SUMMER SAFETY
Be a water watcher: Designate an adult to actively watch children when they are in a pool or a lake. Take turns sharing the responsibility.
Wear a life jacket: Young or inexperienced swimmers should wear a life jacket when in the water. Everyone in a boat should wear a life jacket too.
Use window guards: Window screens will not stop someone from falling from a window. Use window guards to ensure that windows open no more than 4 inches.
Slow down when driving: Watch for children on residential streets, and around school buses, ice cream trucks, or other places children play.
Never let children play with fireworks: Sparklers and other fireworks can be hot enough to melt metal. Fireworks are the cause of life-threatening injuries and burns in children each year.
Never leave a child alone in a vehicle: In just 10 minutes, the inside of a vehicle can become so hot that it can be deadly.
Don’t let a tick make you sick
Ticks are small bugs that are related to spiders; they have 8 legs, but they do not spin webs. There are many kinds of ticks that can make you sick, but the most common tick in Illinois that can make you sick is the blacklegged tick (deer tick). They are so tiny they can be mistaken for a freckle or a speck of dirt on your skin. They live close to the ground where there is tall grass, shrubs, and leaves. You may come in contact with ticks when you are camping, hiking, fishing, mushroom hunting, or walking your dog. When you are outside, wear insect repellent that has DEET and stay out of wooded areas and places with tall grass and weeds where ticks live.
If you find a tick on you, it needs to be pulled off with tweezers and the area should be washed well. If symptoms such as headache, rash, sore muscles, or fatigue develop, your doctor should be contacted.