When the sun is shining and the days are long, it’s easy to brush off that lingering cough or sudden stomach cramp as just part of the summer heat. But some warm-weather illnesses can quickly go from annoying to serious if left untreated. From foodborne infections to respiratory viruses that spike in the summer, it’s important to recognize the warning signs and know when to take action. Here’s a closer look at the summer illnesses you shouldn’t ignore—and how to protect yourself and your family during the hottest months of the year.
1. Heat-Related Illnesses
The scorching summer temperatures can take a toll on our bodies, leading to heat-related illnesses. These conditions occur when the body is unable to cool itself properly. The most common heat-related illnesses include:
Heat Stroke
This is a severe condition where the body’s temperature regulation system fails, resulting in a dangerously high temperature. Symptoms include a throbbing headache, dizziness, confusion, and loss of consciousness.
Heat Exhaustion
This condition is characterized by heavy sweating, weakness, nausea, and rapid pulse. If not addressed promptly, heat exhaustion can progress to heat stroke.
What does it mean to stay hydrated:
Staying hydrated means more than just drinking a beverage.
- Listen to your body: Drink when you feel thirsty, and don’t wait until you’re severely dehydrated.
- Sip throughout the day: Instead of gulping down large amounts at once, aim to sip water consistently.
- Carry a water bottle: This makes it easy to access water and reminds you to drink.
- Remember water is best: Even though we love lemonade and sweet tea, water truly is the most effective and calorie-free way to hydrate.
- Consider low-calorie options: Plain coffee or tea, sparkling water, and flavored waters can also contribute to your fluid intake.
- Limit sugary drinks: Sugary drinks like soda and juice can actually dehydrate you in the long run.
2. Staph Infections
Staph infections in the summer, like any time of year, can manifest in various ways depending on the infection’s location and severity. Common symptoms include skin redness, swelling, pain, and pus-filled bumps (boils or abscesses). More severe cases can lead to fever, chills, and even systemic symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Warm, humid environments can increase the risk of skin infections, making summer a potentially higher-risk period.
Why Summer can be Bad for Staph Infections
Increased sweating:
Warm weather can lead to more sweating, which can create a moist environment that bacteria thrive in, potentially increasing the risk of skin infections.
Outdoor activities:
Spending more time outdoors can increase the chances of cuts and scrapes, providing entry points for bacteria.
Shared facilities:
Activities like swimming in pools or using locker rooms can increase exposure to staph bacteria.
Common Staph Infection Symptoms in Summer:
Boils/Abscesses: Painful, red, and swollen bumps filled with pus.
Impetigo: Red sores or blisters that can rupture and form crusts.
Cellulitis: Red, swollen, and tender areas of skin, potentially accompanied by fever.
Folliculitis: Small, pimple-like bumps around hair follicles.
Wound Infections: Redness, swelling, pain, and pus around a cut or wound.
Staphylococcal Scalded Skin Syndrome (SSSS): A serious infection causing skin peeling, particularly in infants and young children.
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Systemic Symptoms:
- Fever and chills .
- Nausea and vomiting .
- Diarrhea .
- Muscle aches and fatigue .
- Confusion .
- Low blood pressure .
- Joint pain or swelling: (septic arthritis).
- Redness and swelling of the eyelids: (stye or conjunctivitis).
3. Food Poisoning
The summer is a great time to cook and eat outside, but with that comes an extra layer of food safety that you have to include if you want to avoid illness related to food poisoning.
For example, cross-contamination happens a lot during the summer when raw food contaminates cooked food, leaving the potential for foodborne illnesses. To avoid cross-contamination, you should use different cutting boards for raw meat, cooked meat, vegetables and fruit, he said.
“Putting meats on a cutting board, loading up the grill, and putting the cooked meat back on the same cutting board is a huge no-no. But you can put a piece of foil down on the board for the raw chicken and remove it for the cooked chicken.
A Thermometer Can Save You
One of the most important things you can do to keep yourself safe from foodborne illness is cooking food to the right temperature.
The CDC recommends all poultry be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, whole cuts of beef, veal, lamb and pork be cooked to 145 F and ground meat, including beef and pork be cooked to 160 F.
Be Cautious of Leftovers
Just because the cooking is done, does not mean the risk of foodborne illness is gone.
