Dubai: This summer, make sure to keep yourself properly hydrated, get enough sleep, exercise and beware of accident risks children may be exposed to.
This forms part of the summer guide issued by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) Thursday — which includes general advice, information and guidance during summer.
Heat exhaustion, heat stroke, nutrition
The guide also aims to prevent various diseases and health problems associated with high temperatures during the summer season that pose a risk to public health if not handled properly.
The guide, now available on DHA’s website, provides several health guidelines, procedures for handling and preventing travel-related health problems, high temperatures, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and nutrition.
Fluids, sleep, exercise
It also deals with the importance of drinking fluids in the summer, healthy sleep, and exercise, and carries awareness materials about child domestic accidents, summer-related diseases, such as summer depression, seasonal emotional disorders, and others.
Dr Hend A Awadhi, head of the Health Promotion and Education section of the Public Health Department at DHA, stated the importance of the guide, which comes within the efforts made by the Authority and its continuous keenness to commit to raising awareness and strengthening the preventive aspect of community members with various potential health problems with the change of seasons, and the importance of adopting safety measures.
Dr Al Awadhi said that the guide focuses primarily on health problems associated with high temperatures and how to prevent them.
It focuses on ways to curb heat exhaustion, heat strokes, burns, skin cancers, and other damages caused by ultraviolet radiation to the body.
Mental health, child safety
The guide also touches upon mental health, summer depression, seasonal affective disorders, their symptoms, associated climatic factors, and how to deal with them to prevent and avoid their complications.
It also carries travel-related advice, health risks related to disease transmission, especially in risky destinations.
It stresses on the importance of visiting the travellers’ clinic before travelling and taking the necessary vaccinations for the travel destination.
Water
The guide focuses on the importance of drinking enough water during summer to prevent various diseases such as migraines, nosebleeds, depression, high blood pressure, asthma, dry cough, dry skin, and acne.
Furthermore, it focuses on the importance of sleep and healthy food to maintain general health, the role of sports and physical activity in preventing various diseases including cardiovascular diseases.
The guide provides tips and preventive measures for people with chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and respiratory disorders, and the importance of their regular visits to their doctors to maintain their health.
Children’s safety
An entire chapter is devoted for the health and safety of children during the summer vacation and the importance of encouraging them to practice various physical activities to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Additionally, it has provided many preventive guidelines related to domestic accidents such as poisoning with medicines, pesticides and detergents, door closure accidents, sharp tools, gas accidents, falls, suffocation due to foreign objects and drowning incidents.