Women's Health

Surviving Summer

Rules to Live By continued...

It's not just heat that makes summer fun problematic, she says. "Cold is big problem when kids are out swimming and have been in the water so long that their lips are blue, they are shivering, and their body temperature has dropped." Make them warm back up to 98.6 before they go back in, no matter how much they plead. "All kids want to do is have fun, so a parent has to be a parental and make sure that they warm up."

Children pose a special challenge during the summer, says Denise Salerno, MD, an associate professor of pediatrics at Temple University in Philadelphia.

No matter what the potential peril is, "the key is being prepared. Travel with a little first aid kit and make sure you have it where it's readily available to save trips to the ER," she says.

"The biggest warning that a kid is getting overheated is if they are complaining and have started to sweat," she says. Remember that "if it gets to an extreme, they don't sweat. If a child complains of lightheadedness, take them out of the game."

To nip heat stroke in the bud, "take them into a cool place and make sure they are hydrated with water or a sports drink."

Water Woes

With kids around water, you always worry about drowning. "Never leave kids unattended around any water, and make sure there's adult supervision from an adult who knows how to swim," Salerno says.

Most of us probably recall being told that you can drown if you go into the water too soon after eating. The truth is that "when you are digesting food, there's less blood flow in your body and this takes away from strength, so if you had to really use your strength for undertow, you may have a problem," Leahy says. The best bet is to wait a half an hour after you eat before getting back in the water.

Barbecue

What's a summer without a barbecue? To make sure that your meal goes off without an emergency trip to the restroom or the ER, make sure that mayonnaise and salads with mayonnaise stay out of the sun. "If these food items are brought from refrigerator directly to table, help yourself, but don't let them sit out more than 15 minutes in the hot sun," Leahy says. "Hamburgers should be cooked thoroughly and not be pink inside."

Where the Wild Things Are

"An ounce of prevention is really important when it comes to avoiding bug bites this summer," says toxicologist Stephen Pennisi, PhD, a.k.a. "Dr. Itch" and director of the Lanacane Itch Information Center in White Plains, N.Y.

"We work very hard during the day and want to enjoy our time off, and there is nothing worse then having to stop in the middle of a beach barbecue and take someone to the ER," he says.