Safety Tips
Dehydration
On hot days, make sure your child drinks plenty of water to stay hydrated. The human body requires at least one liter of water daily.
Signs of dehydration in children:
- Sticky or dry mouth
- Few or no tears when crying
- Eyes that look sunken into the head
- Lack of urine or wet diapers for six to eight hours in an infant (or only a very small amount of dark yellow urine)
- Lack of urine for 12 hours in an older child (or only a very small amount of dark yellow urine)
- Dry cool skin
- Irritability
- Fatigue or dizziness in an older child.
What to do if you suspect your child is dehydrated:
- Start by replenishing their body with fluids. Plain water is the best option for the first hour or two. They can drink as much as they want. After this, the child might need drinks containing sugar and electrolytes (salts) or regular food.
- The child should rest in a cool, shaded environment until the lost fluid has been replaced.
- Call your doctor immediately or take your child to the nearest emergency department if there is no improvement or condition is worsening.
Bee Stings
To keep bees away, wear light-colored clothing and avoid scented soaps and perfumes. Don't leave food, drinks, and garbage out uncovered.
What to do if your child is stung:
- Do not to panic. Swelling, redness, itching, pain, and a wheel surrounding the sting are all normal effects.
- Remove the stinger. Do not pull the stinger out with your fingers or tweezers. Treat a bee sting by scraping the stinger in a side-to-side motion with a credit card, fingernail, or other straight-edged object, and then washing the area with soap and water.
- Use a cold or ice compress and over-the-counter pain-relieving creams or oral medications to help with the pain.
- Watch for signs of allergic reaction to stings, which typically happen within the first few hours. If your child has ever had an allergic reaction to a sting, experts recommend carrying epinephrine with you. Seek emergency medical attention if your child is experiencing an allergic reaction.
Sunburn
Don't be fooled by a cloudy day at the fair. The sun's harmful UV rays can penetrate through clouds and even a thick fog.
- Apply one ounce (two tablespoons) of sunscreen to the entire body 30 minutes before going outside. This gives skin a chance to absorb it. Reapply every two hours, or immediately after sweating heavily.
- Look for "broad spectrum" sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher that includes ingredients that protect from both UVA and UVB (Ultraviolet A and B) rays. You can also look for the "Skin Cancer Foundation Seal of Recommendation" to help you find the right sunscreen.
- Don't forget to protect areas that are often missed, such as your child's chin, nose, ears, scalp, shoulders, under the eyes and the tops of hands. Also apply lip balm with an SPF (Sun Protection Factor) to keep lips safe.
- Have your child wear a wide-brimmed hat or baseball cap and sunglasses that have 90 to 100 percent protection from UVA and UVB rays.
- If your child does get a sunburn, aloe vera gel is extremely soothing, nontoxic, and helps heal the skin.
Heat Exhaustion
Heat exhaustion results from a loss of water and salt in the body due to excessive sweating. It occurs when the body is unable to cool itself properly and, if left untreated, can progress to heat stroke.
Signs of heat exhaustion in children are:
- Profuse sweating
- Pale skin that's cool and damp to the touch
- Rapid and shallow breathing
- Headache
- Nausea
- Normal or below-normal body temperature
- Vomiting or diarrhea
- Dizziness, weakness or fainting
- Muscle cramps
What to do if you suspect your child is dehydrated:
- Move them to a cool place right away and let them rest.
- Remove extra clothing and apply cool cloths (towels with cold water) and fan their skin.
- Give them cool sports drinks containing salt and sugar such as Gatorade (if they don't feel nauseous).
- Call your doctor or go to the emergency department if their condition hasn't improved or they are unable to take fluids within an hour.
Nosebleeds
What to do should your child experience a nosebleed:
- Pinch the bottom of the nose and tilt their head FORWARD. This will prevent blood from running down their throat, resulting in swallowing blood and choking.
- Put direct pressure on the nose by gently squeezing the nose shut with a cloth, tissue or sterile gauze. Applying pressure squeezes the blood vessels flowing into the nose.
- Keep pressure for 10 full minutes and then release your hold and see if it is still bleeding. Do not stop early to check; wait the full 10 minutes.
- If the nose is still bleeding after 10 minutes, repeat again for an additional 10 minutes. Call your physician if it doesn't stop.
