Page 33 - Real Rochdale Issue 22 Summer 2024

A plague upon summer health negativity

Stack up the troubles and summer can sound Flaming dangerous
as bad for your health as winter: hay fever, Two other health risks are barbecues and
Home Demonstrations Available or visit our unit cancer… The list is a familiar one. anti-social behaviour.
dehydration, heat exhaustion, burns, skin

Make no bones about it, lighter, longer days
are better for you, as you move outside and Ill-cooked meat on the grill can result in
salmonella, and even flipping burgers and
exercise. It just takes a few precautions. throwing on more charcoal can be hazardous
when the person in charge is fuelled by
Keep the clobber on alcohol.

Wearing sun cream and proper clothing for Drink generally can be the demon in the
protection is as salient advice as it has ever summertime. All-day binges in the sun lead to
been. Being properly dressed, particularly dehydration, liver damage and poor choices.
when walking, also offers a shield against
insect bites and the lack of antibiotics to But overdoing the sauce is not the only
Unit 5, Paragon Industrial Estate, Littleborough, OL15 8QF treat them. You may think they are a given problem. Drugs taken at summer festivals
in summer, but bug bites can cause a wound and in the open, lead to a myriad of unfamiliar
that becomes seriously infected if the skin is behaviours, including, sadly, violence. Police
broken. forces across the country report peaks of
harm during the summer months, many
Global warming has created the perfect exacerbated by drink.
environment for an invading army of horse
flies. Certainly, the pudding has been over- Summer’s the time
egged with media images of vampire hoards
causing welts and swellings! For all the seasonal health problems summer
might summon, the ability to exercise and get
Without the medication to soothe infection, fit far outweighs its downsides.
the possibility of a small bite turning into a
deadly infection remains. Had we developed Post-Covid Britain is still experiencing a
new antibiotics and not seen them as a mental health crisis, but the power of light
panacea for everything, then this situation and sun can provoke happier, more hopeful
may not have occurred. emotions. It is arguably a time of reduced
stress as those fortunate enough to afford
Keep skin covered when rambling in the time in the sun do so.
countryside, particularly near water and in
long grass. As far as wellbeing is concerned, nothing is
finer than the lazy, hazy days of summer, and
That should include the feet by the way, as the power and light of the sun. Just treat it –
barefoot injuries increase once the heat rises. and yourself – with a little respect, that’s all.

ABOUT THE WRITER
Dr Anita Sharma is a published women’s health expert, the founder
of the charity Endometriosis Awareness North and the president
of the Rochdale Inner Wheel club.
As a GP, she previously coordinated the NHS pessary service for
Greater Manchester. She also works closely with Rochdale medics
to reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescribing.

REAL ROCHDALE - SUMMER 2024 32 33 REAL ROCHDALE - SUMMER 2024