To prevent children from being burned at cookouts, establish a “circle of safety” or a “forbidden zone” around cooking grills and campfires. Draw the line in the ground (literally, if possible) or delineate the area in some other way. 
Even though such burns are preventable with reasonable precautions, each year more than 3,000 American children experience [...]

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Tags: barbecues, burns, campfire safety, campfires, campgrounds, children, circle of safety, coals, cooking grills, cookout-related burns, cookouts, grills, kids, kids campfire, Kids Travel Doc, kids travel doctor, marshmellows

Picnics/Food safety/Kids
According to the dictionary, a “picnic” is a relaxed, pleasurable event, often family-oriented, at which meals are eaten outdoors, preferably in idyllic surroundings.
The meaning of the phrase “It’s no picnic” is a non-pleasurable event. (Perhaps, referring to becoming ill from eating spoiled food at a picnic?)  According to the Centers for Disease Control, meals [...]

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Tags: bacteria, food preparation, food safety, gastrointestnal illness, irradiated food, kids, kids health, kids travel, Kids Travel Doc, kids travel doctor, kidstraveldoc.com, non-refrigerated, picnic basket, picnics, safety

Make sure that your kids drink safe water when attending camp, traveling, hiking, camping and picnicking, says the American Academy of Pediatrics. Such summer activities often expose kids (and you) to facilities where well water is used.
 
Here is what you should know:
 
1. Many rural wells are private (as opposed to municipal) and more [...]

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Tags: camping, drinking fountains, drinking water, gatroenteritis, heavy rains, hiking, municipal wells, pollutants, public water systems, rural wells, water-borne, water-borne organismsm, waterborne, waterborne illness, well water

1. Monitor the U.S. State Department advisories on violence. 
These are the most authoritative reports on the subject. Popular resorts that cater to foreigners appear to be safer than cities near the U.S. border.  For the latest information, see: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_3028.html  
 
2. Update your vaccinations.
Hepatitis A vaccine, for example, was recently added to the list [...]

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Tags: food, Mexico, Spring Break, water

Hi Kids! Good news regarding what’s good for you to eat on days when you spend time outdoors in cold weather. Tell your parents that there’s no need to make you eat yucky oatmeal or other ugh-tasting stuff while denying you a measly piece of candy, which is what you really want. Tell them that [...]

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Tags: cold, Cold weather, fever, fluids, heat production, snow, trail mix, winter

Children old enough to brush their own teeth may be exposing themselves to diarrheal illnesses via their toothbrushes, especially when traveling in areas where such illnesses are common.
Here is the theory:
Children often place their toothbrushes on sink counter surfaces when finishing brushing, or in the middle of brushing if something more interesting catches their attention.
Sink [...]

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Tags: Diarrhea

When you travel, drinking lots of water helps you stay fit – as long as the water is fit to drink. Being well hydrated helps counteract some of the vagaries of travel: fatigue and jet lag, altitude, and hot and cold environments, to mention a few. Minimal dehydration occurs even before you feel thirsty, subtly [...]

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Tags: Airplane, Altitude, Cruise ships, Dehydration, Diabetes, Fatigue, Heart problems, Immune problems, Intestinal illnesses, Jet lag, Kidney problems, Pregnant, Third world

1. Wash your hands frequently and before you eat.
While this is hardly breaking news, compliance remains poor. Proper hand hygiene (it’s no longer called hand washing) interrupts transmission of most diarrhea-causing micro-organisms. Such organisms abound in areas of poor sanitation. You acquire organisms via your hands, by touching doorknobs and money, and by shaking people’s [...]

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Tags: Diarrhea, Intestinal illnesses, Respiratory infections, Third world, Tropics