SAMPLE. Summer Savvy. or To order, call How to stay healthy, safe and productive all summer long

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1 Summer Savvy How to stay healthy, safe and productive all summer long

2 2 Are you summer safe & savvy? Summer is the perfect time to focus on your health and wellbeing lots of fresh air, fresh food and down time with family and friends. Yet summer in Australia is also a time of serious health risks. Too many summers have been ruined by road accidents, skin cancer, heat stress, dehydration and alcohol misuse. No matter whether you re an indoor or outdoor worker, there are specific precautions you must take to stay safe and healthy over summer. You should know how to read the UV index, for example; or how many alcohol drinks you can safely have per day, or per hour if you re driving; how to stay safe on the roads in holiday traffic; how much water you need to replace lost fluids in hot weather; and even how to deal with spider or snake bites. This booklet gives you the information and strategies you need to stay safe, healthy and well throughout summer. water road safety spiders bees BAC driving sunburn sunscreen alcohol Enjoy the fruits of summer, literally! Seasonal summer fruit is full of vitamins, minerals, fibre and low GI energy, and will help keep you hydrated. Summer health risks bites skin cancer cool ultraviolet ticks stings fluids heat stress snakes UV drink SPF 50+ heat stroke dehydration

3 Know your UV Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is produced by the sun. You can t see or feel it, but UV rays are there every day, even on cooler days. Australia has some of the highest levels of UV radiation in the world. Unprotected exposure to UV radiation injures the cells in the skin layers and can cause: sunburn damage to the skin that builds up over time and can lead to skin cancer eye damage and serious eye conditions, such as cataracts. UV radiation can damage any type of skin, including olive skin. The damage is permanent and builds up with every exposure, increasing your risk of skin cancer. However, some people are at higher risk, such as people who have lots of moles, or those who have fair skin that burns easily. How to use the UV Index The level of UV varies from day to day. The UV Index shows the hours when the UV radiation levels will be high enough to cause skin damage. Always protect your skin when the UV index is 3 or above. The higher the UV Index, the more you need to protect your skin from the sun. Check the UV Index every day so you know if you need to take extra precautions. The Australian Bureau of Meterology provides a UV Index Forecast each day. It s included in weather forecasts on the news, or check One in two people who have lived in Australia since birth will develop some form of skin cancer, and 1700 people die from skin cancer each year. Skin cancer can result from cumulative exposure to the sun, not just sunburn. Squamous cell carcinoma is a skin cancer caused predominantly by years of being outdoors. UV Index 11+ Extreme 8,9,10 Very High 6,7 High 3,4,5 Moderate 1,2 Low Sun protection is generally not needed unless outside for extended periods 5 ways to protect yourself 30 + Slip on sun-protective clothing Slop on SPF30+ sunscreen. Reapply every 2 hours Slap on a broad brimmed hat Seek shade Slide on wrap-around sunglasses 3

4 4 Protect with sunscreen Sunscreen has a chemical barrier that either absorbs UV rays or reflects them away from your body. Even if you re only planning to be in direct sunlight for a few minutes, you should apply sunscreen every day. What sort: Make sure your sunscreen says broad spectrum. This protects against both UVA and UVB radiation. Use at least SPF30+, and ideally SPF50+ sunscreen. Clouds don t act as sunscreen. Up to 80 per cent of the sun's radiation still gets through cloud cover. Beyond sunscreen Make sunscreen part of your daily morning routine. Put sunscreen next to the toothpaste to remind you to protect your skin throughout the day. Sunscreen alone will not protect you from the sun's damaging UV rays. Wherever possible, stay in the shade - under trees or a shadecloth. The right clothing, hat and sunglasses are also essential. Wear a broad-brimmed hat that protects your face, neck and ears. If this doesn t suit When driving for long the work or activity you re doing, opt for a distances, keep your Legionnaire-style cap with a flap at the back windows up. Even clear and sides. If you use a hard hat or helmet, wear car glass has a protection an attachable flap. factor of about SPF 13, with Wear close-fitting, wrap-around sunglasses window tints offering higher to protect your eyes. Look for sunglasses that protection. meet the Australian Standard (AS 1067:2003). How much: Most people don t use enough sunscreen. You need about half a teaspoon for the face, neck and ears, a teaspoon for each arm and leg, and a teaspoon each for the front and back of the body. When: Apply sunscreen 20 minutes before going outside and then every two hours, more often if you re sweating. How: Don t rub sunscreen in, a light film should stay visible on your skin. Don t forget your lips protect them with a lip balm containing SPF30+ or 50+ sunscreen.

