The return of warmer temperatures brings thoughts of freedom, relaxation, and celebrations. Whether you're relaxing in the backyard, working in the garden, or getting ready for a July 4th fireworks spectacular, here are some ways to help keep you and your family healthy this summer.

Summertime Food Safety

Nothing says summer like picnics, grilling, and eating outdoors. To help prevent food poisoning from germs when preparing and eating foods outside, be sure to follow four food safety steps. Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill.

When grilling, always use a meat thermometer to ensure that meats reach the minimum internal cooking temperatures. Also, put cooked meat on a clean platter, rather than back on the one that held the raw meat, to avoid cross-contamination. Always wash your hands after handling raw foods of animal origin.

Fireworks Safety

Firecrackers and sparklers, lots of barbecue and grilled hamburgers and hot dogs are some of the ways we celebrate the holidays. Cautions about fireworks are always important, especially around celebrations and cookouts when most fireworks injuries occur.

Many communities have fireworks displays that are handled by professionals. Be safe. Avoid the common fireworks injuries; leave the fireworks to the professionals.

What kinds of injuries occur?

• The body parts most often injured were hands and fingers (1,400 injuries), eyes (1,000 injuries) and legs (900 injuries).


• More than half of the injuries were burns. Burns were the most common injury to all body parts except the eyes and head areas, where bruises, cuts and foreign bodies in the eye occurred more frequently.


• Fireworks can cause blindness, third degree burns and permanent scarring.


• Fireworks can also cause life-threatening home and motor vehicle fires

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What types of fireworks are associated with most injuries?

• Firecrackers, sparklers and rockets. Of the injuries associated with firecrackers, 500 involved small firecrackers.


• Between 2000 and 2005, more than one-third of the fireworks-related deaths involved professional devices that were illegally sold to consumers

Avoid Binge Drinking

During the Fourth of July weekend and other holidays, people tend to consume even higher quantities of alcohol, endangering themselves and others around them. Binge drinking is associated with many health problems, including

• Motor vehicle crashes.
• Drowning.
• Interpersonal violence.
• Unintended pregnancy.
• High blood pressure, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases.
• Sexual dysfunction.
• Poor control of diabetes.

In addition to the problems mentioned above, youth who binge drink may experience

• Sexual assaults.
• School, social, and legal problems.
• Memory problems.
• Changes in brain development.
• Increased risk of alcohol problems.

Don't spend the weekend in the emergency room as a result of binge drinking. Celebrate the holiday by keeping your family healthy and safe.

Beware of Bugs

Warmer temperatures aren't just attractive to people. Mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, and other insects thrive in warmer weather, and they can transmit West Nile virus, Lyme disease and other illnesses.

Using an appropriate insect repellent and applying it properly allows you to continue to play and work outdoors with a reduced risk of mosquito and tick bites. Prime mosquito-biting hours are usually dusk to dawn, but mosquitoes can bite at any time. Pay special attention to protection during these hours, or avoid being outdoors.

Young ticks are so small that they can be difficult to see, but both young and adult ticks hungrily look for animals, and sometimes people, to bite. To protect yourself from tick bites, avoid tick-infested areas (especially places with leaf-litter and high grasses), wear light-colored clothing so you can see ticks crawling on you and use repellent containing DEET.

After you have been outside, check your body, your clothing, your children and your pets for ticks. Here's how to check for ticks, how to remove them from your clothes and how to remove them from skin safely if they've already bitten… getting the whole tick, not just the body! Consult your healthcare provider if you become ill in the one to three weeks following a bite.

Around the Yard

In the yard, remove any items that may collect standing water, such as buckets, old tires and toys. Mosquitoes can breed in them in just days.

You can reduce the number of ticks around your home by removing leaf litter, brush, and woodpiles around your house and at the edge of your yard. By clearing trees and brush in your yard, you can reduce the likelihood that deer, rodents, and ticks will live there. Replace or repair torn window screens to keep bugs out of the house.

Resources

• The Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
• West Nile Virus
• Food Safety

Washtenaw County Public Health wishes you a healthy, happy and safe Fourth of July holiday. We can be reached at 734-544-6700