Summer has arrived—and along with it all the hazards of the season: kids left alone in hot cars, children riding bikes, swimming and dehydration. The National Safe Kids Campaign site provides information and tips on summer safety. One of the prevailing problems in ERs every summer is young children dying after climbing in or being left in hot cars. General Motors and the National Safe Kids Campaign are distributing free brochures in English and Spanish that include safety tips and information about the dangers of leaving children unattended in vehicles. Ordering information for the brochures is listed. Statistical research from General Motors identifies by state where children have died and the ages of the children. A graphic shows the temperature outside vs. the temperature inside a parked car.

Protect your children

The American Academy of Pediatrics’ summer safety tips cover these categories: fun in the sun; heat stress in exercising children; and pool, boat, bug, playground, bicycle, skateboard and scooter, travel and lawn mower safety. Click on a topic for a printer-friendly page that can be forwarded to families, friends, patients or people with children.

Water, water everywhere

Whether in the ocean, lake, river or a pool, water safety information for each body of water is available online. An Australian site, Play it Safe by the Water, has great animation and an explanation of a rip current, along with instructions with what to do if you get caught in one.

Boat Smart! Boat Sober! by the Washington Boating Safety Officers Association provides alcohol and water safety information including such statistics as: More than 50 percent of boating accidents that result in death can be traced to alcohol impairment. The site breaks down boating fatalities by type of accident, such as capsizing or falling overboard.

Don’t bug me

In 2002, 4,156 cases of West Nile virus in the United States resulted in 284 deaths. The virus is slowly making its way westward across the country. To keep up with the latest statistics, surveillance, clinical and laboratory guidelines, education, training and infection prevention, visit the CDC West Nile Virus site. This page is updated frequently, providing everything you need to know about the virus, including a downloadable brochure and PowerPoint presentation.

Skin deep

Attention, sun worshipers: If you are looking for educational material on skin care, skincancer.dermis.net, hosted by the department of clinical and social medicine at the University of Heidelberg in Germany, provides general information about skin, its main functions and structure, along with information sheets on risk factors for skin cancer, how to prevent it, the different types of cancer and treatment. Preschool children can engage in a computer game in which they help Larry the Lizard pick out the items he will need to pack before he goes out to play in the sun.

MUSChealth.com, by the Medical University of South Carolina, offers an additional source for skin cancer information. A quiz gives you a score that gauges your risk of developing skin cancer. The site also has pictures of normal and abnormal moles.