|Staying safe this summer| Now that summer has arrived, we all
look forward to picnics in the park, trips to the seaside and
relaxing with friends in the garden; but as the temperature
increases so does the risk of common medical emergencies such as
sunburn, heat exhaustion and stings. According to the Child
Accident Prevention Trust, there is an increase in the number of
serious accidents outdoors during the summer period and parents,
as always, should take caution when children are around water
and in the sun. Heat exhaustion is a condition where the core
temperature of the body increases above 38’C. As a child sweats,
they lose some of the precious salt and nutrients that their
body needs. The outcome of this is that they start to feel
nauseous, look pale and sweaty, have a headache and feel drowsy.
The treatment is an effective one: take them somewhere cool and
shady and give them plenty of water and something to replace the
lost salts, such as crisps or a salt replacement drink. Heat
exhaustion can get w