We mentioned the importance of staying hydrated and wearing sunscreen in our intro to summer safety blog, but there is so much left to say that it deserves an entire post dedicated to tips and facts about staying safe outside during the summer. We’ve saved this topic as the last in our Summer 2018 safety series because of its importance.
Beat The Heat: Outdoor Safety Tips For Summer 2018
There are so many benefits of being outdoors. It’s a well-known fact that being outside when it’s sunny boosts your vitamin D levels, which can help boost mood and lately, research has shown that vitamin D is one of the best disease-fighting vitamins and it may protect against cancer, heart attacks, and strokes. If you’ll be outside for more than 15 minutes though, make sure to lather on the sunscreen.
Your body needs a minimum of 64 ounces of water per day. But when you’re active and sweating, and especially if you’re out in the heat, your body will need more since all 2.6 million of your sweat glands are working hard to keep you cool. When your skin is wet, it feels cooler and sweat takes some of your body heat away as it evaporates. This is why it’s important to replenish fluids when it’s hot outside by drinking water throughout the day. Know the signs of dehydration to catch it early and prevent things like heat stroke:
- Headache and muscle cramps
- Lightheadedness
- Lethargy
- Low volume of urine
In addition to losing water when we sweat, we’re losing salt along with it which can cause our electrolytes to become depleted. In order to combat this, you can take a magnesium supplement, eat a banana, and you can even add a pinch of salt to water to replenish and balance your electrolytes.
Surprising Safety Statistics About Common Summer Activities
Now that you know more about keeping your body safe in the summer, what about keeping those around you safe as well? You might not be aware of some of the risks that come with common summer activities like swimming and firework displays. Read the following to see how you can keep your family safe this summer.
Playgrounds have become a lot safer in the last couple of decades, but emergency departments still see about 20,000 children, 14 and younger, annually for traumatic brain injuries caused by playing on a playground. Falls are the most common injury at playgrounds. If your family frequents playgrounds, make sure that the ground surface is covered with at least 12 inches of wood chip, shredded tires, or other safe materials.
Fireworks also cause injuries every year. The National Safety Council estimates that 11,100 people were injured in 2016 “badly enough to require medical treatment after fireworks-related incidents, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.” It might not be surprising, but more fires are reported on July 4th than any other day of the year.
Swimming is one of the most fun and common summertime activities, but accidents happen and they can sometimes be fatal. The National Safety Council concludes that “the second leading cause of death for people age 5-24” is drowning. Remember to never swim alone and to only swim in bodies of water that match your swimming level. Only swim where someone is CPR trained. If there are no lifeguards present, become CPR certified yourself.
If you missed any of our other blogs regarding summer safety, read our blog on the latest TSA regulations if you’ll be flying this summer and if you’re going to an outdoor festival make sure you know how to stay safe there as well. We hope everyone has a happy and healthy summer!