Pharmacists urge families to take proactive steps now to safeguard family health for the new school year

Getting the family ready for the start of a new school year involves more than shopping for new clothes and buying school supplies. It’s a time to be proactive about health. Pharmacists are urging families to take the following proactive steps now to safeguard family health for the new school year.

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Did you know that the most harmful effects of sun exposure occur in early childhood? For this reason, and because up to 80 per cent of lifetime sun exposure takes place before age 18, it is very important to protect children from the sun’s harmful rays.

Here are a few helpful pointers for preventing sunburn and making sure that the joy of sunshine during the day doesn’t turn to the misery of sunburn later on.

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• Babies under a year old should be kept out of sunlight and protected by a sunshade and/or sun hat. If your baby is younger than six months old and still has small areas of skin, such as the face and ears, exposed, you can use a very small amount of sunscreen with a minimum SPF of 15 on those areas. Babies of six months and older should be protected with sunscreen specially formulated for a baby’s delicate skin.
• While you should always endeavour to keep your little one out of direct sunlight between the hours of 11 am and 4 pm, this isn’t always practical. So make sure that he or she wears a T-shirt and sun hat and that all areas of skin are well covered with a broad spectrum sunscreen of SPF 30 or higher. (Thin summer clothing often doesn’t screen out harmful UV rays, so play it safe and apply sunscreen underneath light shirts and pants.) The lighter the colour of clothing, the cooler and more reflective it will be. Since sunscreens lose their ability to block sunlight after a while, you should reapply sunscreen every two hours.
• Before going out in the sun, wait 15 minutes for the sunscreen to fully permeate the upper layers of skin.
• If your child is going to be swimming or playing in water, a waterproof sunscreen is a good idea, but remember to reapply it at regular intervals, and always after a dip.
• Always apply an SPF 30 lip balm to your child’s lips and reapply often.
• Be careful not to apply sunscreen too close to your child’s eyes as it may sting and burn.
• Teach by example. Explain why you are applying sunscreen to yourself and how important it is for your child to also be protected.
• Show your child how to seek shade—created by trees, buildings, porches, etc. and encourage her to seek it out. Explain that this is particularly important when her shadow is shorter than she is.

If your child has lighter colouring…

Children with red hair and freckles, who usually burn and do not easily tan when out in the sun, or those with blonde hair or several moles, are at greatest risk of sun damage and developing skin cancer later on in life.

It is therefore important to be especially vigilant if your child falls into any of these categories.

While it is relatively easy to make sure younger children are well protected with clothing and sunscreen, older children and teens are a different story. Despite all the warnings about tanning, these age groups tend to think they are invincible and many want to look tanned like their darker friends.

With older children and teens, education on the dangers of sunshine is key. Treatment for skin cancers can result in minor to significant scars, and both squamous cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma can be deadly. Show your older child images of these skin cancers and explain how she has a higher risk due to her paler skin and hair tone. You might also suggest that a self-tanner is in order.

People of all ages should check their skin from head-to-toe each month, paying careful attention to any suspicious growths and reporting these to a health professional.

Not just for the beach…

Most sun damage occurs as a result of incidental exposure during day-to-day activities, not from actually being at the beach or other place where you might expect your child to develop sunburn.

To avoid unexpected sunburns, explain to your child that the sun is sneaky! Over 80 per cent of UV rays are not filtered out by cloud cover, and some of the worst sunburns develop after an overcast day. This is particularly true for higher altitudes. Cycling or hiking in the hills for an afternoon can result in just as bad a burn as being exposed to a couple of hours’ UV light on a clear, sunny day.

Also teach your child to watch out for light reflected from sand, snow and concrete as up to 85 per cent of the sun’s burning UVB rays can bounce back at him.

Always wear sunglasses

The Canadian Paediatric Society recommends that children wear sunglasses providing 100 per cent UV protection. Wraparound styles are best.

Corneal burns can develop in as little as one day spent in the sun without the protection of sunglasses. Remember that reflecting sun adds to UV exposure. Cumulative exposure to UV light can lead to cataracts later in life.

London Drugs carries a number of sunglasses for children.

Dehydration—the term given to the depletion of water levels within the body—can make you feel rotten. It can also have a serious impact on the body, which cannot be reversed simply by drinking a glass or two of water.

Close to three-quarters of the human body consists of water. For the average adult, this amounts to about 12 gallons. Each day, we lose close to three litres of this water through breathing and perspiration. When the weather is hot, or during physical activity, we sweat more, making it doubly important to drink enough water to replace lost fluids.

Emergency staff in medical centres and hospitals are well aware of the importance of staying hydrated. As soon as the weather turns hot, emergency rooms fill up with adults and children who have become dehydrated. In almost all cases, the condition could have been prevented had the sufferer simply drunk enough water.

