How to stay safe on the beach

Many of you have already booked or will be booking beach holidays for the summer. For the vast majority, everything will fine and you’ll come back relaxed and ready to go. We’ve all seen the seaside rescue programmes on TV though and they act as a reminder that the beach and the sea do present some dangers. Here’s a guide how to how to stay safe. Most of it is common sense, but these things need to be said.

Avoid sunburn

No amount of information about the dangers of over-exposure to the sun seems to prevent us from flocking to the beach to fry all day long and come away looking like a ripe lobster (I know, lobsters can’t be ripe, but you get the image). Sitting on the beach all day is fine, but protect yourself from UVA and UVB rays with factor 20+ water-proof sunblock. Avoid the sun at the warmest times of the day between 11 and 3. Believe me, even at 4 in the afternoon, a beach on the Mediterranean can be a pretty warm place. And don’t forget your hat (do I sound like your mother? Unfortunately she was right).

Stay sober

Drink plenty – of water. Alcohol dehydrates, impairs judgement, effects balance, coordination and reduces your body’s ability to stay warm. Drink as much booze as you like in the bar, on the beach, best stick to the non-alcoholic stuff – preferably water.

Stay cool

This means water again, drink it to avoid dehydration even if you don’t feel thirsty. Your body needs it to keep cool and to replace the salt it loses when you sweat. Watch out for signs of heat stroke, that’s life-threatening. Signs include hot, red and dry skin, rapid and weak pulse and rapid, shallow breathing. Move to a cooler place, cool the body down and seek medical help.

Swim in designated areas

Red and yellow flags are there for a reason. You’ll be no daredevil just because you flout danger by going swimming when the red flag is flying, you’ll be an idiot, drowned or both. Also, if you want to swim a long distance, swim parallel to the beach.

Stay clear of jellyfish

The big bad wolves of the beach. These little things are found in all seas across the world. Although the vast majority are not dangerous to humans (many of the dangerous ones live in off the Australian coast), their sting can be pretty painful in many cases. Clear the area of any remaining tentacles by scraping it with a sharp knife, a razor or even a credit card. To relieve the pain, vinegar generally works, or salt water if you haven’t got any. Don’t use fresh water if the sting occurred in the sea, it’ll only make it worse. Then get medical assistance as soon as possible.

Go with the wind

Lost children tend to take the course of least resistance – follow the wind to find your kid.

Tags: beach, health, jellyfish, sunburn, Travel Tips

This entry was posted on Friday, February 19th, 2010 at 4:05 pm and is filed under Travel Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.