The time between food getting prepared and getting put away is critical, especially when you don’t know how it’s been handled before. You don’t want to pass the four-hour mark. That can lead to overgrowth of bacteria to a level your immune system can’t fight.
Researchers and experts recommend putting leftovers away after two hours and tossing anything left out after four hours.
The refrigerator might fight off initial bacteria growth, but it can still grow over time if food is left long enough, and the shelf life of leftovers depends on the type of food.
Note: Heavily processed foods usually have a lower shelf life, but foods with higher salt contents are preserved a little bit. Usually, one to two days on some of those processed foods is safe but just try to be as cautious as possible.
Don’t forget about the smell test: If it smells off or looks funky, just toss it. It’s better than having some sort of illness.
4. Enterovirus
Enterovirus is a common group of viruses that can cause mild to severe respiratory sickness. Often referred to as the “summer flu,” it can cause cold-like symptoms such as fever, coughing, runny nose and nausea. It can even cause a rash such as in the condition of hand-foot-and-mouth disease which is caused by coxsackievirus, a type of enterovirus.
Common Symptoms:
Fever: A common sign of many viral infections, including enteroviruses.
Runny nose and sneezing: These are typical cold-like symptoms.
Sore throat: A scratchy or painful throat is also frequently reported.
Cough: Respiratory symptoms are common, with coughing being a frequent one.
Body and muscle aches: General aches and pains can be a part of the illness.
Less Common but More Severe Symptoms:
Wheezing and difficulty breathing: These can indicate a more serious respiratory illness.
Skin rash: Some enteroviruses can cause rashes, sometimes with mouth blisters.
Hand-foot-and-mouth disease: This specific syndrome involves mouth sores and a rash on the hands and feet.
Neurological complications: In rare cases, enteroviruses can lead to severe conditions like acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), which affects the nervous system.
What You Should Remember:
Symptoms can vary:
The specific symptoms and their severity can vary depending on the type of enterovirus and the individual’s age and health status.
Infants and young children are more vulnerable:
They may experience more severe symptoms and complications.
When to See a Doctor
If symptoms are severe or concerning, especially if they involve breathing difficulties or neurological issues, it’s crucial to seek medical attention.
5. Lyme Disease
Most cases of Lyme disease are reported from May through August, which corresponds to the peak activity period for the kind of ticks that cause lyme diseae. If not caught early, Lyme disease can progress to facial paralysis, arthritis, meningitis, or inflammation of the heart called carditis that can cause rhythm abnormalities.
Symptoms
Early Symptoms (3-30 days after a tick bite):
- Erythema migrans (EM) rash: This is a characteristic rash that often appears as a circular, expanding rash with a central spot, resembling a “bull’s eye”. It may not always be present, and can vary in appearance.
- Flu-like symptoms: Fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle aches, joint pain, and swollen lymph nodes.
- Other early symptoms: Sore throat, stiff neck, and extreme fatigue.
Later Symptoms (days to months after infection):
- Lyme arthritis: Recurring episodes of swollen and painful joints, especially the knees.
- Neurological problems: Facial paralysis (Bell’s palsy), numbness or tingling in the limbs, difficulty concentrating, and problems with memory or speech.
- Heart problems: Irregular heartbeat (Lyme carditis), chest pain.
- Other symptoms: Severe fatigue, eye problems, and, in rare cases, inflammation of the brain and spinal cord.
Things to Remember:
- Symptoms can be cyclical, with periods of feeling better followed by worsening symptoms according to Healthline.
- Some individuals may experience persistent symptoms even after treatment (Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome) according to the CDC.
- Early diagnosis and treatment are crucial to prevent the progression of Lyme disease and reduce the risk of long-term complications.
How to Protect Yourself
Be aware of your environment. When you hike, stay on the trail. You should tick-proof your clothing by wearing a repellent containing DEET. There are other repellents that contain more natural repellents — like lemon oil or eucalyptus — but those are not as effective at repelling ticks. If you can, wear light-colored clothing, so you can identify the tick more easily. Wear long pants and tuck them into your socks. And then the most important thing that you should do is every time you’re out in potential tick-laden areas, you should do a tick check. In general it takes 36 hours for a tick to infect you, so if you check for ticks that evening, you can feel pretty confident that you haven’t been bitten. Ticks like humid, warm areas to bite, so check all parts of your body, especially folds in your skin like your elbows, behind your knees, or on your neck.