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Your vacation is a special time: a gift to yourself for working hard, a time to celebrate perhaps, or simply a part of your retirement lifestyle. Spending a good part of your holiday running to and from the washroom is not a good idea—nor is it necessary when a few simple precautions will prevent most bouts of travellers’ diarrhea.

More commonly known as turista, Montezuma’s revenge or Delhi belly, travellers’ diarrhea is a disorder of the digestive system caused by parasites or bacteria. These micro-organisms are ingested in contaminated water and other beverages, and foodstuffs. Although they usually do not affect the local population, whose systems have adapted to them, they can cause severe stomach upset, vomiting and diarrhea in visitors.

The risk of travellers’ diarrhea occurs worldwide but some destinations pose a higher risk than others. High risk destinations include developing countries in Central and South America, Mexico, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Moderate risk exists in Eastern Europe and some parts of the Caribbean.

While travellers’ diarrhea is most commonly experienced when travelling to foreign countries, it can also be picked up when travelling locally, and is particularly common among campers who have used stream or rainwater for drinking or cooking.

The condition can be caused by a number of micro-organisms including the bacteria E. coli, Salmonella, Shigella and Campylobacter; parasites such as Giardia, Cryptosporidium, and Cyclospora, and viruses including norovirus and rotavirus.

Recognizing the symptoms

Symptoms of travellers’ diarrhea vary depending on the particular micro-organism that has caused the illness.

In addition to loose, watery stools, symptoms usually include fever, nausea, vomiting, bloating, abdominal cramping and an urgent and/or frequent need to use the bathroom. (These are caused by the body attempting to rid itself of the pathogens.)

How to prevent it

Preventing travellers’ diarrhea means being vigilant. Here are a few pointers that should reduce your risk. Be sure to read through them before you leave and several times while you are away as they are easy to forget when you’re having fun.

• Remember to boil it, cook it, peel it or leave it.
• Always wash your hands before eating or preparing food.
• Carry alcohol-based hand sanitizer with you for use when soap and water aren’t available.
• Only eat foods that are well cooked and served hot. Avoid raw shellfish, food served at room temperature and salads that you have not prepared yourself using safe water.
• Eat fruits and vegetables only if you have washed them in safe water or peeled them yourself.
• Never consume foods or unsealed beverages bought from street vendors.
• Only drink water that has been boiled, disinfected, or is purchased in a commerciallysealed bottle.
• Remember to use ice made only from purified or disinfected water and always ask the server to omit ice if this is not assured.
• Always brush your teeth with purified or bottled water.
• Avoid unpasteurized dairy products and fruit juices.
• When swimming in pools, hot tubs, or showering, be careful not to swallow water, which may not be properly treated.
• The same preventive action should be followed on the flight home, which will be serviced by a foreign flight kitchen. Avoid salads and drinks containing water or ice cubes.

When to see a doctor

Generally, the symptoms of travellers’ diarrhea go away in a few days without treatment but, in severe and rare cases, the condition can lead to extreme dehydration, shock, coma, and even death. This is particularly true for children, the elderly and individuals with chronic diseases or weakened immune systems.

You should seek prompt medical attention if you have severe dehydration, persistent vomiting, bloody stools or a high fever, or if your symptoms last for more than a few days.

Always seek medical attention for a child if you notice the following: Persistent vomiting; bloody stools or severe diarrhea; a fever of 102° F (39° C) or more; dry mouth or lack of tears when crying; being unusually sleepy, drowsy or unresponsive, or if your child’s volume of urine is decreased (or you notice fewer wet diapers in infants).

What is MS

Canada has the highest rate of multiple sclerosis in the world. 100,000 people in Canada have MS, a chronic, often disabling disease of the central nervous system comprising the brain, spinal cord and optic nerve. It is one of the most common neurological diseases affecting young adults in Canada.

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Saturday, May 9 is National Prescription Drug Drop-off Day and London Drugs encourages Western Canadians to drop off their unused and expired prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications at their local London Drugs pharmacy on this day, and every day.London Drugs pharmacists have long recognized the importance of properly disposing of medications, needles and other medicine-related supplies. There are programs in place at London Drugs to cut down on environmental waste through the safe recycling of medication-related materials:

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It’s every traveller’s fear: Being on your dream vacation but unable to enjoy it because you’re stuck in the bathroom with a bad case of traveller’s diarrhea.

Most cases of traveller’s diarrhea can be traced back to drinking contaminated water. Hygiene standards vary across the world and, when you’re travelling, sometimes there’s just no way to know if the water is safe.

Sticking to bottled water is one option, but it might be hard to find in every location and it’s not the most environmentally-conscious option. Boiling water is another alternative, but it won’t remove all contaminants, and continuously having to create water-boiling stations can be inconvenient. That’s why travellers, especially those venturing to developing countries, need to think about their water purification needs.

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