“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” ~ Henry James
Most of us can appreciate and agree with this quote, especially now that summer is in full swing. The kids are out of school, the sun is shining, the days are longer and full of promise…maybe you’re even planning a summer vacation. By all means, get out there and enjoy your summer, but do it safely! To help you with that, we’ve summarized a few health tips and topics from our past blog posts:
- Summer is a great time for outdoor activities, like biking! But before you and your family head out on your favorite biking trail, make sure that you and your children have a properly-fitting bike helmet. Wearing a helmet is the best way to avoid the risk of a head injury, but you need to make sure it fits. Read this blog for information about how to fit a bike helmet.
- The warm weather may prompt you to flex your “green thumb” and plant some flowers or vegetables. But did you know there are hazards, even in gardening?! To avoid repetitive stress injuries and the potential for scrapes, blisters and bites, check out these gardening warm up exercises and safety tips.
- Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States. One in five Americans will be diagnosed with skin cancer in their lifetime. The American Cancer Society’s Slip! Slop! Slap!® and Wrap campaign slogan provides an easy way to remember the 4 key steps to sun protection.
- Until a couple years ago, a product’s SPF (sun protection factor) was the only objective measure of its ability to protect against sunburn. SPF does not, however, provide any measure of protection against skin cancer, or of premature aging caused by the sun’s rays. Read this blog to get tips about what to look for on your sunscreen label.
- Camp season is in full swing, and families everywhere are sending their children to day camps, sleep-away camps, sports camps, and more. Camps present wonderful experiences to build self-esteem and self-confidence, develop friendships, and work on social skills in a safe environment. But if your child has food allergies, make sure your child’s camp has food allergy prevention and preparedness measures in place.
- We can be fairly certain that at some point this summer there will be a heat wave. The greatest at-risk groups for heat-related illness are the very young (children under 4 years of age), the elderly, and those who have underlying medical conditions. The CDC has provided a very comprehensive list of things you should do to protect yourself, your family and your neighbors from heat-related illness.
- July and August are peak times for summer vacation. If you’re planning to travel abroad this summer or even this fall, you need to be prepared for everything you might find or encounter in other countries, and that’s broader than just getting vaccinated against diseases. Check out this blog where we share what you should know about traveling abroad.
- When the temperature heats up, no one wants to turn on the oven, so we fire up the grill. Food just seems to taste better when grilled, but some research has come out about an increased risk of cancer from some types of grilled foods. Here we break down some safe grilling tips as well as share recipes for some tasty marinades.
- We all know we should apply sunscreen to protect our skin from the sun’s harmful rays, but did you know your eyes can be damaged as well? Buying sunglasses is more than just a fashion statement; you need to make sure they protect your eyes properly. Here are tips for buying sunglasses from the American Optometric Association.