There is talk of sun these next few days so I thought I would get in there while I can (and before the summer holidays!) to remind you all about the importance of sun safety. Keeping yourself well looked after in the sun is so important – take it from a fair skinned ginger person, and this is why I wanted to share with you five tips to remember these next few months:
- Slip, Slap, Slop – Get that sun cream on!
Sun cream is really important to wear in the summer months, regardless of your skin colour. According to www.skincare.org, everyone should be wearing sun cream. It doesn’t matter if you have fair skin or dark skin, whether you burn or not, sun cream is about protecting the skin from damaging UV rays so everyone should wear a base layer.
2. When the sun is out, the ground gets hot
Did you know, some types of artificial grass heat up over 20 degrees hotter than regular grass in direct sunlight?
In hot weather, real grass can reach temperatures of 27 degrees in the shade and 34 degrees in the sun whilst artificial grass reach temperatures of 38 degrees in the shade and a whopping 62 degrees in the sun. This is bad news for children and animals in particular, who have more sensitive skin than adults and can get partial thickness burns from being in contact with these surfaces.
It is not just grass which heats up, patio stone, road and pavement tarmac will all increase in temperature so do be mindful about putting on shoes when heading outside in the sun.
3. Keeping cool with the hose? Wait a few seconds before you spray
When the weather is hot outside our hose pipes heat up too and this means when you first turn it on, the stagnant water inside it is boiling hot (over 40degrees!).
Therefore, it is really important to wait a few minutes before spraying family, friends or animals to cool them down to allow this hot water to leave the hose and the nice cool water to start flowing through.
The best thing to do is test the water temperature yourself with your hand before spraying it on anyone else. This will make sure you all have fun in the garden and cool off nicely 🙂
4. Think before leaving water out in a garden
Just a tiny amount of water (2 inches in depth) can be enough for a young child to drown so, if you use a paddling pool, buckets of water, water toys outside always supervise their use and always empty them at the end of any fun games so a child is not left outside with them.
5. Keeping hydrated and cool
Hot weather makes you sweat and lose a lot of water which means we have to up our intake of water to keep feeling well. It can also make us overheat and potentially suffer from heat exhaustion or worse, heat stroke.
To combat this, I like to think of us like a car:
– When you are driving down the motorway and your car temperature gauge starts to go up……what do you do??
– Do you pull over to the side of the road (and rest)?
– Do you let your car and engine cool down?
– Do you fill up the radiator with water?
If you do all these things, normally, you can carry on your way once the car has recovered. This is like you and heat exhaustion!
If you are feeling the effects of heat then rest, find a cool, sheltered area and drink water.
All being well you will hit your heat exhaustion on the head and will be able to carry on your merry way!
If you would like to talk about taking part in a course or booking a private course for you and/or your team, please get in touch. You can email me at katie@anderssonfirstaidtraining.co.uk
If you would like more hints and tips on all things basic first aid, head over to my Instagram page: www.instagram.co.uk/andersson_first_aid_training or www.facebook.com/anderssonfirstaidtraining or https://www.linkedin.com/company/andersson-first-aid-training
