Men’s Summer Health and Safety Tips Men’s Summer Health and Safety Tips
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Summer is a great time to build up your fitness program, enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables, take a vacation, and have fun. It’s also a time to pay attention to your health and safety.

Males are at increased risk for some injuries and conditions. Motor vehicle traffic, poisonings, and falls are the leading causes of unintentional injury deaths for males.

Protect your health, prevent illness and injury, and prepare for possible emergencies and disasters. Below are tips to help you stay safe and healthy this summer and all year long.

Be water-savvy.
In 2004, males accounted for 78% of fatal unintentional drownings in the United States. Alcohol use is involved in about 25% to 50% of adolescent and adult deaths associated with water recreation.

Tips:
Learn how to swim. Never swim alone.
Wear your life jacket while boating.
Avoid alcoholic beverages while boating.
Watch children in and around water.
If you have a swimming pool at your home, install a four-sided isolation pool fence.
Boating Safety

Cruising Tips

Healthy Swimming

Water-Related Injuries.

Keep your cool in the sun.
Sun protection is important all year round, not just during the summer or at the beach. Take steps to help prevent skin cancer and other conditions.

Heat-related deaths and illness are preventable, yet many people succumb to extreme heat each year. Take steps to lower your risk for heat-related illness.

Tips:
When possible, avoid outdoor activities during midday, when the sun’s rays are strongest.
Cover up with clothing and a wide-brimmed hat to protect exposed skin.
Drink plenty of cool, non-alcoholic fluids.
Seek shade.
Wear sunscreen and lip screen with a sun protective factor (SPF) of 15 or higher. Remember to reapply it as needed.
Moving Outdoors

Protect Yourself from the Sun

Tips for Preventing Heat-Related Illness

Skin Cancer Prevention Questions and Answers

Working in Hot Environment.

Leave fireworks to the professionals.
Males represent 72% of all injuries from fireworks. About 45% of persons injured from fireworks are children age 14 years and younger. Injuries are most commonly associated with fire-crackers, rockets, and sparklers.

Tips:
Leave firework displays to trained professionals.
Never allow children to play with or ignite fireworks.
If using fireworks, have a fire extinguisher nearby in case of a fire.
Be sure other people are out of range before lighting fireworks.
Fireworks-Related Injuries Fact Sheet

Fire Deaths and Injuries: Prevention Tips

Spotlight on Injuries from Fireworks.

Be safe on the move.
In 2005, 38% of male drivers ages 15-20 who were involved in fatal crashes were speeding at the time of the crash, and 24% were drinking. Male high school students were more likely than female students to rarely or never wear seat belts. Males are about twice as likely as females to sustain a traumatic brain injury.

Drivers and passengers can cut their risk of dying in a crash by half simply by buckling up. Child safety seats reduce the risk of death in passenger cars by 71% for infants, and by 54% for toddlers ages 1 to 4 years. For children 4 to 7 years, booster seats reduce injury risk by 59% compared to safety belts alone.

Tips:
Wear a safety belt every time you drive or ride in a motor vehicle.
Buckle your child using a child safety seat, booster seat, or safety belt.
Never drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs or let someone drive who is.
Wear a helmet when riding a bike or motorcycle, skating, or playing in contact sports.
Child Passenger Safety

Heads Up: Concussion in High School Sports

Prevent Traumatic Brain Injury

Teen Drivers: Fact Sheet.

Fight the bite.
To lower your risk for West Nile Virus, avoid mosquito bites when you spend time outside working or playing. The risk of severe illness and death is highest for people over 50 years old, although people of all ages can become ill.

Tips:
Use mosquito repellent.
Install or repair window and door screens.
Eliminate mosquito breeding sites.
Fight the Bite: Avoid Mosquito Bites to Avoid Infection

Recommendations for Protecting Outdoor Workers from West Nile Virus Exposure.

Practice proper pet care.
Your relationship with your pet enriches your life. However, there are a few important tips to keep in mind when you own a pet. Some animals can carry germs that may be transmitted to people.

Tips:
Pick the right pet for your family.
Wash your hands thoroughly after petting your pet.
Get your pet early, regular, and life-long veterinary care.
Avoid ticks on dogs and cats.
Prevent rabies.
Teach children how to properly care for pets.
Spay and neuter your pets.
Keep wildlife wild.
Healthy Pets, Healthy People

Ten Tips for Responsible Pet Ownership.

Prevent sexually transmitted infections.
Sexually transmitted infections, including HIV and AIDS, remain a major challenge in the United States. In 2005, almost three quarters of HIV/AIDS diagnoses were for male adolescents and adults.

Tips:
The surest way to avoid transmission is to abstain from sexual intercourse.
Be in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and is known to be uninfected.
Use latex condoms. Latex condoms, when used consistently and correctly, can reduce the risk of transmission of certain diseases.
Get tested.
HIV/AIDS

Sexually Transmitted Disease.

Eat healthy and keep food safe.
Whether you plan to grill on the patio or picnic in the park, be sure to eat balanced meals with plenty of fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables have important vitamins, minerals, and fiber that may help protect you from some chronic diseases.

Foodborne disease is caused by consuming contaminated foods or beverages. An estimated 76 million cases of foodborne disease occur each year in the United States. Most of these cases are mild and cause symptoms for a day or two, but some cases are more serious and require hospitalization.

Tips:
Eat plenty fruits and vegetables daily.
Wash your hands before eating or preparing food.
Cook all foods to the proper temperatures.
Refrigerate foods promptly.
Handle and prepare food safely.
Clean Hands Save Lives

Grillin’ and Chillin’: Keeping Food Safe

Nutrition for Everyone

Fruits and Veggies Matter (fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov)

Be physically active.
The summer is a great time to play outdoor games, garden, or walk. Start a new routine that combines fun and physical activity. Active people are less likely than inactive people to be obese or to have high blood pressure, diabetes, osteoporosis, coronary artery disease and stroke, depression, colon cancer, and premature death.

Tips:
Adults should get 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity most, preferably all, days of the week.
Children and adolescents should participate in at least 60 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity most, preferably all, days of the week.
Start at an easy pace and increase time and distance gradually.
Don’t overdo it. Prevent injuries.
Energize Your Life

Heart Disease Prevention: What You Can Do

Be prepared.
Take steps to prepare yourself and your family for severe weather and natural disasters before they happen. Learn what to expect and how to cope and recover when disaster strikes.

Tips:
Make an emergency plan and stock supplies ahead of time. Review your options.
Learn about your community’s emergency plans, warning signals, evacuation routes, and locations of emergency shelters.
Identify potential home hazards and know how to secure or protect them before a disaster strikes.
Know beforehand what common reactions may occur to help your ability to cope. Accept your own reactions and those of people around you.
Locate and secure your important papers, including insurance policies, wills, licenses, passports, and birth certificates.