Summer Health Risks and What To Do
A Spanish summer brings its own set of problems, and the newer you are to it the more likely one of them catches you. Most are minor. A couple are genuinely dangerous, and telling the difference is the useful part.
What counts as a heat emergency?
Heat exhaustion is unpleasant - heavy sweating, dizziness, headache, cramps, feeling sick. Get into the shade, drink, cool down, and it usually passes.
Heatstroke is different and it is a 112 call. The signs are the sweating stopping, skin going hot and dry, confusion, slurred speech, or collapse. That is not a wait-and-see situation.
The people who get into trouble are usually the very old, the very young, and healthy adults who kept exercising through the hottest part of the day.
Our blog explains the symptoms and first aid for sunstroke, and how to ease swollen ankles in the summer heat.
How bad is the sun here really?
Worse than it feels, because the sea breeze hides it. The damage that matters is not the holiday burn, it is the decades of accumulated exposure that turns into skin cancer later.
Worth knowing what to look for: a mole that changes shape, colour or size, one that itches or bleeds, or a sore that does not heal. Any of those is a reason to see a dermatologist rather than wait and watch.
What bites and stings should you worry about?
- Mosquitoes - mostly a nuisance, though the tiger mosquito bites in daylight and its bites react more strongly
- Jellyfish - rinse with seawater, not fresh water, and never with vinegar unless you know the species. Get help if there is chest pain or breathing trouble
- Weever fish - stepped on in shallow sand, and startlingly painful. Very hot water helps
- Processionary caterpillars - a spring problem rather than summer, and worse for dogs than for people
- Wasps and bees - the sting matters far less than the reaction. Swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing, is a 112 call
Our blog goes further on mosquitoes: seven ways to avoid bites, home remedies for bites, plants that repel them, and how to avoid and trap tiger mosquitoes. It also covers first aid for jellyfish stings, protecting yourself and your dog from ticks, and the venomous snakes and spiders found in Spain.
What about the water and the food?
Tap water is safe across almost all of Spain. The summer stomach upsets are usually food left out in the heat rather than anything sinister - egg-based sauces and shellfish are the usual suspects. Rehydration is the treatment. See someone if it lasts beyond a couple of days, or if there is blood or a high fever.
Where do you go when something happens?
For anything life-threatening, ring 112. It is free, it works from any phone, and they will find someone who speaks English.
For everything else, private cover means going straight to a specialist rather than sitting in a queue. You can check what is near you before you need it:
