Stay Healthy in Michigan: Defeating the Top 5 Summer Illnesses

Missing even just a moment of Michigan's summer is a gut punch, especially for kids trying to enjoy every second of their 3-month liberty. A sunny, warm day without the ability to jump into a lake, sprinkler, pool, or pond is something no one should have to deal with. Here are Michigan's 5 Most Common Summer Illnesses and how to prevent and treat them.

Michigan Heat Stroke Cause and Prevention

Heat stroke is when the body heats up and can't cool down. Symptoms of heat stroke, according to the Mayo Clinic, are:

1. Body core temperature over 104 F
2. Altered mental state or behavior
3. Alteration in sweating
4. Nausea and vomiting
5. Flushed skin
6. Headache
7. Rapid breathing
8. Racing Heartrate

This often happens when people engage in intense manual labor or other physically exerting activities in the hottest part of the afternoon and fail to consume enough water.

Related: Michigan's Hottest, Coldest, Deepest, and Wettest Weather Extremes

To keep from overheating, the most important thing is to hydrate. It's also important to try and accomplish any outdoor tasks early in the day to avoid the heat if possible. Did I mention you need to hydrate? Hydrate.

Michigan Sunburn Cause and Treatment

This is one of the most easily avoidable summer ailments, sunburn. Every outing needs sunblock and the right SPF for you. Often times Michiganders will see cloud cover and skip the sun prevention, this can be a hot mess. UV rays can still penetrate clouds and cause sunburns, so never skip sunscreen.

Related: Eat Up! Michigan Agrees That These Don't Count on Vacation!

Here are some home remedies and treatments for sunburn from HealthLine.com:

1. Cool water
   1. bath
   2. ice bath
2. Baking soda and oatmeal
   1. add some heaping tablespoons of baking soda along with oatmeal to a bathtub full of cold water
3. Aloe vera
   1. try keeping some in the refrigerator
4. Chamomile tea
   1. Brew it and then let it cool
      1. soak a washcloth in the tea and apply it to soothe sunburn
5. Hydrate
   1. your skin needs moisture to heal
6. Moisturize

Michigan Lyme Disease Prevention

Michigan has beautiful slices of nature throughout the state to explore, but taking care to avoid ticks is essential to avoid contracting Lyme Disease. Ticks are blood-sucking little vampire bugs that carry a slew of diseases, like Lyme disease and ehrlichiosis.

Get our free mobile app

Keeping ticks and Lyme disease at bay can be done with the following steps, provided by Fox News:

1. Wear insect repellent
2. Wear protective clothing
3. Check yourself thoroughly for ticks after outdoor activities

Following these tips should help you from becoming a buffet for ticks.

Michigan Food Poisoning Symptoms and Prevention

Along with summer outings come barbeques, picnics, and the likelihood you could get or give someone food poisoning. Bacteria grow on food and will do so faster when left out in the heat. Here are the symptoms of food poisoning from the CDC:

1. Diarrhea
2. Stomach pain
3. Fever
4. Nausea
5. Vomiting

This is the full house of summer ailments, which combines 5 very nasty symptoms that could last just a few hours or a few days. To avoid poisoning or being poisoned leave any meat or seafood in the fridge or put it on ice in the cooler. Make sure the meat you are consuming and serving is at the correct temperature and clean your food prep area often.

Michigan Swimmers Ear Symptoms and Prevention

An ear ailment is never fun. Not only do they hurt, but they can keep you out of the water for weeks, and with Michigan's limited days of summer, you can't afford to lose a second. Swimmers ear, according to Johns Hopkins is:

Swimmer's ear (otitis externa) is a redness or swelling (inflammation), irritation, or infection of your outer ear canal. The ear canal is a tube that goes from the opening of the ear to the eardrum. When water stays in your ear canal, germs can grow. This is a painful condition that often happens to children, and to swimmers of all ages. It does not spread from person to person.

To avoid swimmers' ear take the following steps:

• Keep your ears as dry as possible.
• Use earplugs when you are swimming or showering.
• Don’t scratch or clean your ear canal with cotton swabs, your fingers, or other objects.

To dry your ears well after swimming or showering, try these tips:

• Tilt your head to each side to help drain water out of your ears.
• With your ear facing down, pull your earlobe in different directions. This will help drain water out.
• Gently dry your ears with the edge of a towel.
• Use a hair dryer on the lowest or coolest setting to gently dry your ears. Hold the dryer at least 12 inches from your head. Wave the dryer slowly back and forth. Don't hold it still.

There aren't many effective home remedies for swimmers ear and it can last between 7 and 10 days. That's way too long to be on the bench in summer! See a doctor for treatment and they may prescribe eardrops to reduce swelling and kill bacteria, pain medication, and keeping your ear as dry as possible.