Trips to the swimming pool, outdoor activities and people with too much free time all end up taking lives and causing injuries when summer temperatures soar.
This month is set to be the hottest June on record. Homicides are up compared with last June, a 6-year-old drowned last week at pool at a Northeast D.C. recreation center and Maryland and Virginia already have reported three heat-related deaths each.
“People shouldn’t underestimate the heat,” said Pierre Vigilance, director of the D.C. Department of Health. Drinking water, staying out of the sun and wearing light-colored clothing are the best ways to avoid heat-related illnesses, he said.
Young people are especially vulnerable in the summer — they’re more prone to both recreational and violent injuries.
Safety groups point to swimming as the greatest summer danger.
Supervising children while they are swimming and installing barriers around a pool are the biggest ways to prevent drowning, said Kim Dulic, spokeswoman for the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
In 90 percent of child drowning deaths, someone claims to have been supervising the child, said Chrissy Cianflone, director of programs for Safe Kids USA, a D.C.-based nonprofit that works to prevent child injuries.
But swimming isn’t the only activity that places children at risk in the summer.
Biking, rollerblading and skateboarding can lead to injuries, too. The most important safety measure, safety experts say, is wearing a helmet.
“A brain injury can happen even if a child is going at a slow pace,” Cianflone said.
Taking precautions — when both playing and relaxing in the sun — can prevent most injuries and illnesses.
“Summer is trauma season, and it doesn’t have to be,” Cianflone said.
mailto:[email protected] “>[email protected]
blockquote right> Facts and figures » June 24, 2010: Day record-high temperatures were set at all three area airports: 100 at National, 97 at Dulles and 100 at BWI
» 10: Number of consecutive days the temperature has surpassed 90 degrees from June 19 to June 28
» 17: Number of 90-degree days this June
» 89.8: Average high temperature for June 2010 (through June 28)
» 81.5: Average high temperature for June 2009
» 80.5: Average temperature for June 2010 (through June 28)
» 6.3: Degrees above normal for June 2010 average temperature
Source: National Weather Service
