Greetings! ,
 Wow, it is definitely summer time! And if you're like me, you have probably enjoyed many days outside with family, friends, and coworkers. What's better than taking your patients or clients outside to enjoy the beautiful weather as well? Nice weather is definitely a mood enhancer! As nice as it is to have our patients and clients enjoy the beautiful weather, it is also our responsibility to make sure they are safe. Below you'll meet two of our fantastic Emergency Department doctors, Melisa Lai Becker and Benjamin Milligan. They will be sharing 5 tips for summer safety. I hope you find this helpful. Enjoy your summer!
|
CHA Emergency Department site chiefs
The CHA Emergency Department helps nearly 100,000 patients a year at our CHA Cambridge, Somerville, and Whidden Hospitals. Here are our top 5 health tips to help you stay safe for the rest of the summer:
 1. Enjoy the sun but protect yourself from sunburn and heat. Slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen, slap on a hat, seek shade or shelter, or slide on some sunnies (this reminder borrowed from Australia's sun protection campaign of the 1980s-90s). 2. Use SPF 15 or higher sunscreen whenever possible and remember to re-apply. The SPF (sun protection factor) number refers to how many times longer YOUR skin is protected from sunburn if using sunscreen. If you normally would take 10 minutes to burn without sunscreen but apply SPF 15, then it should take 150 minutes for you to develop a sunburn.  3. Drink water! The best way to avoid dehydration is to drink water. How can you tell if you're drinking enough? - check the color of your urine. If you use the bathroom every 3-4 hours and your urine is light yellow, you're well hydrated. If you go 6 hours without urinating or notice your urine is dark yellow/orange (or even brown), you are dehydrated. The darker color is from the minerals and cells that are getting flushed out of your body. 4. Avoid too many "dehydrating" fluids. Enjoy your iced coffee and enjoy alcohol responsibly. But know that caffeine and alcohol will actually dehydrate you by making you pee out more than you take in. Try to balance caffeine or alcoholic drinks with glasses of water.  5. After you park the car, everyone needs to get out, especially kids, pets and older adults. Even leaving a car window cracked open in the sun on 70-degree F days can still cause inside temperatures to rise above 120F within just a few minutes.
We hope you find these tips to be useful. If you have any questions on summer safety, do not hesitate to ask! You can email melaibecker@challiance.org.
|
CAMBRIDGE HEALTH ALLIANCE is a vital and innovative community health system that provides essential services to Cambridge, Somerville, and Boston's metro-north communities. It includes three hospital campuses, a network of primary care and specialty practices, and the Cambridge Public Health Dept. CHA is a Harvard Medical School Teaching Hospital and is also affiliated with Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, and Tufts University School of Medicine. For more information, visit www.challiance.org |
|
This newsletter provides general information for educational purposes only. The information provided in this newsletter, or through linkages to other sites, is not a substitute for medical or professional care, and you should not use the information in place of a visit, call consultation, or the advice of your physician or other healthcare provider. Thank you.
|
