Keep your summer safe and cool.

• Position: Your Life - Brief Article

Summertime injuries are among some of the most preventable, doctors at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas say. With a few simple precautions and common sense, summer can be a safe and fun time for everyone.

Alcohol. An ice-cold beer may seem like the perfect answer to hot summer weather, but Christopher Keyes, associate professor of emergency medicine, warns that water is a more healthful option. "When the weather is hot, your body needs more fluids to stay cool. Alcohol actually contributes to dehydration, so you need to be consuming lots of water--and not alcohol--to keep your body hydrated and cool." Alcohol also can increase blood pressure, which could make your body overheat. "The best thing to do is avoid alcohol when you're outside in the hot temperatures," Keyes says.

Chigger bites. The old wives' tale may say a dot of nail polish on a chigger bite can relieve the itching, but Paul Bergstresser, chairman of dermatology, suggests a proven treatment may be a better choice to decrease the bug bite's itching. "Treatment with an over-the-counter topical cortisone cream is more likely to be helpful. Nail polish may not help, but it probably can't hurt either. But I don't encourage my patients to try it." For itching not relieved by an over-the-counter cortisone cream, he recommends visiting a dermatologist.

Pool-borne illness. Swimming pools and summer may go hand in hand, but swimming pools and illness should never go together, maintains Ronald Charles, assistant professor of emergency medicine...