Summer Safety Guide fridayschildmontessori.com

Summer officially begins on the 1st of

December but most of us have

probably been feeling the heat a bit

already, especially here on the Gold

Coast.

But the start of December really does

start a new season off – the big focus

on The Season To Be Jolly seems to

emphasis this.

School and preschool holidays are just

around the corner, along with

Christmas and New Year celebrations

(and yes, contrary to what your children

might secretly believe, the teachers

here at Friday’s Child Montessori don’t

spend the time when preschool isn’t

open in the cupboards waiting for the

next session!).

We hope everyone has a great summer

and we hope so see all our friends back

again next year, if they’re not heading

off to the next stage at primary school.

To help make sure that everyone has a

great summer, we’ve compiled a list of

safety tips to make sure everyone

makes it through the hot holiday

season in one piece.

Hazard: Sunburn

Symptoms: Hot reddish-pink skins,

especially on skins that were paler to

start with (people with darker skins can

take on a redder tone but don’t burn

quite as readily as those with Scottish

and Irish ancestors). The skin feels

hot and tender and probably a bit

painful and swollen.

Prevention: Slip, slop, slap, wrap. In

other words, cover up with long, light

loose clothing; use sunscreen with a

high SPF (30+ is recommended); wear a

hat that protects the back of the neck

as well as the face and use

polarised sunglasses.

Treatment: Cool the skin with cold

water – a cold bath or shower often

goes a long way to help.

Aloe vera is a magnificent herbal

remedy for soothing burns of all sorts

as well as sunburn, so either use a

cream based on aloe vera or, if you

have an aloe vera plant, snap off a leaf

and scrape up the clear gel to apply to

the burnt site.

You can also try the remedy from the

Southern USA, where you make up a

very strong brew of black tea and add it

to a cool or cold bath, teabags and all.

The tannins in the tea seem to do

something helpful. If your child (or you)

experiences blistering, chills or fever

after a bad sunburn, see the doctor

immediately.

Hazard: Heat stroke (aka sunstroke)

Symptoms: Hot, flushed and dry skin,

headaches, blurry vision, higher than

normal body temperature, sometimes

seizures and unconsciousness.

Prevention: Avoid long periods in areas

with high temperatures – this can be

indoors if the windows are shut and the

air-conditioning doesn’t work or isn’t

provided.

Treatment: Call an ambulance even if

you only suspect heat stroke, as it can

kill. The human body has more

defences for dealing with extreme cold

than it does extreme heat.

Put the sufferer in the shade and keep

them as cool as possible with ice packs

and (gently!) spraying them

with cold water.

Hazard: Prickly heat (aka heat rash)

Symptoms: It doesn’t happen to every

child, but some children have a sort of

rash where their sweat glands form

little red bumps, usually in folds of the

skin (e.g. armpits, inside of the elbow,

back of the knee, in the butt crack).

Your child feels really itchy.

Prevention: Make sure that your child

wears cool, loose clothing and stays

cool if he/she is prone to heat rash.

Be careful that your attempts at

covering up your child with long

sleeves and long pants doesn’t produce

this problem – look to the traditional

garb of the Middle East and similar for

guidelines. Think cotton, loose and

flowing.

Treatment: Change into light clothing.

Apply a cold compress and maybe

some calamine lotion.

Severe cases may need topical steroid

cream and/or medical attention. The

rash should go away in a few days. If it

doesn’t, see your doctor.

Hazard: Sea swimming rash

Symptoms: Tingling and itching on the

bits of skin underneath a swimming

cossie after swimming in the sea. It can

show up a couple of hours after

swimming in the sea and can last for

weeks.

Prevention: This is difficult, as the itch is

caused by the stings of the juvenile

forms of certain sea anemones and tiny

jellyfish.

The only way to be certain to avoid it is

to stay out of the sea – and who wants

to do that when you live on the Gold

Coast?

Treatment: Get the cossie off and take a

shower. Wash the cossie very

thoroughly after soaking it in vinegar or

alcohol. Soothe the pain with icepacks

and/or calamine lotion.

If the reaction is severe, with symptoms

like headaches, chills, fever,

pain/burning on urination, itchy eyes or

vomiting, see the doctor.

Hazard: Jellyfish stings

Symptoms: Pain and stinging in mild

cases; nausea, vomiting, chills,

drowsiness and breathing difficulties.

Prevention: Never touch a jellyfish or

even part of a jellyfish. Avoid swimming

in the sea if jellyfish are common or

have been sighted. Learn to identify

box jellyfish so you can avoid them.

Treatment: If you even suspect a box

jellyfish, wash the area thoroughly in

vinegar to neutralise the toxins. Keep

the vinegar on the skin for half an hour

before trying to scrape the stingers off

with a blunt edge (side of a credit card,

blunt knife from the picnic set, the

edge of a ruler, a stout piece of

cardboard such as the cover of a new

paperback).

Reapply vinegar. Call an ambulance if

the reaction is severe and/or you

suspect box jellyfish. Also call the

ambulance if the sting is extensive. One

common folk first-aid treatment for

jellyfish stings is to urinate on it, but

this has been “mythbusted”.

Warm water and/or vinegar is just as

good, especially the vinegar, and

there’s nothing in pee that helps east

the sting. Use icepacks to soothe the

pain and take paracetamol.

Hazard: Bee and wasp stings

Symptoms: You can see a bee sting in

the site; wasps don’t leave their stings

behind and can be hanging around

trying to sting. In both cases, pain and

swelling are clear symptoms.

Prevention: Wear shoes when outdoors,

especially around areas with lots of

flowers (clover attracts bees, so

discourage these pretty flowers from

growing in your lawn). Stay away from

bee hives and wasp nests.

Treatment: Scrape out the bee sting

without squeezing it, which injects

more venom. Use the side of a credit

card, the edge of a piece of paper, a

blunt knife, etc.

Swat the wasp if it’s still hanging about.

Apply a paste of Baking soda for Bees

(B and B) and apply Vinegar for

“Vasps”.

Soothe pain with an ice pack. If the

person stung has an allergy, call an

ambulance. Also call an ambulance for

extensive stinging (if someone’s

jumped onto a wasp nest, for example)

or if your child is stung on the face,

throat or private parts.

This is brought to you by:

Fridays Child Montessori

fridayschildmontessori.com