{"id":3585,"date":"2017-07-27T02:19:09","date_gmt":"2017-07-27T02:19:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/?p=3585"},"modified":"2017-07-27T02:19:09","modified_gmt":"2017-07-27T02:19:09","slug":"top-10-summer-safety-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/top-10-summer-safety-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 summer safety tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the US every summer, approximately 2.7 million children ages 14 and under are treated in emergency rooms for accidental injuries. Injury prevention experts at Spectrum Health in\u00a0Grand Rapids, Michigan<\/span>\u00a0say more children are accidentally injured during the summer months than any other time of year.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Injury prevention specialist\u00a0Jennifer Hoekstra<\/span>\u00a0shares the following tips for families kicking off the summer season:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Stay out of cold water.<\/b>\u00a0 Favorite swimming spots can still be cold in early summer months. Temperatures fluctuate from day to day in many inland lakes.\u00a0 Resist the urge to swim until water temperatures rise above 70 degrees.<\/li>\n
  2. Watch out for heat stroke.<\/b>\u00a0Know how to\u00a0identify heat stroke<\/a>.\u00a0 Limit your exposure to high temperatures and take breaks by going indoors to rest in air conditioning.\u00a0 Try finding a shady spot and be sure children have adequate rest and hydration after play.<\/li>\n
  3. Drink water, not a diet cola.<\/b>\u00a0You cannot stay properly hydrated on Diet Coke or alcoholic beverages.\u00a0 Drink lots of water if you are going to be in the heat.\u00a0 If you experience dizziness or light headedness, find a cool shady spot, sit down, and drink more water.<\/li>\n
  4. Know your prescriptions.<\/b>\u00a0Many prescription drugs can trigger increased sensitivity to sunburn. Read labels carefully on any medication you are taking before going out in the sun.<\/li>\n
  5. Wait before you take a bite out of that peach!<\/b>\u00a0Take the time to wash any fruits or vegetables purchased at local farmers markets.\u00a0 It is likely these items have not been washed and may have dirt or bacteria lingering.<\/li>\n
  6. Don’t leave kids alone in the car<\/b>. This warning is simple and very serious.\u00a0 Do not leave your children unattended in your vehicle for any period of time. Within 10 minutes the temperature inside a vehicle rises by 20 degrees and by 40 degrees in an hour.\u00a0If you see a child alone in a vehicle, call 911.<\/li>\n
  7. Be a water watcher.\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>Whether your children are in a backyard swimming pool, at a community center or swimming in a lake, always watch them. Swimming pools are the most common site for drowning among children 4 and under.<\/li>\n
  8. Pick out the right shades.<\/b>\u00a0Bring along a pair of sunglasses that provide adequate UV protection. Most brands come with labels stating if they are effective against the sun’s harmful rays.\u00a0 Grab your kids a colorful and fun pair too.<\/li>\n
  9. Always assume the fire is hot.<\/b>\u00a0A good rule of thumb is to stay away from a fire pit for 24 hours after use. Coals don’t have to be glowing red to be hot and dangerous.<\/li>\n
  10. Don’t walk distracted.<\/b>\u00a0 When walking to friends’ houses or the neighborhood pool, teach kids to put down their cell phones and not take photos while walking or crossing the street.\u00a0 Always make eye contact with drivers before crossing and use designated crosswalks.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    In the US every summer, approximately 2.7 million children ages 14 and under are treated in emergency rooms for accidental injuries. Injury prevention experts at Spectrum Health in\u00a0Grand Rapids, Michigan\u00a0say more children are accidentally injured during the summer months than any other time of year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3586,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7,15],"tags":[1178,19,1829,1828,20],"class_list":["post-3585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spotlight","category-travel","category-opinions","tag-child-care","tag-health","tag-heat-stroke","tag-parenting","tag-wellness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3585"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3585\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3587,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3585\/revisions\/3587"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}