More than 700,000 new cases of skin cancer are found each year, according the health department, and because of the reduction in the ozone layer, the levels of ultraviolet light are higher than they were 50 years ago. While you may just feel a little warm and red after a day at the beach, sunburns can vary from mild redness to extensive blistering equivalent of second-degree burns, Kinzelman said. In rare cases, hospitalization is necessary. But sometimes, the trouble is the heat. Heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke are serious and dangerous summer injuries that anyone going into the sun for an extended period of time needs to caution against.
Heat cramps are muscle spasms caused by excessive loss of salt during perspiration.
According to the health department, drinking two 10-gram salt tablets of salt dissolved in a quart of water will alleviate symptoms. The patient should drink as much of the water as possible slowly over 30 minutes. Excessive perspiration, low blood pressure, headache, dizziness, drowsiness, lack of coordination, weakness and occasional vomiting are all symptoms of heat exhaustion. If heat exhaustion occurs, the patient should be moved to a cool place and his feet should be elevated, and the person should drink saltwater. Heat stroke may occur suddenly as the patient collapses and loses consciousness before going into convulsions.