7 main dangers that lie in wait for us in May, and how to protect against them

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Keep this in mind when going to the park, on a picnic, or on a hike.

1. Ticks

These bloodsuckers become very active when warm days come. Please note: ticks can be picked up not only in the forest, but also in city parks and squares, even in the yard of your house.

They are not only unpleasant, but also dangerous: they are carriers of Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis. Complications of these diseases can be terrible, even paralysis.

What to do

1. Use a special anti-mite agent (mosquito repellent aerosols are generally not suitable). They need to process clothes around the waist, ankles, wrists, neck.
2. Go for a picnic fully armed: in clothes with long sleeves and trousers. Put a bandana or cap on your head. When you get home, undress in an empty bathtub: you will immediately see if a tick falls off you. Check carefully if insects have time to suck on you. If this happens, immediately go to the emergency room.
3. Remember: ticks do not jump from trees (as many people think). They live in grass, prefer damp places near water bodies, dense forests. Keep this in mind when choosing a place for picnics and walks.

2. Allergy

May is traditionally the peak of the spring hay fever season (pollen allergy). At this time, birch, hazel, ash and other "producers" of allergens bloom. Bottom line: instead of a pleasant outdoor recreation - watery and puffy eyes, runny nose and constant sneezing, dry cough, rash.

What to do

Use antihistamines. When going for a walk, it is best to avoid areas where sources of allergens grow.

3. Hypothermia

At the beginning of May, many decide to go to nature with an overnight stay in tents. But spring can be insidious and deceiving: the days are hot, the nights are cold. For inexperienced tourists, this can threaten hypothermia and troubles - for example, pneumonia.

What to do

Competently prepare for the night, be sure to take into account the advice of experienced ones. Better yet, wait for the multi-day hike until summer.

4. Hot sun

It is very easy to get burned in May. It seems as if in the last spring month the sun is not yet as "evil" as in summer. Therefore, if the weather permits, you can spend at least the whole day in the sun.

However, this is a mistake. Even if it's cool outside, owners of light (and not only) skin can get sunburned in a matter of minutes.

What to do

1. Use a protective cream with SPF from 35 already in the first sunny days of May.
2. Dose exposure to the open sun. An excess of sunlight can lower immunity. And this is fraught with serious illnesses: for example, in May and June there are many people who suffer from angina.
3. Exclude exposure to the open sun from 13:00 to 16:00 - during the hours when it is most dangerous. Or actively protect your skin at this time.

5. Poisonous snakes

At the May picnic, you can step on a snake: the reptiles crawl out to bask in the sun after hibernation. They can be overlooked in dense grass. Snakes usually do not attack people first. However, if the snake is stepped on, it may bite in response.

What to do

1. Be prepared for an unexpected meeting. Wear high boots or at least sneakers with jeans for a picnic or a walk. Look carefully at your feet.
2. If a snake has bitten you, do not overtighten the injured limb with a tourniquet. The main rule is to move the bitten place as little as possible. In this case, the poison will spread more slowly through the body.
3. Take the victim to the doctor as soon as possible. Sucking poison from a wound is usually pointless and even dangerous.
4. If it takes a long time to get to the hospital, the victim can be given an antihistamine (Zyrtek, Zodak). Most often, in response to a snake bite, a person develops anaphylactic shock.

6. Poisonous plants

In May, plants appear in the forest, which can spoil the health of those who pick them. The pleasant, but very strong aroma of lilies of the valley causes headaches for many. The most dangerous hogweed at the beginning of the month looks like a peaceful bush with carved leaves. If you pick them off, you can get the strongest photoburns (they are formed by the interaction of the hogweed juice on the skin and the sun's rays).

What to do

Do not pluck the plants. Liked the flower - just take a picture of it. It will be better for you and for nature itself.

7. Upset stomach

May picnics, long holidays - trouble for the stomach. Fatty food fried over a fire and drenched in a good dose of alcohol can cause digestive upset.

What to do

Know in every way. Learn to enjoy not quantity, but quality: in this case, the holidays will not turn into an unpleasant aftertaste for you.