Summer vacation is full of places to go and people to see, but the one place you’d prefer not to visit is the local emergency room. Milissa Podoll, RN, BSN, is the Trauma Coordinator at Avera St. Luke's Hospital in Aberdeen and she helps provide a few tips to stay safe and out of the ER this summer.
1. Be Aware of the Heat
Coming as no surprise, the first tip for a safe summer is to be aware of the heat. Because when you're out in the sun, when you're sweating, all that fluid runs out of your body. So what we suggest is that people should carry a water bottle with them at all times. When the heat is at its highest, avoid being out between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. during the day because those are the highest times of heat exhaustion. Anytime that you're doing exhausting activities outside or if you're sun tanning and you've been out there for a while and you start to get a little bit dizzy, lightheaded or are profusely sweating, be sure that you're aware of those signs and then come into the house cool down. If after 30 minutes you're not feeling better or you don't stop sweating, you need to report to the ER as quickly as you can by calling an ambulance.
2. Stay Hydrated!
Going lockstep with the heat, remember to stay hydrated because dehydration is a big issue when you're out in the sun. You need that water to help support all of your metabolic functions within your system. So getting adequate water helps cool your internal organs down, your system down and if you're not doing that, then that leads to heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Avoid alcohol, avoid sugary sport drinks unless you're going to do an electrolyte drink like Gatorade. If you've gone past that point of dehydration and you haven't had enough fluids, then you can switch to Gatorade. But if you're going to do Gatorade, you need to do water, then Gatorade, water, then Gatorade; back and forth like that.
3. Wear a Helmet and Appropriate Gear
Sprains and fractures are a big reason for an ER visit, so make sure to use helmets and appropriate gear with your activities. So during the summertime we like to get on our bikes. We like to be on our e-bikes or e-scooters. One slip, one fall, one rock, one duck that's crossing the street and hits you and you fall off that bike, the first thing that you probably are going to hit is your head. So it's so important to put a helmet on. You get one head and if you thump that melon you have a good chance of actually having a head bleed. And so that helmet will actually protect you. Easiest way to fit a helmet if you don't have a flexible tape is just take a piece of string and go around the widest portion of your head straight across. Lay it on a tape measure and that's going to tell you the size of helmets that you need to be wearing.
4. Leave the Fireworks to the Pros
And finally, leave the fireworks to the pros. Fireworks should be left to professionals because we see generally every year at least one person that will have a firework blow up in their hands. Just let the professionals do it. If you are going to be that person that does do the fireworks, one person should light up. It should be an adult. People should be at least 150 feet away and nothing pointing at people. If you go to light a firework and it doesn't light, that needs to sit for at least 30 minutes before you do anything with it. It cannot be relit. It needs to be thrown in a bucket of water and then disposed of. Same with sparklers. Kids really shouldn't do sparklers. They're a danger. We see lots and lots of burns every year with sparklers. If you as an adult are going to do that, be sure you have glasses on or protective eyewear to prevent any of those sparks from coming up into your face.
Be safe. That's all we're asking. Be safe. If you're out in the water, put a life jacket on. If you're walking around the pool, walk, don't run. Those are all ways to prevent showing up in our ER with injuries that could be avoided and just put a damper on your summer.
Learn more about emergency care services at Avera Health.
