How to Avoid Common End of Summer Illnesses and Injuries

From camping trips and pool parties to family cookouts, summer is far from over and there are still limitless opportunities to get outside and soak up the end of the warm weather. However, one drawback to spending more time outdoors is that everyone else will be doing the same thing. Not only does increased contact expose you to more germs, but it may result in mishaps that leave you in pain. Here are three common illnesses and injuries to continue to be mindful of, so you can stay healthy and enjoy the rest of your summer.

Sprains

Now that the sun doesn’t set until well past seven o’clock in most parts of the country, you have the chance to make the most of outdoor activities like hiking. Whether you’re walking your favorite trail or exploring a new one for the first time, there’s nothing quite like the feeling of hiking through nature.

Supportive footwear is an important way to help avoid turning your pleasant hike into a trip to your nearest urgent care center. A boot that comes up high enough to cover the ankle and features a supportive insole is the best choice to alleviate the strain that long walks on rough trails put on the arches of your feet.

Why is this important? Because joint sprains are some of the most common hiking injuries. Slipping on a stray root or a loose rock in your path usually isn’t going to send you tumbling, but it could tweak the ankle you have to walk on for the rest of the day. Even if your ankle makes it through intact, the sudden torsion could travel up your leg to wreak havoc on your knees or even hips.

Food Poisoning

Nothing says summer more than breaking out the grill and cooking up some juicy steaks for a barbecue. Unfortunately, the risk of food contamination is high in the summer, since higher temperatures can warm uncooked animal products into the “danger zone” of temperatures where bacteria thrive.

Symptoms and signs of food poisoning may start within hours after eating the contaminated food. Sometimes they may begin days or even weeks later. Common signs include nausea, fever, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal cramps. Food poisoning can lasts from a few hours to several days.

There are a few ways to avoid food poisoning. Make sure all foods are kept at the right temperature. Don’t let food sit out in the sun too long when you’re eating outdoors. Be smart when you shop – ask grocery baggers to put the raw meats in separate bags and visit the frozen and refrigerated sections last. And remember to wash all you produce even if you are going to peel it.

Sunburns

Fresh air and exercise are part of a healthy lifestyle, but the intense summer sun can pose problems of its own when it comes to your skin.

Whether you’ve got an olive complexion or are so fair-skinned that you need a hat and sunglasses whenever you leave the house, everybody needs to take special precautions against skin damage from sunburns to heavy tans.

You should choose sunscreen that protects from UVA and UVB rays, has a SPF of 30 or higher and is water resistant. Apply sunscreen to all bare skin. Remember the back of your neck, ears, and tops of your feet. To protect your lips, apply a lip balm with a SPF of at least 15.You should apply sunscreen generously about 15 minutes before you go outside. And remember to reapply sunscreen at least every two hours and immediately after swimming or excessively sweating.

The average sunburn follows a fairly predictable path: Four to eight hours after exposure, the burn will begin to develop, peaking between one and two days after the incident. For many people, the only course of action is to apply makeup and wait out the pain as best they can.

However, there are several cases when you should seek urgent care for particularly bad sunburns. If you’ve developed blisters, a high fever that won’t break, or you’ve irritated the burn to the point of a potential infection, it’s time to head to your local urgent care center for a more scientific approach to treating sunburns than aloe vera gel and a glass of water.