Summertime is for outdoor cookouts, family gatherings and exercise.

Monday, June 11, 2001

Summertime is for outdoor cookouts, family gatherings and exercise.

Summertime also is the time for sunburns, bug bites and overexerting oneself.

Common sense tells us to use sunscreen, wear light-colored clothing and long pants in tick-infested areas and exercise moderately. Still even by using precautions, one still can get burnt by the sun, bit by a bug and overexert one’s body.

Sunburn is an ailment to avoid, besides hurting, long-term damage can be done to skin in the way of skin cancer or melanoma. Avoid sun burn by staying out of the sun when it is highest in the sky, between the hours of noon and 3 p.m. If you must be outdoors, wear at least an SPF 15 sunscreen on exposed skin. Wearing light-colored clothing deflects the sun away and helps keep the body cool. Wearing a wide hat is a must for protection from the wind and sun.

There are a number of salves and ointments for sunburn. Calendula ointment is one of the best for burns. It is available at health food stores. Calendula is a yellow pot marigold and is easy to grow. A tea made from calendula and sprayed on the burn, after the tea has cooled is very soothing. Almost any yellow flower made into tea and sprayed on sunburn brings relief. Dandelion and golden rod are two yellow flowers when made into a tea, offer relief from a burn. Lavender oil rubbed on burns is very popular in England and is a staple in medicine cabinets.

Getting bit by mosquitoes is nearly impossible to avoid during the summer especially when in wooded and shaded areas. One of the best ways to keep mosquitoes at bay is to stay downwind where the mosquitoes will be blown away. If mosquitoes are a problem around your home, chances are very good they are breeding within a few yards of where you are being bitten. Inspect the area around your property and vacant lots. Old tires and similar water-holding objects behind garages and service stations are frequent mosquito sources. You should empty standing water in birdbaths and wading pools, cut old tires in half, and check to see whether your roof gutters are clogged. Look in tree holes, stumps and any place water might be standing. Even the smallest amount of water in a watering can or an old saucer used for pet feeding can be a source of a surprisingly large amount of mosquitoes. Not even the tiniest amount of water should be allowed to collect.

The best means of protecting yourself from mosquitoes in the house is using screens on the windows. If you are sleeping under the stars, to avoid being bothered by mosquitoes, place mosquito netting around your cot or sleeping bag. Netting is available in surplus stores and from recreational equipment suppliers.

Taking garlic supplements or eating garlic will lessen your chances of being bit by mosquitoes. Citronella candles kept burning around the area where you are staying outdoors keeps mosquitoes away. Some natural insect repellents to use are citronella oil mixed with cooking oil and spread on skin. Pennyroyal tea mixed with a drop of eucalyptus oil also can be applied to the skin as an insect repellent. To reduce pain and swelling use aloe vera gel. garlic oil, calendula tincture, baking soda and water, honey, plantain tea, or safflower oil.

Gnats can be an annoying menace. Dryer sheets placed on the neck keeps the gnats away.

Protecting your self from ticks is something people are more aware of nowadays because of Lyme disease. If you are going to be in areas where ticks are prevalent, tucking your trouser legs into your socks makes a continuous "seal" that prevents ticks from reaching your skin. Wearing light-colored socks and pants enables you to spot and remove ticks as they crawl up the outside of your clothing. To avoid getting bit by a tick, stay clear of narrow animal trails where you cannot avoid brushing against vegetation. Check your clothing immediately if you do walk through vegetation. Avoid brush or trash piles that are likely to harbor rodents. Don’t sit or lie on the ground where ticks might be. If ticks are abundant where you are, treat your clothing with a repellent or insecticide. Treat clothing from the ground to the hips. A few repellents for treating clothes are DEET, indalone, dimethyl carbate, benzyl benzoate and M-160. They are sold in pharmacies and sporting good stores under various trade names as sprays and liquid solutions.

To remove a tick, put a drop or two of heavy oil, gasoline, or turpentine on the tick and the surrounding skin about 30 minutes before you intend to remove it; this will loose its grasp. Then with clean fingernails or a tweezer, grasp the body of the tick and slowly pull it while turning counter-clockwise (it is believed the that they burrow in by turning themselves clockwise, like a screw). Destroy the tick, wash the area with soap and water, and apply an antiseptic, such as apple cider vinegar, to prevent infection.

Plants can cause irritation, too. Stinging nettle is very common. Usually growing next to nettles is dock and its leaves can be crushed and the juice applied to the skin to remove the sting of the nettle. A paste made from baking soak and water works to remove the sting, too.

Poison ivy and poison oak are two plants a person really wants to stay away from. The first thing to do if you are in contact with these plants is to wash off the plant’s oil from your skin. Chop equal parts of comfrey and plantain leaves into fine pieces and then place them in a mortar and pestle to release the juices. Apply to the itchy area. This draws out the poisons and prevents them from spreading.

Another remedy to try is bring one quart of water to a boil, add half a cup of white oak bark, and simmer for twenty minutes. Strain. Add the liquid to the bath. Soak in the tub for at least 20 minutes, being sure to submerge all the infected parts. You should feel relief after the first bath. Repeat the next day. The condition should be cleared within two or three days.

Mixing baking soda with water to form a paste and applied to skin offers some relief from poison oak and poison ivy.

Keep your wits about you this summer to avoid accidents. Drink plenty of fluids so as not to overheat and don’t panic when mishaps occur, they are just a part of being alive.

Call Sheila Donnelly at 434-2214 or e-mail her at newsroom@austindailyherald.com.