The most beautiful time of the year has come and holidays on Crete have just begun. We all dream about the sea and the countless dives. Along with the good times, we have to take care of our skin, which is particularly sensitive to the sun's ultraviolet rays, and protect our body from minor accidents and in order to avoid unpleasant surprises.
Sunlight can very easily burn our skin from May to September, especially between 10:00 and 16:00 hours, even on cloudy days. It can cause burns, dry out the skin and cause discoloration or pimples. For this reason, we must stay in the shade at every opportunity, always wear a shirt, hat and glasses, use sunscreen with SFP+30 and apply every two hours.
If, despite the sunscreen, we get a burn, we must apply a good moisturizing cream or yogurt to our skin, put cold compresses on the burn and the surrounding area and avoid more sun exposure or tight, synthetic clothing.
In summer, heat strokes are quite common and can cause serious problems especially for children and the elderly. If that happens, we have to take the suffering person to a cool place, cool them with a fan or a piece of cardboard, remove the heavy clothes and put cold compresses on their face and neck.
When we walk on the beach, without shoes or flip flops, we are very likely to step on some glass and get injured. Then we need to clean the wound to assess the depth of the wound, make sure that there are no fragments left in the wound and apply pressure with a clean cloth. If after 2 minutes, the bleeding does not stop, stitches may be needed. If the wound is minor, we must disinfect it with an antiseptic and apply an elastic bandage.
Sometimes, while enjoying the rocks of the beach, we may step on a sea urchin. A sea urchin sting is not dangerous, but it can become quite painful. We need to use antiseptic solution to clean the area. With eyebrow tweezers, or with the edge of a laminated card, we need to remove the protruding thorns or push them out carefully. If the thorns are inside the skin, we must put some olive oil on the area and carefully remove them with tweezers.
If we see that the pain of the sting still persists, we must visit a doctor at the nearest medical center. What we all want is to enjoy the beach, the sea and the rocks without any accidents. We always need a good sunscreen, a hat, a moisturizer, adhesive bandages, lots of water and, of course, some caution.
(more articles about Crete on www.gomega.gr)
