Contents
- 1 Children on vacation and jellyfish
- 2 children on holiday and sea urchins
- 3 Children on vacation and poisonous fish
- 4 Children on vacation and insects
Finally the warm season has arrived: the sun is high in the sky, the days are getting longer, children, even the smallest ones, can play outdoors, run on the lawns, kick the waves of the sea. Pure fun for them, partial relaxation for their parents. Yes, because behind the enchantment of summer, there are some pitfalls that can ruin such idyllic days for children on vacation. We are talking about jellyfish, bees, wasps, hedgehogs, various insects and, in the most serious cases, poisonous fish.
The close encounters that children may have with these animals should not always be evaluated as extremely dangerous; rather, it is a question of annoying and painful situations that must be learned to prevent or, if necessary, to treat with fast and effective maneuvers.
Children on vacation and jellyfish
All of us, in the course of our lives, have had at least once an unpleasant encounter with jellyfish and if an adult already cannot bear that burning caused by contact with the stinging vesicles located in the tentacles, let's imagine what a child with skin still can feel. tender and soft. The part "touched" by the liquid that comes out of the vesicles burns like crazy. The skin turns red. In severe cases, severe nausea, vomiting, dizziness, muscle spasms may occur.
What to do? First of all, do not panic: out of the water, you have to check that there are no residues of the jellyfish left on the skin, if so, you have to remove them by rinsing the part with sea water to dilute the toxins. If you don't have the aluminum chloride astringent gel (essential to stop itching and the spread of toxins), you need to avoid do-it-yourself remedies.
For example, ammonia, in all its forms, to be effective should be applied at a temperature of at least 40 degrees, so it is better to avoid daring emergency pee or special sticks. To support it, several scholars who instead suggest, once at home, to apply a solution based on bicarbonate and water just as a disinfectant. And then use an aloe vera gel and a calendula cream, excellent natural remedies with healing, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory actions. On the contrary, avoid cortisone creams and cover the affected area with sterile gauze both to prevent sand from entering the painful area and to avoid exposure to sunlight. In severe cases, it's best to go to the nearest emergency room.
Children on holiday and sea urchins
It's clear: children on vacation love to run, splash around on the shoreline. It is their sacrosanct right but beware of shallow sea beds or close to rocks. It is there that you can "step on" the sea urchins whose quills are very very painful. If it happens, however, you have to extract the quills with tweezers or a needle (possibly after sterilizing them) and then clean the part with hydrogen peroxide. Bandage the foot after applying a specific ointment and prevent the little warrior from carrying the weight of the body on the part.
Also in this case, if the removal is complicated, it is better to contact the hospital doctors. A preventive strategy against sea urchin quills and to prevent unpleasant encounters in general is to have the little one wear rubber shoes or sandals suitable for the sea that protect the skin from bad encounters.
Children on vacation and poisonous fish
Furthermore, in the Mediterranean Sea there are also many poisonous fish such as redfish, spider fish, weever, stingrays. Their strength is the ability to blend into the sand or rocks in even very shallow waters. However, they are not aggressive fish, but it is better to avoid touching or disturbing them. The pain that follows a sting is excruciating. In these cases, it is better to contact doctors not only to avoid errors in extracting the spines that could break further and go even deeper, but also for having prescribed painkillers and antibiotics. The latter are necessary to avoid the risk of infection.
Children on vacation and insects
What to do instead when the bites to children on vacation come from the world of insects? To protect yourself from "air attacks" you must first activate physical barriers such as mosquito nets and suitable clothing. The stings of bees, wasps, hornets, mosquitoes, gadflies, fleas or ants, generally represent a danger only for those who are allergic to their poison; for others their bites are harmless but so annoying. However, great caution is always recommended for children.
What do the experts advise? As a first indication, especially if you are planning holidays in the open countryside or long walks during your free time, you should avoid clothing with particularly bright and bright colors. Better to wear clothes with long sleeves, long pants, socks and closed shoes. Likewise, it is not recommended to perfume yourself fully, especially with strong perfumes. Also use repellent products and, if the area is particularly infested, always keep insecticides at hand.
Never leave waste foods outside. Also, but this is common sense for adults and children, to avoid or be very careful when crossing places where harvesting or honey is produced, where in short there is the possibility of meeting bees, wasps and hornets nests.
Insects, by stinging, inject irritating substances present in the saliva; in some cases, the little ones become sensitized to one of these components and respond to the bite with an allergic reaction. In general, if the reaction is limited, it is sufficient to apply an anti-inflammatory cream (even non-steroidal). If the reaction is intense, cortisone creams to be used in the acute period are preferable (or even antihistamines in tablets, but in these cases it is always good to consult your doctor).