5 Reduce heat stress Heat stress occurs if your body isn t able to cool itself adequately. Sweating is your body s natural cooling mechanism, but sometimes this isn t enough, and the body overheats. This overheating can happen for various reasons, such as drinking insufficient fluids, not being used to the heat, inappropriate clothing and poor physical condition. Heat stress can result in heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Heat stroke This is a life-threatening condition that occurs when a person becomes dehydrated and their body s core temperature rises above 40.5ºC. The symptoms include throbbing headache, slurred speech, chills and hallucinations. The person may stagger, appear confused, have a fit, or become unconscious. Heat exhaustion This is a serious illness that can develop into heat stroke. Signs include pale and clammy skin, heavy sweating, dizziness, muscle cramps, rapid heart rate, nausea and vomiting. Heat cramps Muscle cramps can occur when you sweat a lot during strenuous activity. The sweating depletes the salt and moisture content in your body. Heat stroke mainly affects people over 50, but can also occur in healthy young athletes. What to do If you have symptoms of heat illness, rest in a cool place, remove outer clothing and drink cool (not cold) water. Seek medical advice if you don t feel better. For heat stroke, call 000, remove clothing, apply wet cloths and fan continuously. How to prevent heat-related illness If you are not used to hot conditions, allow yourself seven to 10 days to acclimatise before doing strenuous activities outdoors. Reduce the impact of the heat by replacing lost fluid every 15 to 20 minutes in very hot conditions. Stay in the shade wherever possible, particularly in the middle of the day. When you re active in the heat, take a rest break every 30 minutes. Schedule heavy work for early morning or late afternoon. Wear loose, cotton clothing. 5

6 6 Stay hydrated Dehydration is the major cause of heat-related illnesses. It occurs when the water content of the body is too low. This can happen if you get hot, then sweat to cool down, but then don t drink enough to replace the fluid lost in sweat. If you work in a hot environment and do heavy physical work, you need to be especially aware of the signs of dehydration. Early symptoms of dehydration include: headache fatigue irritability loss of appetite flushed skin heat intolerance light-headedness dry mouth and eyes a burning sensation in the stomach. How to prevent dehydration Drink small amounts often it s better to drink a glass of water every minutes than a litre all at once every hour. Drink more if your urine is dark coloured. Water is best, although the occasional sports drink or diluted juice is good too. High protein diets often contain less fluid. If you re on a high protein diet, make sure you drink extra water. Water makes up 83% of your blood, 76% of your muscles, 75% of your brain, and even 25% of your bones. In a healthy adult weighing about 65kg, about two thirds of that weight is water. It s a myth that you need to drink eight glasses of water a day. The Kidney Foundation says there is no rule for how much you should drink. The amount of fluid you need depends on your size, activity level and the weather so drink enough to satisfy your thirst.

