CBL Outdoor Safety Plan

MOSQUITOS

There are several steps you can take to protect yourself from mosquitoes this Summer. These include:

• Avoid areas of high mosquito infestation.
• Avoid unnecessary outdoor activities at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active.
• Wear light-colored clothing, long pants, long sleeve shirts and hat when outdoors.
• Use mosquito repellents according to package directions.

Maryland citizens are encouraged to take the following steps to control mosquito breeding around their homes:

• Clean rain gutters to allow water to flow freely.
• Remove old tires or drill drainage holes in tires used for playground equipment.
• Store plastic wading pools inside or turn them upside down when not in use.
• Turn over or remove clay pots and plastic containers.
• Dispose of all empty beverage containers, plastic wrappers, discarded toys, etc.
• Check for and eliminate trapped water in plastic or canvas tarps used to cover boats, pools, etc.
• Pump out bilges in boats. Turn canoes and small boats upside down for storage.
• Replace water in bird baths at least twice a week.
• Remove pet food and water dishes that are not being used.
• Don't leave garbage can lids lying upside down. Be sure water does not collect in the bottom of garbage cans.
• Flush water in the bottom of plant holders twice a week.
• Fix dripping outside water faucets.
• Turn wheelbarrows, wagons, and carts upside down when stored outside.
• Aerate ornamental pools and water gardens or stock them with fish. Use a circulating filter system.

SUNSCREEN

Skin cancer has become an emerging epidemic because its incidence has risen so dramatically over the last few decades, according to information provided by the American Cancer Society. Excessive exposure to sun is the biggest risk factor for the disease. In the 1930s, the lifetime risk of developing melanoma, the deadliest of all skin cancers, was 1 in 1,500. Today, the lifetime risk is 1 in 5! Incidence of melanoma continues to rise significantly, at a rate faster than any other of the seven most common cancers. Today the lifetime risk is about 2% for whites, 0.1% for blacks, and 0.5% for Hispanics. PLEASE USE YOUR SUN SCREEN

COMMON OUTDOOR HAZARDS

Whether you're on a crew that works out-of-doors or you just enjoy spending quality time with Mother Nature, the warmer months present some special safety considerations. Make sure you know how to handle a few of the most common outdoor hazards:

1. Bee Stings - A recent study published in the medical journal Lancet reveals that after a bee stings and flies away to die, the stinger keeps on pumping venom-apparently due to a valve mechanism that it has. What's the best method of getting the stinger off? Researchers let bees sting them 20 times (each) and then compared the "grab and yank" method to the "scrape it off " method (where you use a credit card or fingernail to remove the stinger).The only thing that mattered was how long the stinger was left in, not how it was removed. A stinger staying in eight seconds produced a welt one-third larger than a stinger staying in one second. The most important thing to do is get the stinger out quickly.

2. Tick Bites - A "bulls-eye " rash is NOT always the best indication of having been bitten by a tick infected with Lyme disease. Only 50% of light-skinned people get a rash. It is usually reddish on light skin and bruised-looking on darker skin. Some people get multiple rashes instead of the typical "bulls- eye" rash. Other symptoms include: joint swelling and pain, fever and flu-like symptoms, headaches, stiff neck, irregular heartbeats, eye infections, and vision problems. Because Lyme disease is potentially disabling or fatal, see a physician as soon as possible.

3. Red rash - If you have a rash of tiny red dots and your skin feels all "pins and needles," you're probably suffering from prickly heat, or heat rash. (Poison ivy is itchy, not prickly, and occurs in clusters of raised "bumps" where you contacted the plant.) Prickly heat occurs when the sweat ducts become plugged and sweat leaks into the skin instead of out of it. Remedies: Spend a day or two in AC, wear loose clothes, wash with mild soap, soothe with lotion, and use absorbent powders.

4. Sun sensitivity - Diabetes medications, antibiotics, and tranquilizers can all make you more sunsensitive. All of these (and even certain soaps and perfumes) can heighten skin's sensitivity to sun, so take extra precautions (cover up, use a good sunscreen) when going outside for any length of time.

5. Poisonous plants - You can't get poison oak, ivy, and sumac by touching the fluid from blisters caused by the poisonous plant. The fluid doesn't contain the oily resin (urushiol) of the poisonous plant. To prevent poison-plant rashes, try using one of the new lotions that stop the plants’ allergenic chemicals from being absorbed into the skin (such as Ivy Block or Work Shield).

6. Snake Bites - Of the 45,000 snake bites every year, fewer than one-sixth involve poisonous snakes-and those are mostly "dry bites" where the snake doesn't deposit any venom. If you get bitten by a snake stay calm, send someone else for help, and keep still, holding the bite area below heart level. Walk-don't runif you're alone. The more quickly you move, the more the venom spreads.