Glorious, warm weather has finally hit most of the country, and if your family is like mine, you’re spending more time outside, soaking up lots of Vitamin D!
Along with sunshine, though, come a few not-s0-fun health challenges. Here are just a few, along with some strategies for dealing with them.
1. If anyone in the family has sensitive skin, buy the smallest possible size of sunscreen. There’s no point in spending $10 or more, only to find out too late that it causes a serious, itchy rash on some unfortunate loved one. (I speak from experience!)
2. Speaking of itches and rashes, check out the new Itch Relief Patch! These clear, round medicated patches can be placed directly on any itchy area. From the company itself:
“BeKOOOL’s new Itch Relief Patches can now be found online at and Walgreens.com , and in the anti-itch sections of the following retailers: Walmart, Dollar General, Harris Teeter and H-E-B.”
My son wandered into a mound of ants two weeks ago, and I was very glad to have some samples of these patches! They prevented him from scratching the ant bites and the novelty of being covered with a few of these patches made the experience kind of fun.
3. Living in the desert, I’ve learned there are 2 ingredients for staying cool: water and moving air. Always have extra water in your vehicle for times when you’re stuck on the side of the road or end up somewhere far from air conditioning! Keeping 1 or 2 small battery-powered fans* in your vehicle emergency kit would be another good idea as well as a small spray bottle.
It’s amazing how just a few mists from a water spray bottle helps keep the body cool.
*Be sure to keep plenty of extra, fresh batteries on hand!
4. A small aloe vera plant can be grown just about anywhere, and it’s one of the best ways that I know of for cooling sunburned skin.
image by Lin Pernille Photography
5. A very simple product to keep on hand for warm weather problems is cornstarch. It’s great for soothing chafing from sweaty skin and diaper rashes.
6. Keep in mind that certain groups of people have a particularly hard time when the weather gets really hot: babies and toddlers, the elderly, pregnant women, and those with chronic health issues.
If anyone in your family fits in one of these categories, have a plan for keeping them cool, especially if the power goes out and takes the air conditioning with it.
7. Dehydration can become a serious issue during the warmest months of the year. Watch for sales on cases of water, Gatorade, and other drinks that include electrolytes. We just discovered Activate, which includes a dose of real vitamins and supplements.
Here’s a recipe for making your own rehydration drinks.
8. Summer air pollution and pollen can set the stage for a really unpleasant asthma season. Make sure you have the right kind of medication with you at home and in your purse and/or vehicle.
Check to see if a local news station posts pollen reports on their website to help keep track of local conditions. You can also visit airnow.gov.
9. Lyme disease continues to affect thousands of people every year. In 2008, there were more than 28,000 who contracted the disease. (I couldn’t fine more recent stats than ’08.)
You should know that the possibility of Lyme disease is greater in some parts of the country than others. If you live in one of the higher-risk zones, keep a vigilant eye out for any sign of a tick bite. Keep in mind that the most dangerous ticks that can carry Lyme disease are the nymphal ticks (babies), and they are about the size of a poppy seed!
10. Sunstroke. I’m adding this one because it happened to me one summer when I was about 9 or 10 years old. I remember the horrible sunburn, the blistered skin, the fever.
Pay attention to outside temperatures, especially if your kids are playing outdoors during 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.* Their little bodies heat up quickly, and if they are distracted by all the summer fun, pool parties, etc., they won’t notice a bad sunburn until it’s too late.
(*Can you believe that we used to call those the, “peak tanning hours”??? How crazy was that??)
Stay safe this summer, Survival Moms!
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Here are some things I have learned from spending summers in the Sonoran and Mojave deserts:
1. Limit your exposure to sun by wearing loose-fitting, lightweight cotton or cotton blend clothing that has long sleeves, high necklines and long legs (avoid shorts). Wear a wide brimmed hat and sunglasses. Shoes or boots are better than sandals – sunburn on the tops of your feet is very uncomfortable.
2. Stay in doors in air conditioning during the hottest part of the day (usually noon to 4 pm).
3. Carry a bottle of water with you at all times when out of doors and drink it up and replace it every hour or so.
4. If you have a fair complexion put on SPF 30 sunscreen on face, neck and back of hands 20 to 30 minutes before going outside.
5. Walk on the shady side of the street and if you have to stand around out of doors, find a shady spot.
6. If anyone in your group starts looking flushed or complains of headache or fatigue, they are probably dehydrated – have them sit in a cool spot in the shade and give them oral rehydration fluid.
7. Here is a basic formula for oral re-hydration fluid: add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon table salt and 3-4 Tablespoons of sugar to 1 quart water and shake well. You can improve the taste of this by adding some unsweetened Kool Aid powder, Tang or lemon juice
(*Can you believe that we used to call those the, “peak tanning hours”??? How crazy was that??)
I’d say, not crazy at all:
Anti-Tanning Propaganda Takes Lives
“…your likelihood of developing deadly skin cancer from sun exposure is nowhere near as high as you have been led to believe in the past. The benefits of normalizing your vitamin D levels FAR outweigh any risk you may have from optimal sun exposure.” …
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/03/15/vitamin-d-in-your-skin.aspx
Chigger bites can make your life miserable. They attack places in a bind, like waist bands and tops of socks. That works best for me is to paint them with clear nail polsh every day or so. Ice helps too, but the nail polish also discourages scratching.
Ice won’t kill the burrowing little buggers but nail polish (clear or otherwise) will!