7 Hydration tips Drink water or diluted juice first thing in the morning, as you ve had no fluids for many hours. Have a glass of water with each meal. Sip from a glass of water on your desk if you work in an air-conditioned or hot environment. Liven up plain water with a dash of lemon, lime, or orange juice, by mixing it two parts to one with apple juice, or with a little cold tea. Food counts too The average sedentary man requires about 2.9L of fluid a day. The average sedentary woman requires about 2.2L. At least one third of this requirement will come from food, particularly fruit and vegetables, but also drier foods such as bread, and cheese. Drinking doesn t mean drinking Alcohol is a strong diuretic, and will dehydrate you. For every one gram (around 1ml) of pure alcohol you drink, you ll lose 10ml of water in urine. So, if you drink a 125ml glass of wine, which is around 12.5% alcohol, you ll lose 150ml of water, which creates an overall fluid loss in your body. Sports drinks can be useful if you re dehydrated. They provide rapid replacement of fluid and electrolytes lost during exercise or hard physical labour. Choose one that s not too high in sugar, as sugar can increase dehydration. Remember that sports drinks should not replace water, but supplement it. Make your own rehydration solution by mixing 1 cup apple juice, 3 cups water, ½ tsp salt. 7

8 Manage your alcohol Australians drink more alcohol over summer than any other time of year. It s a combination of hot weather, and all those Christmas and New Years celebrations. When used sensibly alcohol can add to the enjoyment of celebrating, relaxing and socialising. Unfortunately, misuse of alcohol can lead to accidents, violence, injury and even death. The effects of alcohol on your mental ability Alcohol is a depressant on your nervous system and mental functions. Alcohol will: slow down your reactions reduce your ability to judge speed and distance affect your judgment of how fit you are to drive make you sleepy and affect your balance increase other risk taking behaviour. Facts: Drink driving contributes to over 30% of fatal road crashes. Drivers with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.05 are twice as likely to have a crash as before they started drinking. Drivers with a BAC of 0.08 are five times more likely to have a crash. The effects of alcohol on your driving ability An alcohol blood limit of:.05 = double the crash risk.08 = 7 times the crash risk.15 = 25 times the crash risk What is a standard drink? = = = = = Standard Drink 8 LIGHT BEER ORDINARY BEER WINE SPIRITS PORT/SHERRY 1 schooner - 425mls 1 middie - 285mls 1 glass - 100ml 1 nip 30ml 1 glass - 60ml 2.7% alcohol 4.9% alcohol 12% alcohol 40% alcohol 20% alcohol

9 Think about the drink 1. A drink helps you to relax True - alcohol is a depressant and slows down your body's functions. 2. My car insurance is adequate to cover me if I crash while drunk False - if you are charged with a PCA (prescribed content of alcohol) your insurance will be invalid. 3. If I feel sober I'm OK to drive False - tolerance, or your ability to hold your alcohol does not affect your blood alcohol content (BAC). You could still be over the limit even though you feel OK. Try to keep a track of the number of standard drinks you ve had. 4. I'm OK to drive the morning after I've had a big night out False - alcohol is removed from the body very slowly, about one drink per hour. So even after a few hours sleep your BAC could still be too high. 5. Having a few cups of coffee will sober me up False - the only thing that will sober you up is time. 6. Red wine is good for your heart True - but the recommended quantity is one standard glass only per day: that s 100ml. More than that and it starts to have a negative effect! What is a safe alcohol level? There is no universal safe level of drinking. There are many who can't drink even small amounts with complete safety. Such as pregnant women, people with high blood pressure, those with liver problems and those who intend to drive machinery. The National Health & Medical Research Council states the following quantities can be consumed without causing a health risk: Men: up to four standard drinks a day with at least two alcohol free days per week Women: up to two standard drinks per day with at least two alcohol free days per week. You can t save up your drinks for a Saturday night. It s your daily total that counts, not weekly or monthly. How long does it take my body to remove the alcohol? It takes the liver about one hour to cleanse the blood of one glass of wine or one middie of beer. To stay within the legal limit, men can have up to two drinks in the first hour then one drink per hour; while women can have up to one drink in the first hour then one per hour. 9

