Summer Beach Safety Tips

Blue Flag Beaches

If your family is heading to an international beach this summer, Blue Flag can help you find a safe beach. A program by the Foundation for Environmental Education, Blue Flag has awarded eco-labels to more than 3,300 beaches and marinas around the world, from the Caribbean to New Zealand. Blue Flag beaches adhere to strict environmental criteria; in short, they provide: environmental education programs, notifications about eco-sensitive areas, regular water quality testing, adequate lifeguards and beach accessibility. To see complete criteria list and to find a Blue Flag beach, go to www.blueflag.org.

Safety Specifics

Sun Protection for Kids

While it’s very important to slather the kids with sunscreen, more important is to take other sun-shielding precautions. Experts say that sunscreen should come after other protective measures: staying in the shade between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. when the sun’s rays are strongest, wearing shirts and wide-brim hats, and wearing sunglasses. They also recommend that at a minimum use sunscreens with at least SPF 15 for children. SPF 15 blocks 93 percent of harmful rays; SPF 30 blocks 96 percent. Higher SPFs do not double your protection. The Skin Cancer Foundation says that infants under six months should stay away from the sun entirely.

Relieving Sunburn

When healing from sunburn, remember to stay out of the sun while it heals. Here are some other tips for treating young children:

• Apply cool compresses or take a cool shower to help extract the heat.
• Aloe vera gel (make sure it’s pure): Apply it liberally to affected areas. It’s cool and soothing, and speeds up healing.
• For severe burns, apply hydrocortisone cream.
• When the burn peels, don’t scratch it! The sensitive skin beneath is tender and vulnerable to infection.

• The Blue Flag recognizes beaches and marinas that meet strict environmental criteria.
• Tim Parkinson

Identifying Heat Stroke

Heat stroke and heat stress occur when the body’s temperature control system shuts down and the body heats up rapidly. Children are much more susceptible to heat stroke than adults, though heat stroke is a serious, life threatening ailment that kills more than 20 percent of sufferers. Common characteristics of heat stroke include:

• Hot, red, dry skin (with heat exhaustion, moist, clammy skin can occur)
• Wavering consciousness
• Rapid, shallow breathing
• Erratic pulse: fast or slow

To treat:

• Call 9-1-1
• Keep person laying down, move to a shady location
• Using ice packs, or wet towels, to cool parts of the body near large blood vessels: armpits, wrists, neck and ankles.
  

Creepers, Crawlers and Biters

Biting and stinging insects are everywhere but tend to swarm in hotter, muggier climates, swamps or wooded areas. At the beach, avoid these unwelcome visitors (especially bees) by covering food and drinks, not wearing perfume, and wearing protective clothing and bug repellents. There are also several sunscreen/insect repellent combinations: Sawyer Sunblock with Insect Repellent, and Avon’s Skin So Soft Bug Guard Plus have SPF 30 and are effective bug repellents.

Treatment for bites and stings:
Ibuprofen: anti-inflammatory treatment
Hydrocortisone cream 1 percent: relieves itching and swelling
Xylocaine gel 2 percent: relieves itching and pain
For stings: remove stinger if possible, apply anti-bacterial ointment to prevent infection.