The recent outbreak of highly contagious Measles among children in the Philadelphia area highlights...
Read MoreFrom sprains and strains from air conditioner installations, to dehydration on the hottest days, to poolside slips and falls, summer is a season that comes with its own set of injuries that doctors see come through the emergency room doors each day.
As the months get hotter, children especially spend more time outside and active. Summer is referred to as trauma season by many in the medical community due to the jump in ER visits during June, July and August.
No one wants to spend their summer vacation healing from a preventable injury. It should be the season of fun. Learn the common injuries and how to prevent them so you can spend the warm weather outside of an ER waiting room.
Healthy lawn, healthy you:
You take pride in your lawn. Those pristine, neatly trimmed blades bring satisfaction to many homeowners––you included. Remember to wear protective eyewear, earwear and footwear when embarking on your lawn maintenance rituals. Mowing the lawn is not a time for flip flops; instead, closed-toe shoes will protect your feet from blade accidents. Ditch your shorts for long pants to protect your legs from any debris that may kick up in the process. And before you go to unclog or tinker with blades, make sure your machine is turned off. Complex lacerations and fractures from mowers can become even more difficult to treat when yard waste like grass and dirt get embedded in the wound.
Open water and wounds:
When people talk water safety in the summer, it’s mostly directed toward preventing drownings and slip-and-fall injuries. It’s important to also note that anyone with a healing wound should avoid both chlorinated pools and ocean water. You don’t want your wound to come in contact with other people’s germs, sand or any other contaminants that could be floating around. Most of us have probably heard that swimming in the ocean helps heal sores or cuts, but the ocean is not sterile, and there are some bacteria that chlorine does not kill in pools. Stick to lounging on your towel until you’re all healed.
It’s a hot one out there:
Grills. Campfires. Fireworks. Hot asphalt. There’s a whole lot of heat-related injuries just waiting to happen. Supervise anything that burns and always keep children a safe distance away from outdoor cooking units and recreational fires. Never leave a fire unattended and have a fire extinguisher readily available during those summer cookouts.
Finally, let’s not forget about the most important burn threat: the sun. Be smart and diligent about wearing a sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher and remember to reapply often.
