Highlights | Stay safe during warm-weather activities
- Summer is trauma season.
- Being planful can help you stay safe while enjoying warm-weather activities.
- Wear helmets, don’t drink and drive, share your plans, and stay hydrated.
The increase in life-altering injuries between Memorial Day and Labor Day led to a new name for summer for healthcare providers: Trauma Season.
UW Medicine trauma teams treat many of the injuries resulting from warm-weather activities. We asked UW Medicine trauma nurses their top tips for a safe and fun summer.
Bring a helmet — and wear it
Kathryn Black, RN, BSN, CCRN, a nurse in the Trauma Surgical Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Harborview Medical Center, and several of her colleagues shared their best safety tips to avoid injury during trauma season.
What topped their list of advice? Protect yourself from injury when riding bikes, scooters and e-bikes. First and foremost, the nurses say, make sure you wear a helmet.
“It is so easy to fall and suffer a concussion or worse,” Black says.
Be responsible with alcohol
Black’s colleagues also emphasized the importance of staying safe while driving in any motorized vehicle. If you’re planning to consume alcohol, plan for a designated driver or ride-share service. This removes any temptation to drive.
Kara Perez, RN, Trauma Surgical ICU at Harborview, agrees and takes it a step further. She has a list of many things to avoid while drinking alcohol.
“Using a ladder, riding motorcycles, cutting down a tree, operating farm equipment, riding ATVs or jet skis, you name it,” Perez says. “Doing these things while under the influence could cause serious harm.”
And remember that alcoholic beverages are dehydrating. Be sure to drink one eight-ounce glass of water for every alcoholic beverage.
Make a plan and share it
Krista Christian, RN, RNC-NIC, CFRN, a flight nurse in Arlington — one of Airlift Northwest’s busiest trauma bases — says preparation and vigilance make a difference for safety when traveling, hiking, climbing or enjoying long days outside.
“When on a trip, share a detailed travel plan with those closest to you,” says Christian. “Then others can find you if you need to be reached or become unable to communicate.”
Don’t forget snacks, water and sunscreen
Christian says no matter the length of your trip, travel with water and snacks to keep hydrated and energized. And, she says, don’t forget your sunscreen.
Also, know the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke so that you can both take care of yourself and your friends and family.
And if you’re going swimming, swim where you are supervised by a lifeguard and keep an eye on your small children.
Thinking ahead means staying safe
“Preparation requires you to think ahead and be ready for the unexpected,” Christian says. “This will go a long way toward keeping you safe — and out of our helicopters and hospitals.”
For more tips on being weather aware during the summer, refer to these resources (AMC sign-in required) from the UW Medicine Emergency Preparedness team.