10 10 Survive the drive The holiday road toll is more than a number: it s a serious danger to anyone who s in a car over the summer. Here s how you can keep yourself and your loved ones safe on the road this summer. Don t speed, ever Research has shown that travelling just five kilometres above the limit in a 60km/h zone is an equivalent risk to driving with a blood alcohol count of 0.05, doubling your chance of having a crash that injures someone. Whatever the speed limit, you should slow down further in certain driving conditions, such as: 1. During adverse weather such as heavy rain, snow, smoke or fog. 2. When driving on dirt or gravel roads the road holding is reduced, and you need to increase the distance between you and the vehicle in front. 3. When it rains after a dry spell the streets don t offer much grip. Adjust to wet road conditions by slowing down, braking and accelerating gently, and increasing your stopping distance. Stop, revive, survive You may not always know if you re too tired, but a good rule of thumb is that if you ve been awake for 17 hours or more, don t drive. The risk of crashing is as great as being over-thelimit with a blood alcohol count of 0.05, and increases with each subsequent hour of sleep deprivation. A person using a hand-held or hands-free mobile phone while driving is four times more likely to have a serious crash. Keep enough stopping distance When driving at 60km/h it takes an alert motorist about 46 metres to perceive, react, and brake to a stop on a dry road, or 55 metres on a wet road. Any decrease in driver alertness, or increase in distractions, and this distance increases by about 50 per cent. Always stay at least 50 metres behind the vehicle in front of you when driving at 60km/h. You should double this distance when: descending a steep hill the road is slippery or wet towing a trailer. Never use a hand-held phone It s illegal in all Australian states and territories to use a hand-held mobile phone for any purpose - including texting - while driving, or even while stationary (such as waiting at traffic lights). To estimate the distance on an open road, count to three after the vehicle in front of you passes a fixed object. You can accurately calculate the three second gap by counting 1001, 1002, Your vehicle should reach the same object three seconds later.

11 Prevent and treat bites and stings Summertime is prime time for creepy crawlies, and those bites and stings can vary from mildly annoying to life threatening. Here s how to deal with the serious ones. Snake and spider bites How to avoid them If you're in the bush, or long grass, protect yourself from snakes with long pants and leather boots. Avoid stepping or reaching into areas you can't see, such as logs, rocks, or piles of leaves, dark crevices, and the backs of cupboards. If you must go there, wear protective boots and/or thick gloves. What to do if you re bitten For snake bites and funnel-web spider bites: treat with pressure immobilisation to stop the spread of venom. Apply pressure by firmly wrapping a compression bandage in a spiral fashion, starting from the bite site, then extending up the affected limb (not so tight that it cuts off circulation). Immobilise the limb by attaching a splint. The victim should then be transported to a medical facility, preferably by ambulance. Always wear shoes when outdoors in summer. Bare feet are prime sites for insect stings. Never cut the skin or try to suck out the venom. For all other bites and stings (including red back spiders): treat using a cold pack to reduce local pain. Do not bandage the site with a tourniquet. For bee stings: scrape off the sting with a sideways motion, using a finger nail or blunt knife don t try to pull the sting out. For ticks: although tiny, ticks have poisonous saliva, so you need to remove them quickly. Lift ticks out by the shoulders using tweezers or scissors. Don t squeeze the tick s body, and don t try to kill it with kerosene or alcohol, because it can react by injecting more poison. 11

12 Summer Savvy Checklist Before you leave the house, have you: Applied sunscreen? Put on a widebrimmed hat? Dressed in cool, loose long sleeved tops and long pants? Found your sunnies? Filled your water bottles? When out in the sun, are you: Taking frequent breaks? Doing strenuous activity in the shade, or in the cool of the early morning & evening? Drinking water frequently? Keeping an eye on signs of heat stress? When driving, are you: Watching your stopping distance? Increasing your distance in the wet and on dirt or gravel roads? Abstaining from alcohol? When drinking alcohol, are you: Sticking to your safe daily total? Sticking to standard drink quantities? When in bushland, are you: Wearing long pants and closed shoes? Wearing insect repellant? Healthworks 2013 All rights reserved. Tel: booklets@healthworks.com.au Editor: Kylie Singh For other booklets in the series check out The information published in this booklet does not provide medical advice for individual problems. Contact your GP or health care professional with any health concerns. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be re-sold, reproduced or copied in any form.