As the hot Memorial Day weekend has shown us, Summer is officially here! Hopefully we are all starting off happy and healthy! As we all know summer can present us with health problems. Here are some prevention tips for common problems.
SUNBURN
There are numerous sunblock products available. The most common sunblock active ingredient is Titanium dioxide. For the immediate St. Louis area, we recommend at least a SPF 30 type. The most important thing to remember is to reapply every 1 1/2 to 2 hours. No product is truly waterproof. For sensitive skin Neutrogena products are excellent. If you are protecting an infant under 6 months you may not use the titanium containing products. Please search for a Zinc Oxide product. Shade and UV blocking swimsuits and swimshirts are also very effective. Also if you react to the titanium products, the zinc oxide products should work. Blue Lizard products from Australia use Zinc Oxide and are available at online stores. Coppertone for Sensitive Skin also uses Zinc Oxide.
MOSQUITOS
Mosquitos are common in the St. Louis area. Rarely do they carry disease although in the recent past the West Nile Virus which causes encephalitis has been found in the St. Louis area. Mosquitos like to feed from around 4pm til 11pm. There are many choices for mosquito repellents. For the young (less than 13 years) we do not recommend the use of DEET containing products. There are several non-DEET formulas. They generally use Citronella Oil, Eucalyptus Oil or Lemon Oil as the repellant. Common lotions are AVON Skin So Soft products and OFF Botanical Lotion and REPEL Lemon/Eucalyptus Oil Spray. These products work as well as DEET 25% solutions but need reapplication every 2 to 3 hours.
Have a safe and fun summer!
SUNBURN
There are numerous sunblock products available. The most common sunblock active ingredient is Titanium dioxide. For the immediate St. Louis area, we recommend at least a SPF 30 type. The most important thing to remember is to reapply every 1 1/2 to 2 hours. No product is truly waterproof. For sensitive skin Neutrogena products are excellent. If you are protecting an infant under 6 months you may not use the titanium containing products. Please search for a Zinc Oxide product. Shade and UV blocking swimsuits and swimshirts are also very effective. Also if you react to the titanium products, the zinc oxide products should work. Blue Lizard products from Australia use Zinc Oxide and are available at online stores. Coppertone for Sensitive Skin also uses Zinc Oxide.
MOSQUITOS
Mosquitos are common in the St. Louis area. Rarely do they carry disease although in the recent past the West Nile Virus which causes encephalitis has been found in the St. Louis area. Mosquitos like to feed from around 4pm til 11pm. There are many choices for mosquito repellents. For the young (less than 13 years) we do not recommend the use of DEET containing products. There are several non-DEET formulas. They generally use Citronella Oil, Eucalyptus Oil or Lemon Oil as the repellant. Common lotions are AVON Skin So Soft products and OFF Botanical Lotion and REPEL Lemon/Eucalyptus Oil Spray. These products work as well as DEET 25% solutions but need reapplication every 2 to 3 hours.
Have a safe and fun summer!
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