Summer is the season for relaxing, having fun and spending time with your family and friends, but it's also a time to remember simple precautions to keep yourself and your family safe.
- Protect your skin and eyes from the sun’s ultraviolet rays
- Follow food safety precautions when grilling or preparing foods outside
- Use proper protective gear for outdoor activities like biking, watersports and more
- Drink responsibly and stay hydrated
Extreme Heat
High summer temperatures can create serious risk of heat illness—there are nearly 700 heat-related deaths in the U.S. each year.
Extreme heat happens in the summer when temperatures are much hotter and/or humid than average, which means it varies by location. Exposure to extreme heat, particularly coupled with high levels of physical exertion and insufficient hydration, can cause serious health issues, and even death. Service members should learn to identify the risks of extreme heat and the symptoms of heat-related illness. Heat acclimatization is necessary to prevent or reduce the severity of heat illness.
Heat-Related Illnesses
Common heat-related illnesses include cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke.
- Heat cramps – painful muscle spasms that occur due to dehydration and loss of nutrients from excessive sweating.
- Heat exhaustion – when your body loses the ability to cool its core temperature, with symptoms like cool moist skin and goosebumps, heavy sweating, fatigue, rapid pulse, faintness and more.
- Heat stroke – a severe form of heat exhaustion that occurs when the body temperature exceeds 104°. Symptoms include confusion, red skin, headache, and dizziness.
Visit the CDC website to learn more about the symptoms and how to prevent heat-related illnesses.
Sun Safety
While we focus on sun safety during the summer, it’s actually something we should think about all year long. It’s important to protect your skin from sun damage throughout the year, no matter the weather.
Sun damage to the body is caused by invisible ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Sun exposure can cause many things, such as:
- Sunburn
- Skin aging (such as skin spots, wrinkles, or “leathery skin”)
- Eye damage
- Skin cancer (the most common of all cancers)
People of all skin colors are at risk for this damage.
Reduce Your Risk for Sun Damage
- Limit your time in the sun, especially between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., when the sun’s rays are most intense.
- Wear protective clothing to cover skin exposed to the sun such as long-sleeve shirts, pants, sunglasses, and broad-brim hats
- Use broad spectrum sunscreens with a SPF value of 15 or higher regularly and as directed.
Please consult your health care provider before applying sunscreen to infants younger than 6 months.