Some of the common hazards you'll see in the summertime, in terms of what I see in family practice, would be dehydration, sun safety and pool safety. It's really important to stay hydrated, as the temperature heats up you lose more of your water, so you really need to focus on your hydration. And most of the time we're a little bit dehydrated anyway. Gets much worse in the summertime, so it's important to have water available, and not wait til you're thirsty or have symptoms of dehydration.
Sun sensitivity, we all know about sun safety and that if you think of the sun as a big giant ball of radiation, the more you get, the more damage you get. And certainly kids are more susceptible than adults, and we know that skin cancer is definitely one of the more common cancers we see.
Pool safety is really dangerous. We know kids under 14 experience a huge uptake in drownings between the months of May and August. And over 390 deaths occur each year, and most of those, 75%, occur in private pools or spas, so it's really important to pay attention when your kids are near the water.
