, they are prone to mosquito bites and other insect bites. You can prevent mosquito bites by using repellant spray and avoid bathing with scented soaps. Do not use hair sprays or perfumes on your child, as this attracts the mosquitoes. Try to avoid spending time in places where insects congregate. Always cover your food when you are outside to prevent insects from getting into it. If your child has been stung by a bee and you can see the stinger, gently scrape it off horizontally. Crush some aspirin and use water to make a paste, smooth this on the skin as it will help the pain to diminish. If your child is allergic to bee stings, contact an emergency medical team immediately. Camping is common during the summer months and children often get mosquito bites because they do not close the screen door on their tent. Always check the screens on the tent to make sure mosquitoes can't get in through a hole somewhere. Spray insecticide before you enter a place where any mosquitoes have been. Try to limit your time outside when the mosquitoes are most prevalent. Mosquitoes are most prevalent in the early morning hours, dusk, and early evening.

If you are cooking outside, always take precautions to cover your food to prevent insects from getting into it. Leaving the food in the sun for a few seconds can cause harmful bacteria to multiply and you can get extremely sick from a food borne illness. Keep a cooler in your car to place perishable items in when you are returning home from the grocery store, this will prevent the sunlight from hitting the food and causing bacteria to multiply. Always separate your meats from your vegetables and other foods to prevent them from becoming contaminated. When you are outside with the cooler, try to limit it's exposure to the sunlight, place it under a tree or a table. You also need to avoid opening the cooler often, as this increases the temperature in the cooler and food can become contaminated.

Keep disinfectant wipes around and make sure you wipe off all food surface areas. Do not use the same plate and utensils for raw and cooked meats. Bring water with you to clean off the areas where you have been cooking. Always pack supplies like soap and washcloths to properly clean the cooking utensils. If you are camping, always throw away raw meats and other foods in the campground containers to prevent animals from rummaging through your campsite.

Parents also need to create a healthy summer routine for their children. Routines will help them to avoid becoming lazy from playing video games and watching television all day. Having a set routine will also make the adjustment to start school again easier. Schedule your children's meals and their snack times. You also need to create a daily schedule that is full of different activities. You can give them a few hours of free time for them to play video games or watch television. Once their free time is over, they need to participate in activities that stimulate their cognitive development. Set a time for reading and learning each day.

Sit down with your children and create a list of different activities they want to do. Plan some fun activities as well as educational ones. Try to do at least one or two of these activities during the week. Many learning centers have worked hard to provide children with entertaining ways to learn new things. Take your child to a planetarium or to a wildlife rescue. Try to do a large activity at least once a month so your child has something to look forward to. Listen to the things your children are interested in and try to surprise them with some activities that they like to do.