Summer Safety Tips on the sun, heat, and water of summer

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Summer SafetyTips on the sun, heat, and water
of summer

• Melissa Hicks
• Southern Illinois University

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Its Summer Time!

• "Summer is a great time to enjoy the great
  outdoors and swim, hike, travel and barbecue, but
  we also want to steer clear of accidents,
  injuries, and illness.

-Health and Human Services Secretary, Tommy G.
Thompson
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The Sun

• Exposure to sun can result in skin cancer.
• More than a million cases of the most common
  forms of skin cancer are diagnosed yearly.
• The three major types of skin cancer are the
  highly curable basal cell and squamous cell
  carcinomas and the more serious malignant
  melanoma.

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Skin Cancer

• Who is at risk? Although ANYONE can develop skin
  cancer, some people are at particular risk.
• Light skin color, hair color, or eye color.
• Family history of skin cancer.
• Personal history of skin cancer.
• Chronic exposure to the sun.
• History of sunburns early in life.
• Certain types of moles, or a large number of
  moles.

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Skin Protection

• Applying sunscreen and a protective lip balm with
  an SPF of 15 or higher, be sure to reapply
  frequently especially after swimming. REAPPLY,
  REAPPLY, REAPPLY!
• Wear a hat that covers your head and provides
  shade over your face and neck.

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More Tips for Protection From the Sun

• Dont forget to protect your eyes too, wear sun
  glasses.
• Avoid the sun's UV (ultraviolet) rays when
  strongest between 1000 a.m. and 400 p.m.
• Wear light colored long sleeves and pants when
  possible.

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Skin Cancer Detection

• Know your A, B, C, Ds on moles. Check with
  doctor if you have any of these mole trademarks
• Asymmetry. A line drawn through the middle will
  not create matching halves.
• Border. The border has uneven, scalloped, or
  notched edges.
• Color. There are several colors or tones of a
  color.
• Diameter. The mole is larger than 6 millimeters.

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The Heat

• Heat exposure caused 8,015 deaths in the United
  States from 1979-1999.

• During this period, more people in this country
  died from extreme heat than from hurricanes,
  lightning, tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes
  combined.

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Heat Illnesses

• Who is at risk?
• Most heat-related deaths occur in the hot summer
  months, and the elderly, the very young and
  people with chronic health problems are most at
  risk.

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Staying Cool

• Prevention of heat illnesses
• Drink plenty of water, at least 64 ounces is
  recommended on any day.
• Wear light and loose clothing.
• Reduce or eliminate strenuous activities such as
  mowing the lawn during the heat of the day.
• Seek air-conditioning in your home or a public
  facility such as a library or mall.
• Never leave children in cars or similar enclosed
  spaces.

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The Water

• Drowning
• Thousands of Americans drown each year, and
  thousands more are injured or killed in boating
  accidents.
• In 2000, an average of nine people per day
  drowned. This does not include those who drowned
  in boating-related incidents.

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Drowning

• Who is at risk?
• African Americans. In 2000, African Americans
  had 1.4 times more drownings than Whites.
• Males. Also in 2000, males accounted for 79 of
  those who drowned in the United States
• Children. Drowning is the second leading cause
  of injury-related death for children age 14 and
  under. Children under age one most often drown
  in bathtubs, buckets, and toilets.

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Drowning Prevention

• Always have an adult closely supervise young
  children any time they are swimming, playing or
  even bathing in water.
• Never swim alone and teach children to always
  swim with a buddy.

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More Water Precautions

• Do not mix water recreation with alcohol
  recreation. Alcohol use is involved in about 25
  to 50 of adolescent and adult deaths associated
  with water recreation.
• Learn to swim. Swimming lessons benefit adults
  and children age 4 and up.

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Now go enjoy summer!

• By taking simple, common-sense precautions, we
  can have fun and stay safe at the same time.

-Health and Human Services Secretary, Tommy G.
Thompson