Essential Health Tips for Kids' Wellbeing During Summer
Keep your kids cool and healthy this summer with a Mediclinic Al Sufouh Paediatrician's top tips
23 June 2023
Clarice
Don't let illnesses get in the way of your child's summer fun!
"In an era of iPads and mobiles, where children are encouraged to play outdoors, summer can be stressful for many children in the UAE," said Dr. Arun Jayaraman, Consultant Paediatrician at Mediclinic Al Sufouh.
When health professionals and parents give contradictory information to limit outdoor activities in summer, children may get confused.
So, it is important to still encourage outdoor activities in summer in a safe way and reduce the risk of injuries and illness due to sun exposure.
To safeguard children during outdoor activities in summer, the following precautions have to be taken:
1.) Maintaining Your Kid's Hydration
Keep children well-hydrated by encouraging them to consume more fluids in different ways. It is easy to say this but difficult to practice.
Tips include reminding children to drink water in sips and making it easily available. Encourage drinking water as a play activity, and you can try infused waters like cucumber, orange, or lemon-flavored water.
Also, encourage children to drink other fluids like homemade sugar-free fresh fruit juices, lemonade, or oral rehydration solution. Water content-rich fruits like watermelon should also be encouraged during summer, while the intake of carbonated drinks should be limited.
Keep children well-hydrated by encouraging them to consume more fluids in different ways. It is easy to say this but difficult to practice.
Tips include reminding children to drink water in sips and making it easily available. Encourage drinking water as a play activity, and you can try infused waters like cucumber, orange, or lemon-flavored water.
Also, encourage children to drink other fluids like homemade sugar-free fresh fruit juices, lemonade, or an oral rehydration solution.
Water content-rich fruits like watermelon should also be encouraged during summer, while the intake of carbonated drinks should be limited.
2.) Protect Your Child's Skin From the Sun
Protect vulnerable skin in children with good sun-protective creams with an SPF of at least 30. Apply them frequently if the exposure is prolonged.
Also, use good moisturizers to avoid drying as well as sweat-related rashes.
Encourage loose cotton clothes, sunglasses, and caps during outdoor activities, and avoid overclothing the children. Since swimming is a common outdoor activity during summer, make sure to apply a thick layer of moisturizer before swimming sessions.
After swimming, encourage a quick warm bath, pat dry, and apply a thick layer of moisturizer again. Avoid prolonged baths in hot water to prevent dryness.
3.) Keep an Eye on Summer-Related Health Issues
Heat-related minor health issues include heat rash, which can be treated by avoiding sweating, wearing light clothes, and using some antihistamines to reduce itching.
Heat exhaustion and heat syncope, which can lead to dizziness and sometimes fainting, should be treated by shifting the child to a cool environment and giving fluids to rehydrate.
Heat exhaustion can sometimes lead to more severe forms of illness like heat stroke, which can be identified by alterations in the child's mental status, fast breathing, signs of severe dehydration, and lower blood pressure. This requires immediate medical attention, so it is important to seek medical help in such situations.
Viral summer illnesses like certain types of flu and enterovirus-related stomach infections are also common during summer, and they can be prevented by general measures like avoiding close contact with sick people, limiting activities in crowded areas, and maintaining good hand hygiene.
"Though many of us may already have knowledge of the above facts, the practical problem lies in implementing them," said Dr. Arun.
He added: "My strong advice to parents is to be role models for their children by practicing the above principles and setting the right example themselves.."
Authored by Dr. Arun Jayaraman.
Dr. Arun Jayaraman
Consultant Paediatrician
Mediclinic Al Sufouh
