Summer survival

The little Aussie Mozzie

Mozzies are a fact of life in Australia. They whine in your ear at night, sting with gusto and produce an itch that can send you troppo. If that were not enough, they are also disease carriers, most particularly of the Ross River virus (epidemic polyarthritis), Dengue Fever and Japanese B Encephalitis.

Simple prevention techniques include:

• wear loose fitting clothing covering as much of the body as possible.
• use an insect repellent containing DEET (Diethyl toluamide) or Picaridin – read the label instructions for adults and children before use.
• re-schedule outdoor play to earlier in the day when mosquitoes are less active.
• empty containers around your home or holiday site that collect or pool water – mozzies breed in still water (fresh and salty).
• screen all doors and windows; when camping use screened tents or burn mozzie coils if in an unscreened area.

How to Treat

Scratching the ‘itch’ out of mozzie bites can cause the site to bleed, leading to scabs and scarring. An old folk remedy is to make a cross in the top of the bite using a (clean) fingernail, which helps to alleviate the itching sensation.

More conventional methods include dabbing with calamine lotion or diluted tea tree oil, or using specially prepared anti-itch formulations.

Snakes Alive!

Of the ten most poisonous snakes in the world, Australia has all of them. The golden rule here is to leave snakes alone!

Most bites are accidental but many people get bitten because they want to take a closer look or try their hand at snake killing. Preventing snake bites is a matter of common sense.

Prevention

• Keep grass cut around your home. Snakes like to hide in thick brush and underneath old boards and debris.
• Wear shoes when outside and gloves when weeding.
• Wear loose fitting clothes and leather boots when exploring outdoors. Leather boots provide protection for the feet and ankles. Low cut shoes or sandals should never be worn in snake country, especially at night.
• Do not jump or step over logs, rocks, or shrubs. Walk around them instead. Be very careful when turning over logs, rocks or other large objects as a snake may be underneath.
• When walking in the bush, make plenty of noise, watch where you step, stay on paths or in clearings and avoid tall, grassy areas with heavy underbrush. Develop the habit of watching where you place your feet and hands.

How to Treat

All snake bites should be taken seriously.

• Immobilise the limb immediately, ie keep it still. A broad bandage should be applied over the whole bitten limb, at about the same pressure as for a sprained ankle.
• Don’t wash the bite area, suck the wound or apply a tourniquet.
• Get urgent medical help and bring the snake if it is dead – but don’t waste time, risk further bites or delay applying the pressure bandage by trying to kill the snake.

Give Ticks the Flick!

The family mutt is usually the target for ticks in summer time. But children and adults alike can fall victim to these small blood suckers when brushed on to feet or legs from grass. From there they crawl under clothing looking for the perfect spot to dig in.

Ticks can cause serious disease such as tick paralysis. There are sufficient cases in Australia involving children each year for parents to be aware of the effects of tick paralysis.

Symptoms include unsteady gait, weak limbs, headache, fever, flu-like symptoms, tenderness of the lymph nodes and partial facial paralysis.

Prevention

If visiting tick infested areas:

• wear light coloured clothing and long sleeved pants and shirts.
• tuck trousers into socks and use an insect repellent containing DEET or Picaridin.
• check the body, especially behind the ears and the back of the head.

How to Treat

• If you find a tick on your child, don’t touch or disturb it, or place a chemical such as methylated spirits onto it.
• Instead, spray with an aerosol insect repellent containing pyrethrin and remove using a pair of fine tweezers.
• Lever the tweezers as close to the skin surface as possible. Use a firm grip and pull the tick out without squeezing the body. Be certain to remove the head and mouthparts.

Treatment for tick bite is the same as for mosquitoes. Consult a doctor if there are any residual symptoms.

Baby, it’s way too hot!

Heat induced illness is a real threat in the Australian climate. Because of their smaller body size, babies and children can dehydrate far quicker than adults, as they have less of an ability to control their body’s temperature.

Serious illness or even death can result if a child’s temperature becomes dangerously high. There are many ways to help.

Prevention

Indoors

• Keep children inside and cool.
• Clothe babies and young toddlers minimally – a nappy or underwear is enough.
• Put children to sleep in the coolest room. Remember to keep fans and air conditioners well out of reach.
• Encourage children to drink water frequently. Sugary drinks can make a child dehydrate faster.
• A cool bath, or wipe down with a moist face flannel will help to keep a child comfortable.

Outdoors

• Avoid being outside during the hours of 11am – 3pm.
• Clothe children in light-coloured, loose-fitting clothing.
• A wide brimmed hat, or legionnaire-style cap is preferable.
• Stay in the shade, but remember that trees provide limited protection from sunburn.
• Avoid outdoor sports in extremely hot weather. Children playing summer sport should drink extra water and have frequent breaks.

