2 Focus Your Health Have a safe summer There are lots of ways to stay cool this summer, but the coolest thing you can do is stay safe. Warm weather means we’re spending more time outside and doing more activities. This could lead to more accidents if we are not careful. Here are some sugges- tions on how to keep yourself and your family safe: Secure home windows. Every year thousands of kids in the U.S. are killed or injured in falls fromwindows. Opening the windows is a must if you don’t have air condition- ing. You can’t depend on screens to keep children safe. It is important to install window guards or window stops—especially on bedroom windows. You can buy them online or at hardware stores. Keep furni- ture away fromwindows to discourage kids from climbing near them. Update helmets. Kids would live on their bikes during the summer if you let them. Before yours hop on theirs, make sure they’re wearing a well-fitted helmet. This is important for the whole family. Helmets help reduce the risk of head injury and death from bicycle crashes. Helmets are also a good idea when skateboarding, batting or running bases in baseball or softball, or skating. Watch out for heatstroke. As the temperature rises, so does the risk of a heat-related illness. The most serious one is heatstroke. Signs of heatstroke include: 1. Body temperature of 103 degrees F or higher 2. Hot, red, dry or damp skin 3. A rapid and strong pulse 4. Possible unconsciousness Call 911 immediately if you think someone has heatstroke. Move the person to a cooler environment, and try to bring their temperature down with cool cloths or a bath. Do not give the person fluids. Water safety. Did you know that drowning remains one of the leading causes of preventable deaths for children in the U.S., with nearly 800 deaths each year? Help us change this and make the water a safe place for your kids to play. Here are some things you can do this summer: ● Never swim in canals. It is not worth the risk. ● Watch kids when they are in or around water, without being distracted. Keep young children within arm’s reach of an adult. Make sure older children swimwith a partner every time. ● Teach children how to swim. Every child is different, so enroll children in swim lessons when they are ready. Consider their age, development and how often they are around water. ● Install fences around home pools. A pool fence should sur- round all sides of the pool and be at least 4 feet tall with self- closing and self-latching gates. ● Empty kids’ pools after each use. Store them upside down so they don’t collect water. ● Know what to do in an emergency. Learning CPR and basic water rescue skills may help you save a child’s life. Sources: American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Safe Kids Worldwide; U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
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