With a bank holiday this coming weekend – and many people making the most of the last few days of their summer holidays – it seems like a good time to take another look at one of the most pervasive summertime health myths. It’s repeated countless times every summer and goes like this: 

 

Sitting in the sun is dangerous; if you don’t use sunscreen your skin will burn and you’ll get skin cancer. 

 

Now if you stop and think about it for a minute, this message doesn’t make any sense at all. 

We know even raising this question may be considered heresy by some – or mark us out as Luddites by others (!) – but has our modern obsession with communication finally gone too far? 

 

And, yes, we know we’ve made this observation before. Well, in fact, several times but it’s one that does bear repeating… 

 

Have our phones transformed from being a useful tool – our servant – making life so much easier, to an insatiable monster without us even noticing? 

 

Are we so distracted that we don’t actually live our lives anymore? 

With the heatwave continuing, many people have been receiving the unwanted attentions of those “flying beasties”. Gnats, midges or mosquitos on the lookout for an easy meal. Wasps or bees on the defensive. Whichever way, a bite or sting can ruin your day. 

 

So, this week, we’re going to take a look at these beasties. Give you a few tricks to help prevent being bitten in the first place. And, if the worst happens, how to speed things on their way. 

 

Let’s start with those beasties out for an easy meal, in other words, a slurp of blood. Gnats, midges and mosquitos. While it may feel as though you’re being singled out, they have quite eclectic tastes; not minding too much who the lucky donor is. Human, pets and livestock; as well as other animals too. 

With the recent spell of hot weather – well, hot for the UK (!) – and a repeat forecast for the end of the week, it’s easy for people to become dehydrated without even realising it. Perhaps it’s due to them not being used to hot weather and simply not recognising the warning signs. Having said that, many of the classic signs of dehydration seem so obvious – to us at least (!) – that it can sometimes be hard to understand how people don’t seem to join the dots. 

 

So, this week, we’re going to look again at the most common signs of dehydration. And, don’t be fooled, they apply all year round, not just in the summer (!). 

 

Let’s begin with the most obvious ones of feeling thirsty or having a dry mouth. Now you may think these are blindingly obvious but you’d be surprised.