Joining us at this time we have Dr. Jason Geiger who is with SSM health ripping community hospitals emergency department morning
Morning, how are you doing?
Great?
Fantastic day weather wise I know technically it's not summer yet, but it's a summer-ish day and Today we're going to talk a little bit about summer safety.
Um, maybe we can start with
Travel and traffic safety.
Oh, what kind of risks should we avoid?
Definitely.
Yeah, one avoid especially on longer trips during the summer vacations and things like that fall in the sleep at the wheel.
So make sure you're well rested and if you're going to drive long distances, take breaks.
It's good to get out and stretch the legs too to prevent blood clots in your legs if you're driving for
More than three or four hours straight you want to make sure you're stretching your legs out and then always wearing your seat belt of course That's probably one of the main things Every time make sure you wear your seat belt it makes a big difference and we definitely see that in the ER People are wearing their seat belts even in high-speed collisions a lot of times will walk out of the ER the same day if they're not Yeah, it can go pretty bad.
So definitely wear your seat belt
Drive sober
Oh, yes, and yes, that's of course one of the main things too, yeah.
Drinking and driving, still an issue, even though everyone's heard the message a million times, it still happens, you know, every summer especially.
Drive sober, make sure you have a designated driver, and if you're at all questionable or drinking, just make the right decision and don't drive.
Save us, save yourself, you know.
And unless it stands free put the phone down, right?
So
yes.
Yes.
Also.
Yeah texting and driving is yeah, I think more and more of an issue Yeah, then it used to be so yeah, that's definitely a big concern too always.
Yeah, make sure you're focused on the road and not what's next to you Especially your phone, you know
Also during the summer a lot of folks have spent time on the water or in the water.
What advice do you have for us doc?
Oh, yeah, so yeah, we see water injuries Occasionally during the summer and usually it's due to small children Sometimes adults too if they've been drinking so definitely again Hackel seems to Cross over in a lot of these issues during the summer, but don't drink and swim
bad idea we see that sometimes where you think you're invincible and you get alcohol in your system and next thing you know you can't make it back to shore and drowning can happen very quickly so don't drink and swim or be in the water and get on kids make sure they're wearing life jackets keep an eye on them especially around pools it's good to have a water watch or someone who's kind of designated to keep an eye out on the pool because it only takes a few seconds and small child can
fall in and get water in their lungs and before you know it yeah there's a drowning which happens every year on the country quite a bit so yeah keeping an eye on young young kids are on the pool for sure and then learning CPR is important I think for anyone who wants to be a first responder help out it can make a big difference especially with drownings knowing CPR so if you have the time want to try that take a class that'd be great
We had our first 90 degree day the other day and what should people know about heat related illnesses?
Oh, yeah, we've had some good weather early on a little warmer than we're used to but yeah, definitely Heat exhaustion and heat stroke or something to watch out for heat exhaustion is when you're overheated sweaty feeling sometimes run down nauseous, but still alert and awake and
That's the step before you get the heat stroke.
Heat stroke is, your temperature is usually over 104.
You're confused, not making sense, and you stop sweating.
So if you see anybody's outside and overdoing it and they're not sweating and they're real red and hot and seem confused, that's a reason to call 911.
It's not just a simple heat exhaustion where you can cool them down.
You want to start cooling them down, but you want to call 911.
That happens sometimes with football players, especially in the early practices in August overdoing it not used to the heat and It can be pretty serious.
So otherwise, yeah staying in the shade Taking breaks drinking plenty of fluids electrolyte solutions to so you replace those electrolytes When you're sweaty and where it's on screen.
It's always a good idea
All right, and typically you shouldn't leave kids or pets in vehicles, right?
Yeah, definitely that does happen sometimes Yeah, people think they're just Gonna run in quick and before you know it it can it can heat up in the car pretty fast But just don't do it at all.
Yep.
