I am an Emergency Room RN in a beach town. Every summer our beach town populations doubles and the ER fills up with many preventable accidents. For many people visiting a beach town means fun in the sun and drinking alcohol, others may go fishing or swimming for the first time in the ocean currents. The fact is, many summertime beach activities involve some element of hazard. Many people come to our ER and look like lobsters, or have hooks in parts of their bodies intended for the fish.

Many of the calamities suffered by the summer crowd are avoided with a little common sense.

Alcohol-combined with sun:

The amount of cold refreshing alcohol that you drink when you are out in the hot sun can get out of control. Many of the broken bones and lacerations from shells or boat propellers occur to intoxicated people. Not to mention drownings. The sober person unfamiliar with rip currents is at risk on the wrong day for swimming. But the heavily intoxicated stoked to be swimming at the beach swimmer may not even understand the risk before diving in.

Also remember that as you drink and stand in the sun you are becoming increasingly dehydrated.

Drowning

The ocean can pose a serious drowning danger for those that are accustomed to only swimming in pools. Many beaches in the USA have a flag warning system. Do not swim on red flag days and take yellow flag days with caution. Also, If you do get caught in a riptide, then ride it out instead of fighting it and wearing yourself out. Children need to be in life jackets when on board boats. Many of the rescues that we see in my ER involve a unattended child slipping off the boat with out a life jacket on, then the parents jump in after and can also be at risk. A good rule to follow is to wear a life jacket if you don't know how to swim and put one on your children under 16 even if they do know how to swim.

Fishing-related injuries

If you are going fishing you are probably going drinking. Just like a night out on the town, it's good judgement to have a DD in the crowd. Also, try to become familiar with the equipment and casting before cracking open that beer.

Sunburn

Bronzing your skin is so 1990's. Wear sunscreen people. Sun screen and wide brim hats. Then you wont look like such a kook at the club later.

We do care for a lot of dehydration combined with blistering burns. To soothe skin, sit in a cool bath, apply aloe vera gel and take some ibuprofen to help relieve the pain and inflammation.