Beating the burn: Proper precautions can help you avoid nature's hazards this summer
Sunburn. Dehydration. Stings. Plants that can cause a miserably uncomfortable itch.
Summer is the season of good times outdoors, and whether those come at pool parties and golf outings or while walking in the woods, taking precautions and preventive measures against what nature can throw at us is advised.
While the summer brings with it some challenges to health and safety, knowledge and some simple preparations are key to enjoying the weather and good times.
Skin cancer, several types of which can be caused by overexposure to ultraviolet radiation, is the most common form of cancer in the United States. In 2018, the most recent year for which data is available from the CDC, 83,996 people were diagnosed with melanoma and 8,199 people died of melanoma.
Dehydration is an oft-overlooked summer health risk that can come on suddenly and with potentially serious consequences, and biting insects that can cause a wide range of maladies from harmless itching to deadly viruses are lurking just about everywhere. Plants, too, can inflict their own forms of punishment, to which anyone who has ever dealt with poison ivy or poison oak can attest.
You may not be able to control the environment, but you can control how you manage the challenges it presents.
Hydration
When it comes to staying hydrated, there are varying recommendations. And even then, there can be “considerable differences” in how much one needs based on age, gender, size, climate, level of physical activity and health conditions, according to Katherine Basbaum, a clinical dietician with the University of Virginia Health System.
But a good starting point, according to Basbaum, is the Institute of Medicine’s recommendation that women drink roughly 70 ounces of water per day while men drink 100 ounces.
“This may sound like a lot, but it’s important to remember that drinking water is not the only way to reach your hydration goals,” Basbaum says, noting cucumbers, lettuce, broccoli, strawberries and watermelon can help. “Many fruits and vegetables have a very high water content, so eating these foods contributes to your hydration efforts. Decaffeinated tea and coffee, as well as juices and some sodas count, too, but watch out for sugar.”
Warm climates and regular, vigorous workouts increase the need for water, Basbaum says.
“Two good rules to live by are to drink when you’re thirsty and check in on the color of your pee every day,” she says. “The goal is a very pale yellow. For the average healthy adult, if your pee is bright or dark yellow, it is likely telling you to drink more water.”
Mild dehydration can cause symptoms such as fatigue, irritability, weakness, headache, dry mouth and dizziness, Basbaum says. While those may seem bad enough, moderate to severe dehydration can lead to consequences she calls “much more dire,” including a decline in cognitive performance, drop in blood volume that can cause blood pressure to plummet or dangerously low levels of oxygen in the body, seizures caused by electrolyte imbalances, and renal damage, she explains.
“Staying hydrated is important for so many reasons, some of the most important being that it helps regulate your body temperature and blood pressure, promotes healthy digestion and bowel movements, acts as a lubricant for your joints, and provides a protective cushion for delicate organs,” Basbaum says. “Without proper hydration, your body cannot perform essential body functions at their optimum level.”
Bites and Stings
Dr. David M. Claborn, a public health professor at Missouri State University, says the best course of action to avoid insect bites and stings is simply avoid the areas where those insects and related animals are, though he understands that is not always easy.
“For mosquitoes, it is a little hard to avoid because they can grow in such small amounts of water; however, places with lots of artificial containers often have a lot of biting mosquitoes,” he says. “Old tires, plastic containers, wrecked cars, etc., all provide excellent larval development areas and should be avoided.”
But when it comes to ticks, people can avoid wild animal trails and transitional areas between dominant forms of vegetation — such as from a forested area to a meadow — where ticks are “particularly abundant,” according to Claborn. They live year-round but tend to be “very numerous” from spring to fall in certain habitats because of their animal hosts.
If avoidance is not an option, people should wear long pants tucked into the top of boots (or rubber bands over the bottom portion of the pants to impede ticks) and long-sleeved shirts, Claborn says. Mosquito nets that cover the face can be useful, and permethrin made for clothing is available at sporting goods stores, though Claborn cautions against using other pesticides for this purpose. A repellant such as DEET can be used on exposed skin, he says.
