Summers are here, and it’s holiday time for the kids to relax, enjoy, have fun and travel too. But what about the sweltering summer heat? It is important for children of all age groups to stay healthy and safe in the summer holidays. With the change in weather, increasing temperatures and heat waves, simple precautions can help prevent heat strokes and dehydration.
Here are some summer tips to keep your children healthy:
- Stay Hydrated – The scorching heat leaves your body hydrated. You should make sure that you drink enough water or water-based drinks to keep your body hydrated.
- Sunscreen – In the scorching summer heat, make sure you use a sunscreen lotion. Take precautions, try not going out in the sun when the sun is out, shining brightly. If at all you are out in the sun for too long, make sure you reapply the sunscreen.
- Protect Your Eyes – It is not just your skin that needs to be protected, but also your eyes. Make sure you wear sunglasses when going out in the sun. Choose sunglasses which provide 99% protection against the ultraviolet rays.
- Watch your foods – Summer also brings with it the temptation of ice creams, however, they are best avoided. Instead, choose fresh fruits and vegetables which are easy to digest.
- Choose indoor play at noontime – Play indoors during the afternoons to avoid extreme summer heat from 12.00 noon to 4.pm.
- Dress appropriately – Wear cotton clothes rather than synthetic ones to avoid skin problems. Also wear lighter colours, to attract less body heat!
- Refresh yourself – Summer is the perfect time of the year to get wet! Start by swimming for 10 minutes and increase the time over the following weeks to beat the summer heat.
- Protect yourself – Kids must wear hats to cover their head from the sun’s heat. Also, children should apply insect repellents to avoid insect bites that can cause infections and diseases.
Are you travelling this summer? To stay healthy, take care of these basic precautions. Consume wisely by eating freshly cooked food and drinking only from sealed water bottles. To protect against pollution in the cities, wear a scarf. It is also essential to travel with medications for diarrhoea, headache and other common ailments. Consult a doctor to check if any immunization is needed.
Here are a few tips to keep yourself and your family healthy while travelling.
- Avoid cut and peeled roadside fruits, raw vegetables and meat which are pre-exposed to flies.
- Vegetable and chicken salads are better avoided as we don’t know how old the product is and how safe it has been stored.
- Always carry some instant energy source to avoid situations like vomiting, lose motion and have some lime water with sugar and salts.
- Outbreaks of diarrhoeal disease have also been associated with bottled water. In most situations, boiling water is the simplest solution in places with poor sanitation and hygiene.
- Always remember, correct food choices while travelling can make the difference between good health and sickness. Avoid places which are tourist traps and densely inhabited.
- Do not step out into the sun directly from a cool atmosphere like ACs and coolers.
- Cut down on your tea and coffee intake, switch to green tea and cool juices if possible!
- Drink loads of water to prevent dehydration and carry wet wipes to keep your skin hydrated!
Let your children enjoy their summer holidays but with some precautions. It is important that they understand the importance and value their health from a young age. It helps them grow into healthy and responsible adults. Wishing you happy and healthy holidays!
