Pay Attention to Summertime First Aid

Now that summer is in full force, you probably spend a lot more time outdoors. Funny, isn’t it? The weather is miserably hot and now we all decide to go outside and play, rather than when the weather is comfortable and we’re all indoors. Oh well, the point is that with so much time spent outside, we all need to make sure we know how to handle first aid as it applies to summertime health issues. Here are a few of the most common summertime ailments and instructions on how to handle them.

Bee Stings

When someone suffers a bee sting, the first thing you need to do is remove the stinger. This should be done with a dull knife or a credit card. If you use your fingernail, be careful not to push the excess venom into the skin, which can only irritate the problem. Wash the sting with soap and water and apply a hydrocortisone cream to it to keep the swelling down.

Poison Ivy

It happens; the kids are playing outside in the woods or at your summer rental house and come across poison ivy. The best thing to do is to take a cool bath laced with baking soda or oatmeal, which kills the oils that spread the poison over the body. You need to wash any clothing or furniture that the poison ivy touched and cover the rash with calamine lotion.

Swimmer’s Ear

The best solution for this is over the counter ear drops and a break from the water for a few days. It is important you do not attempt to clean the ear out with a q-tip, because you will do nothing but push the bacteria causing the infection further into the ear. If the pain in the ear worsens you should call the doctor.

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