In the Car

• Never leave children or pets in a parked car. The temperature inside the car can rise to double the temperature outside in a few minutes.
• Leaving the car under a tree or the window down slightly makes very little difference to the temperature inside.
• Keep car doors and the boot locked to prevent young children from entering.

How to Treat

Know what physical signs to look for, how to treat the conditions and when to seek medical advice and aid from emergency services.

The two major heat-related conditions are heat exhaustion and heat stress (or heat stroke). Heat stroke is the more serious of the two and can be life threatening.

Heat Exhaustion

Physical signs

• pale, sweaty skin
• thirst
• muscle cramps and weakness
• moderately raised body temperature
• dizziness
• confusion

Heat Stress

Physical signs

• confusion
• hot, flushed dry skin
• high temperature (more than 40C)
• rapid, pounding pulse
• unsteady on feet
• unconsciousness

First Aid

• Lie the child down in a cool area.
• Remove excess clothing and cool the child by fanning.
• If the child is conscious, give cool water to drink.
• If you think the child has heat stroke, wrap ice (if available) in wet cloths and place these against the child’s groin and under their armpits.
• Call an ambulance.

Lightning Strikes

Believe it or not, lightning poses one of the greatest threats from natural hazards in Australia. So take a lightning storm seriously and seek shelter in a hard top vehicle or building if possible. Avoid small structures.

Prevention

Outdoors

• Do not shelter under an isolated tree or small group of trees.
• Crouch down low to avoid being the tallest object on the landscape
• Avoid handling metallic objects such as umbrellas, fishing rods or bikes.
• If swimming, get out of the water immediately.
• If your hair stands on end or you hear buzzing from rocks or fences, move away from the area.

Indoors

• Stay off the telephone and computer.
• Disconnect telephones, radios and computers.
• Keep clear of metal and electrical objects and stay away from windows.

First Aid

Lightning victims have a good chance of surviving if CPR is given immediately and continually until an ambulance arrives.

Jellies that sting!

As if it’s not enough dodging the mozzies, wasps and other creepy crawlies that want to share your space, the sea can also be less than friendly during the summer months. But there is very little that can be done to avoid the odd sting, short of staying out of the water altogether.

Down the length of the eastern seaboard, there are several marine jellyfish that you or your children may encounter and although not generally life-threatening, can cause discomfort and pain in little children.
These range from the relatively nasty bluebottle, found in warmer ocean areas to the ubiquitous blubber jellyfish, found on just about every beach at one time or another.

There’s also the loosely termed ‘sea lice’, (meaning any minor sting or bite while swimming), which aren’t in fact one organism but seem to be a mix of tiny organisms floating about, including broken-off jelly fish tentacles.

How to treat minor stings

The more severe stings will usually appear as a raised white welt, sometimes with ‘beading’, but always inducing severe burning pain.

• Nausea and vomiting, with severe muscle pain indicates a sting by a Portuguese man-o’-war.
• Minor stings will produce reddening and irritation of the skin with some pain and discomfort.
• In all cases, wash off any tentacles with salt water.
• Apply a cold pack to the affected area for 10-20 mins.
• If the cold pack doesn’t relieve the pain, or other symptoms develop such as nausea, vomiting, chest pains or breathing difficulties, then seek immediate medical aid.

Box Jelly fish

Most Australians are aware that our northern tropical waters are unsafe for swimming from November to May, when ‘stingers’, or more accurately box jelly fish infest the waters. These sea creatures are highly venomous and require immediate emergency first aid.

How to Treat

Symptoms include instant and severe burning pain, sting marks that look like whip or burn marks, an irregular pulse and a victim may lose consciousness or stop breathing.

• Send for medical help while applying emergency first aid (mouth-to-mouth, heart massage) in the interim.
• Inform medical aid of a possible box jellyfish sting – an antivenom will be needed.
• Vinegar poured over sting for at least 30 seconds will defuse any remaining stinging tentacles.
• Application of a cold pack will help alleviate some of the pain, while waiting for medical help.

Resources 

Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne
University of Sydney and Westmead Hospital
Clinical Toxinolgy Resources
Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Adelaide
Emergency Management Australia 
Marine Medic - compiled by Dr Peter Fenner, Honorary National Medical Officer for Surf Life Saving Australia

The information provided in this article is intended as a guide only. Always consult your doctor if you or your child is suffering any medical complaint. Any websites referred to by Australian Family contain information moderated by government and medical institutions or organisations.

This article was first published in Australian Family Magazine, October 2002. Updated July 2009.