Summer Safety for Your Premature Baby

As parents of premature babies plan and enjoy vacations and summer activities, they should think about summer safety. It’s easy to keep premature babies and children happy and healthy by learning how to prevent and treat the most common summer health stresses.

Dehydration

Dehydration is a lack of water in the body. It can be caused by not drinking enough fluids or by losing fluids from heat, sweating, vomiting, diarrhea, or fever. Mild dehydration is easy to treat, but severe, untreated dehydration is a medical emergency.

Heat Stroke and Heat Illness

Heat illness is a range of conditions caused by heat. Heat stroke, a medical emergency, is the most serious of the heat illnesses. Heat exhaustion, heat cramps, and heat stress are also types of heat illness.

Swimming Safely

Water safety tips and preventing water-borne illness are both important parts of swimming safely. About.com’s Guide to Pediatrics shares swimming safety tips.

Sun Safety

Here's some sun safety advice from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Information about sun safety for the entire family is included, as well as information about using sunscreen on babies.