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| Summer safety on the land
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Summer is a fantastic time in Australia. The weather, the holidays, the beach, the outdoor lifestyle that we all love so much.
However, summer in Australia has its fair share of hazards, more so than countries with a temperate climate, no hole in the ozone layer right over them and fewer venomous creepy crawlies.
Yes, pretty much everything that makes Australia great is also a little bit dangerous.
As with pretty much everything bad, small children are much more susceptible and at risk than adults, especially when it comes to sun stroke, heat stroke, drowning and dehydration.
A few key things to remember this summer.
Hydration, Hydration, Hydration
It is very important to keep your baby and young children hydrated through the hot summer months Dehydration can be deadly for young children. Much more than you may think, so look out for the warning signs:
- Unusual tiredness/lethargy
- Sunken and dark eyes
- Irritability or crying
- Fewer wet nappies than usual
- Hot and dry skin or looks pale
- Dry and coated-looking tongue and mouth
- High temperature
- Vomiting or diarrhoea
- Refusal to eat or drink
If you are worried that your child has one or more of these signs, take your child to a doctor or hospital immediately.
To avoid dehydration the best thing to do is increase breast feeding and drinking
- Breastfeeding – if you are breastfeeding, feed your baby more often. Have plenty of fluids yourself, including a cool drink at every feed.
- Bottle feeding – if you are bottle feeding, offer extra cool, boiled water after each bottle.
- Small children – give young children regular drinks during the day. Water is best. Juices and sugary drinks actually make them thirstier.
Don't overdo the sun & heat
Sun stroke and heat stroke can be deadly for children (and pets).
It is often better to stay indoors on a hot day. If you must go outside:
- Dress your child in light clothing and a well-fitting sun hat.
- Take plenty of water and offer it regularly.
- Stay in the shade.
- Let them sleep in the coolest room in the house.
- Don't leave babies to sleep in a pram – they can be hot and airless.
- Hang wet towels over chairs or windows to cool the air.
- Use fans, but not directed at the child.
- Cover mattresses and waterproof sheets with thick layers of cotton sheets to absorb perspiration and prevent prickly heat rash.
- Avoid using a pillow or mattress that your baby sinks down into.
- Put your baby to bed in just a nappy.
Apart from the dressing in hats bit, all these points apply to family pets too… you should always make sure that your pets are cool, have water and are NEVER left in a car.
Pets can die of sunstroke very quickly so in the heat of summer you should only walk them in early morning or evening once the heat has died down.
Cars can be deadly
Cars can turn into a furnace dangerously quickly. NEVER EVER, EVER leave your child or pet in a car, not even for a minute.
Avoid the car if you can on super hot days but if you have to travel:
- Try to make trips in the coolest part of the day.
- Keep the windows open while the car is moving or use the air conditioner.
- Use sunshades on windows.
- Remember that even in mild weather, cars quickly become too hot for small children and animals.
Spider bites
Children put their hands in everything; they love exploring and have an insatiable curiosity for the world around them. Children don't understand how dangerous spiders and inspects can be so it's important to keep vigilant when they're in the garden digging around.
Two places where spiders love to hide: cubby houses and sand pits, so regularly check and spray insecticide in cubby houses to keep insects and spiders at bay. Give sandpits the once-over and mix around regularly to ensure nothing has nested in there.
The main spiders to watch out for are funnel webs and red backs, but white tails can also be nasty and get into things like piles of linen and towels.
Symptoms of nasty spider bites are as follows:
- Pain at the bite site or radiating from the bite
- Tingling around the mouth
- Profuse sweating
- Copious secretions of saliva
- Abdominal pain
- Muscular twitching
- Breathing difficulty
- Confusion leading to unconsciousness
- Palpitations
Your child may not be able to tell you what sort of spider bit them.
The best thing you can do is keep them still to lessen the travel of any venom in the limbs, as calm as possible and call for emergency services immediately.
Children with red back or white tail bites can be moved and driven to hospital, but you should never move a child who has been bitten by a funnel web, so to be safe, just call 000 and wait for them to treat the child.
It's worth checking out some of the techniques and procedures here
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