For international students, summer marks a needed break from the several months of studying and going to class. It’s a great excuse to spend time outdoors with your friends and enjoy warm weather activities like swimming, hiking, picnicking, and camping.
Though summer does represent a time to be carefree, you should still be wary of your health and make sure you’re taking proper precautions to protect yourself. With this, we will explore some of the common illnesses and injuries to look out for and how you can keep yourself healthy this summer season.
Summer Illnesses to Avoid
Dehydration + Heat exhaustion
Spending time in the sun is expected for the summer season but it is best to know your limits as the sun is the root cause of two of the most common summer illnesses – dehydration and heat exhaustion.
Dehydration is obviously a large problem in hot weather due to excessive sweating and can cause fatigue, dizziness, confusion, and even unconsciousness. If you do want to schedule something like a hike or a day running around on the beach, it’s important to remember to pack plenty of water for yourself.
Heat exhaustion refers to when your body’s internal temperature gets too high and can lead to heatstroke, which is a life-threatening condition. To prevent this, it is essential to stay in a cool and shaded environment, wear loose-fitting clothes and give yourself time to rest if doing physical activity.
If you’re out in hot weather and begin to experience confusion, slurred speech, flushed skin, etc., then you may be suffering from heatstroke and should immediately seek emergency medical attention.
Sunburn
One of the other common drawbacks of spending time outside is sunburn. This is typically a more minor condition that can cause redness, pain, and blistering. However, severe cases can be extremely painful lead to fever, chills, and dehydration. Plus, overexposure to UV rays is a common cause of many types of skin cancer.
Sunburn is preventable by wearing protective clothing and using sunscreen with a high SPF (30 is the recommended minimum). Typically, if you get sunburnt, you do not need to seek medical treatment and can treat it by taking cool baths/showers, applying aloe to the affected areas, and take over the counter medications for pain relief such as Tylenol or Advil.
Respiratory conditions/allergies
Though Spring is the most notorious for seasonal allergies, the summer can be just as bad. Pollen counts are still high and there is more exposure to things such as ragweed and mold spores. If you commonly suffer from allergies, it’s best to make sure to stay stocked with any remedies that you use to assist you.
In addition, the warm weather causes humidity to increase and make air quality a lot more difficult to manage if you suffer from respiratory disorders such as asthma. It’s best advised to always keep a look out for air quality alerts and take precautions when there are alerts about it. On these days, minimize time spent outside and avoid physical activity, as it can lead complications.
Insect bites and stings
Insects like mosquitoes, ticks, and bees are common during the summer season so insect bites are a common occurrence. Bites can cause severe allergy flare-ups, infections, and diseases such as Lyme disease, West Nile virus, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Bugs are most likely to be found in grassy areas and places where there is an abundance of still water.
It is crucial to protect yourself from insect bites and stings by wearing long-sleeved shirts/pants when weather permits, using insect repellent, and checking yourself for ticks/other insects after spending time outside. Insect repellents can easily be found at local stores/pharmacies and there even some common home remedies such as lavender oil or lemon eucalyptus which you can use.
Food poisoning
Cookouts are common events during the summer and can be a lot of fun to hang out with friends and enjoy a meal with them. However, summer is the most popular season for food poisoning/stomach illnesses as it is easier for bacteria to grow.
To avoid this, make sure to always store food properly, wash your hands constantly and use an abundance of caution when preparing food for yourself/friends especially if you are doing so outside. Food poisoning typically lasts several days and can cause symptoms like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and fever so it’s best to avoid it at any costs.
Viral diseases
Though winter is commonly thought of the season of illness, the summer provides warm climate for an abundance of viral illnesses to multiply and spread. There tend to be spikes during the warmer weather months for illnesses such as measles, mumps and chickenpox – as well as the more common illnesses such as bronchitis and the flu.
Keep yourself healthy by treating summer as if it’s winter. Follow healthy eating habits, stay hydrated, maintain proper hygiene, and avoid close contact with others.
Importance of Insurance
With all the noted conditions floating around during the summer, it is as good a time as any to make sure you have a medical insurance. Many of the above conditions are minor and may not require medical treatment, but it’s still best not to run the risk. As stated, something as minor as a bug bite or sunburn can cause major consequences if left untreated.
Insurance is key for this as it will keep you protected against high medical costs in the event that you need emergency or ongoing treatments, which can add up to thousands of dollars. In addition, insurance can assist you in finding providers to make appointments with. This can help since summer (and more specifically August) is a very busy time of the year for medical providers.
ISO insurance provides plans that cover for injuries/illnesses for international students across the US. Get covered for anything medically necessary in treating any the above noted injuries/illnesses with the leading insurance plan for over 100,000+ international students. Review available plan options here!
