Keeping Your Family Safe in the Spring
We are just getting over a nasty flu and cold season. Strep has been running rampant in my children’s schools. Everyone I know has a lingering cough. We just need winter to end, and all our ails will be cured, yes? No.
Sorry to be Debbie Downer, but, in my defense I am grumpy because I have a terrible cough and 2 of my kids probably have strep throat. Spring will bring an end to some of that which is plaguing us, but it brings with it its own squad of demons.
Take some pre-emptive strikes.
1. Spring Allergies — The biggest offender in the Spring is pollen, from trees, grasses and weeds, which can travel from far away on a windy day.
Helpful Links:
Avoid Making Allergy Mistakes
5 Ways to beat Spring Allergies (Hint: Now is the time to start taking measures.)
2. Ticks and Mosquitos — If you think an itchy bite can ruin your day, imagine the havoc West Nile and Lyme Disease can wreak.
Helpful Links:
CDC 1 minute Podcast
Avoiding Bug Bites (I wrote this one.)
3. Sunburn — It doesn’t have to be 80 degrees outside to get sunburned. Keep a bottle of sunscreen in your car, in your kids’ sports bags and in your purse. Remember, most of a person’s average lifetime sun exposure occurs before the age of 18. Just one bad sunburn can double a person’s risk for melanoma.
Check out The Promise Foundation’s website for more facts about melanoma and sun exposure.
4. Accidents — Spring Fever can make us all delirious. Pay extra attention behind the wheel. It is not the end of the world if your son is late for practice. Watch for rolling balls, kids always follow. Drive slowly on residential streets — the kids are so excited to be outdoors, they may not be using their best judgement. Ensure high windows are closed. Screens will not keep a child from falling out. (I have first hand experience with this.) Helmets and other protective gear are essential, of course.
5. Communicable Illness — Just because it is Spring, doesn’t mean you can’t catch something. Employ the same hand washing and germ killing techniques you’ve been relying on all winter. Lots of viruses flourish in the warmer weather.
Medical Arts Pediatrics has a good list.
Spring is a beautiful season. Make sure you and yours are protected.
