Summer smarts are a cool idea
The "living' isn't always easy" in the summertime, especially when temperatures climb to 90-plus degrees.
Our North Idaho summers are short and sweet, and people want to do everything they can do to enjoy them. But, when a sunburn, a bee sting or heat exhaustion threatens your summer fun, you just have to use a few "summer smarts."
Where water sports are involved, the mixture of alcohol and water can be deadly. As many as half of boating deaths are thought to have been alcohol related.
Drinking and diving is another dangerous mix. Diving requires sharp skills and keen judgment and even small amounts of alcohol can impair these abilities.
What's the safest thing to do when your boat capsizes? Well, even a good swimmer underestimates the distance from boat to shore.
The thing to do if your boat overturns is to hold onto the boat until you're rescued. The boat will provided needed flotation and it's much easier for rescuers to spot a boat than a loan swimmer.
Mother Nature has a few "tricks up her sleeve" when it comes to lake waters. A summer storm can turn a tranquil lake into white caps within a few gusts of wind. A boating or kayaking experience can be relaxing one minute and relentless the next. You may want to head toward shore and always wear your life jacket.
Those pesky stings can be very painful for most of us, but for about three percent of the population, they can mean serious business. For these people, one sting can provoke the over-reaction of the immune system known as anaphylactic shock. Its symptoms include nausea, flushing, lowered blood pressure, irregular heartbeat and difficulty breathing. You can talk to your doctor about prescribing an emergency kit with epinephrine to carry with you when you go outdoors.
For the rest of us, if we should remove a bee stinger, avoid pulling at the stinger directly with tweezers or fingers. Treat a bee sing by scraping the stinger away in a sideways motions with a credit card or fingernail, and then washing the area with soap or water. You may want to apply a cold compress and pain-relieving cream.
If the weather forecast calls for high heat and humidity, it's best to avoid mid-day strenuous exercise. When your body gets overheated, the body's cooling system shuts down and you lose the ability to sweat.
Mild symptoms of heat exhaustion include thirst, fatigue and cramps in the legs or abdomen. More serious symptoms can include dizziness, headaches, nausea, rapid heartbeat, vomiting, decreased alertness and a high body temperature.
As an avid walker, I've been less than smart a time or two. Taking a hot afternoon walk with limited water and no shade is a prescription for trouble. Heatstroke is a medical emergency and once you've experienced those very serious symptoms — you'll never forget it. Be sure to carry plenty of water and walk in the cool of the morning or evening.
One of the deadliest places in the summer sun is the inside of a parked car. The temperatures inside a car can climb much higher than temperatures outside. Heat stroke in children can occur within minutes, even if a car window is opened slightly. When it's hot, leave your pets at home.
While the heat of the sun can feel wonderful, a bad sunburn can take a "sizzling" toll on the skin, and may increase your chances for skin cancer later in life.
Every time you go outdoors to play or work, apply a sunscreen of at least 15 protection factor. You're at greater risk for developing a melanoma if you have blonde or red hair, marked freckling, presence of red, rough bumps on skin from previous sunburns, family history of melanoma and a number of blistering sunburns during teen years.
A golden tan may given the illusion of good health, but its damage to the skin is real. If you want to look a little more "golden," use one of the many sunless tanning products on the market.
Keep on doing what you're doing to keep healthy — just don't get too much of the summer sun at one time.