I can’t believe I’m writing this…especially since it was minus 5C last night where I live!! But, summer is quickly approaching {not quickly enough…} and it’s time to start thinking about how to stay safe during this busy season.
Summer is a fun time that can be packed with activities but it is also a time to be wary of preventable injuries and conditions.
Health Canada’s Safe Summer Fun section provides tips on how to get the most out of the season. It covers only some of the injuries and conditions that could occur.
I encourage everyone who is participating in summer activities to educate themselves and minimize the risks.
Here’s a fun little quiz to test your summer fun knowledge!
{Answers are at the bottom of the quiz}
- A tan is healthy.
- You can get ‘hamburger disease’, or barbecue syndrome, from eating undercooked chicken.
- It is safe to swim in polluted water, as long as you don’t swallow any water.
- Over-exposure to the sun earlier in life is a more usual cause of skin cancer than the thinning of the ozone layer.
- You can use sand to completely put out a campfire.
- The darkest shade of sunglasses is always the best.
- Boiling water for 5 minutes will kill most harmful organisms.
- Ozone is found only high in the atmosphere, where it filters out harmful rays from the sun.
- If you come in contact with poison ivy, wash carefully with hot water and baking soda to prevent the infection from spreading.
- You can’t get a sunburn on a cloudy day.
1. False – A suntan is a skin injury. It is evidence that your skin has been damaged by the sun.
2. True – You can get “barbecue syndrome” from eating undercooked meat or poultry or drinking unpasteurized milk or unchlorinated water.
3. False – Polluted water contains disease-causing microorganisms which can enter the body through the ears, eyes, and nose or through broken skin in addition to the mouth
4. True – The sun is the main cause of skin cancer and there is evidence that even a single sunburn in childhood may increase the risk of developing skin cancer later in life. All sunburns should be avoided, but particularly by children.
5. True – You can use sand or water to put out a campfire
6. False – Choose sunglasses with lenses dark enough for the brightness in which you’ll wear them, but not so dark as to interfere with vision. The brighter the environment, the darker the lens you will need.
7. True – However boiling water for one minute will kill most harmful organisms.
8. False – Ground-level ozone – also known as smog – occurs when nitrous oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) combine in the presence of sunlight.
9. False – Washing the skin with cold water and soap is recommended to prevent a poison ivy infection from spreading.
10. False – Up to 80% of the sun’s rays can penetrate light cloud, mist and fog
How did you do?
Are you ready for summer safety?
Much of the information contained in this post was obtained from Health Canada.
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Great suggestions to get ready to ‘think’ about Summer. Nice to see the kids wearing pfd’s as they canoe. Good example! I got most of the correct answers, but a couple surprised me.
Love the photo…looks like Bennett Lake in Fundy National Park.
Thanks Kathy, it is at Bennett Lake, good eye!!
I did pretty good on the answers – but knowing what is smart and safe doesn’t always ensure that I follow it but I will try. One of the worse sunburns I ever got was on a cloudy day – didn’t realize and didn’t use sunscreen. Love the photos too Monica. Hugs
Hi Betty! I know, those overcast days are tricky, you think you’re OK without sunscreen and by dinner time you’re burnt to a crisp! That photo is of my two children, Jarod and Shannon. It was taken at Bennett Lake in Fundy National Park, have you ever been to there Betty?
Years ago we took our children when they were small to Fundy National Park but it’s been soooo long ago LOL. I’ll have to show this to our son Aaron. We went to a Cottage Home Show with him on the weekend in Halifax and he was picking up brochures for National Parks in NS, PEI, NB and Nfld. They hope to get to a few this summer.
I’m sure he would really enjoy it, I hear they even have “rustic” cottages now if he wants to camp. It’s a bit off the beaten trail but well worth the trip! We love it and try to get there a couple times a summer. Just day trips…we walk a trail or two and always come back to Bennett Lake for a little canoeing, some dinner and a glass of wine!