Don't eat your pets or the kids in the car especially in the summer It's dangerous
Well, what types of injuries do you commonly see outdoors?
Oh We see in the summer I think more
recreational vehicle injuries of course more UTV or dirt bike injuries so make sure if you're riding you have your seatbelt on and UTV and driving safely and again don't drive impaired make sure you're not drinking alcohol and handling recreational vehicles you might think you can handle it but we see that quite a bit especially in the summertime and the injuries can be pretty catastrophic so even if you're only going
20 30 miles an hour.
Yeah, you can still Get pretty seriously injured so injured so take take precautions wear your seatbelt wear a helmet and Other injuries.
Yeah, we see gas grills be careful lighting grills and fire pits and on fires Drinking around those two.
I think that happens at least twice the summer where someone falls into a fire pit and gets a pretty significant burn so
avoid drinking next to a bonfire and just fire safety, being careful around fires and young kids too especially.
They can wander away quickly and get burned.
We're coming up on the 4th of July, not too far down the line than fireworks.
What types of injuries do you see from the use of fireworks?
Oh yeah, there could be some pretty gory ones sometimes.
You've got to be careful with fireworks especially.
the larger ones, not something you want to launch yourself.
You should leave that to the experts usually and stay away from them.
If you are going to light them, get back in plain distance.
And if it's not lighting, don't try to relight it.
Those duds that you think are duds suddenly will explode.
And yeah, we see some hand injuries, especially during the firework season.
And that causes life-long damage a lot of times, or you lose fingers.
Don't take it for granted, the power of a firework and fires too.
They can set fires and even sparklers.
The temperature gets extremely hot with sparklers so you can get some third degree burns of kids that grab in the end of a sparkler, even though they seem benign.
So just something to keep an eye on your kids and make sure they're safe around even though simple fireworks.
And those sparklers reach fantastic temperatures.
Unbelievable.
So.
Yeah, I can almost melt metal.
They get so hot, you know.
But yeah, something to watch out for for sure.
You touched upon this one a little bit already, the use of alcohol.
Do you have any more advice about that?
Just that the alcohol definitely impair your thinking.
So even if you're pretty sure you're making good decisions, you might not be.
Like I said, don't get in a car and drive.
Don't get in the UTV or other vehicles.
If you're drinking, it's just not worth the risk.
And that's probably one of the most common injuries we see.
And also it can lead to dehydration.
You might not realize it, but yeah, just drinking alcohol and not enough other fluids, you can get overheated pretty quickly too if you're out and about.
So that's another thing to watch out for.
And yeah, if you're going to drink, drink responsibly.
Don't always drink Wisconsinbly.
if you're going to do other things like swimming or riding ATVs and things like that.
Impaired judgment can lead to bad decisions, right?
Yeah, it does all the time, even when people are... I think they're being careful.
That's one of the most common things we see in the ER, so that'd be nice.
Everyone can have fun in the summer, but don't overdo it.
Take care and be safe.
Alright lastly we want to ask you when should you call 911?
Oh
yeah 911 for summer you know heat exhaustion like I said is just overheating you can just get in a cool spot and drink fluids and put the ice packs on and try to cool off if you're sweaty and just feeling tired if you're confused at all or stop sweating or
You know severely overheated make sure you call 911 right away.
That is emergency and then also chest pain if you're Having chest pressure making a short of breath.
That's a reason numbness tingling weakness in an arm or leg can be a sign of a stroke Make sure you call 911.
Those are things you don't want to wait on Because they say sometimes time is brain and time is heart so get in the ER quickly to get treated for those is important
And yeah, we're always there for any other bird injuries.
If you're concerned about a significant burn, you can come to the ER if it's a serious burden, call 911.
Dr. Geiger, thank you for joining us this morning.
Appreciate your time.
Thank you.
Have a good summer.
Take care.
You too.
That is Dr. Jason Geiger of SSM Health Ripping Community Hospitals Emergency Department.