If there is any concern of exposure to ticks, Claborn says to first check the arm pits and groin area, as well as feel the back of the head and neck, and then inspect the rest of the skin with a mirror as needed, if someone else is not available to help.
Mosquitoes are responsible for spreading the world’s most damaging vector-borne disease, malaria. It kills approximately 800,000 people per year but usually is not a problem in the United States, Claborn says. Mosquitos can also spread West Nile virus, though, which does occur in the U.S.
“It can range from a relatively mild disease to a deadly one,” Claborn says. “In recent years, physicians have noticed a polio-like paralysis associated with prior infections with West Nile virus.”
Ticks are most notable for spreading Lyme disease, primarily in the northwest and north-central parts of the United States, though it can occur elsewhere, Claborn says. Ticks also can spread related organisms and chronic infections that can create a slew of other complications. And there is a “very infectious” bacterial disease known as tularemia in the Ozarks of Missouri spread by ticks, horse flies and mosquitos. There are many other insects that can spread diseases, Claborn says.
Topical anti-itch sprays with Benadryl are “often helpful” for itching, Claborn says of anyone who becomes the victim of insects. A menthol powder may be needed for relief of stings like those of fire ants, though, he says. Calamine lotion also can provide sting relief. Aspirin and ice packs are good for swelling.
“Avoid hot showers or hot baths,” Claborn cautions. “It makes the itching much worse. In fact, using water as cold as one can stand can provide some relief.”
Following mosquito bites, Claborn recommends a doctor anytime someone develops a fever, headache and/or neck pain. Medical help is also advised when a tick bite leads to a rash, especially with a clear spot in the middle, and/or fever. For stings, swelling, hives and difficulty breathing also require medical attention.
Poisonous Plants
As many who have wandered off trail or cleared out a strange patch of greenery on their property have learned the hard way, plants such as poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac can leave a lasting impression — typically, a rash that can be spread if not properly addressed.
But Joe Boggs, an assistant professor of entomology and horticulture expert with Ohio State University, says the dangers of touching something problematic are not as great as some people think.
“Those would be the big three,” Boggs says of the aforementioned plants. “The fear of touching something is not that great. The plants that can give you rashes are minimal. There aren’t that many.”
Even those three tend only to be prevalent in certain regions. And where they are, people often pass down the rules well. Identification is the best defense against those plants, Boggs says.
“We all learn about ‘leaves of three, let it be,’” he says. “We all learn about poison ivy early on. The same actually applies to poison oak. Poison sumac is a little trickier, but even then, where poison sumac exists, people learn not to touch that plant.”
All three of those transfer a substance called urushiol, an oily compound that spreads the plants’ rash-inducing defense mechanisms. Boggs recommends whenever people get in from a walk that involves vegetation to change and clean up well.
“You should wash up,” Boggs says. “Soap and water will take off urushiol. That’s the first thing people should do. Good old soap and water — that’s the first line of defense.”
In the event that someone suffers a rash, Boggs says there are plenty of over-the-counter medications that can help, and in many cases there is not much a physician can do beyond what people can do for themselves. Though, he offers the caveat that sensitivity can vary quite a bit by person.
“Sometimes, we don’t go to a doctor when we should,” Boggs says. “I think it should be in the cards that people seek medical attention rather than handling it themselves.”
Boggs also cautions against one major emerging threat — wild parsnip. While taxonomically it is the same as parsnip grown in one’s garden, the wild version has a compound in the sap that can create major problems for anyone who makes skin contact with it.
“Wild parsnip does much more than cause a rash,” Boggs says. “The reaction between the sap and sunlight produces severe skin blistering. There have been cases requiring skin grafts.”
But beyond that, Boggs says there are still “far more” plants that are poisonous than those that create rashes. The solution may seem — and to some degrees is — simple.
“Do not eat plants that you do not know,” Boggs says. “That is extremely important. Certainly don’t eat mushrooms. Don’t eat anything where you don’t have an expert saying you can eat it. Don’t say, ‘That looks a lot like — .’ That’s like the famous last words.”