Your guide to a safer summer weekend

Health.com

By Allison Avery


It's right around the corner-the season of cookouts, road trips, and lazy poolside afternoons with family and friends. However you celebrate summer, our smart tips will keep the action safe and healthy.

Start by grilling smart
Grilling mistakes cause thousands of fires every year. The National Fire Protection Association recommends that you position any grill at least three feet away from house siding or railings and never place it in an enclosed area or under eaves or tree branches. If you smell gas, turn the tank off quickly and call the fire department. When grilling with charcoal, never add lighter fluid after lighting coals-the flames can leap high.

Health.com: 15 healthy grilled chicken recipes

Dodge the burn and the bugs
Turned off by greasy sunscreen and smelly sprays? Look for clothing with UPF 50+ (like SPF for fabrics), or outfitted with a repellent that wards off bugs. (P.S.: We still recommend sunscreen for your face).

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Take CPR . . . to the pool
It's scary to think about, but serious pool accidents happen all the time. You can save a life by immediately performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR); that doubles a drowning person's chances of survival, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). How do you learn? A 30-minute do-it-yourself course is all it takes. Try the AHA's CPR Anytime at www.americanheart.org, featuring a dummy and DVD.

Practice safe picnicking
No one wants to be stuck in the bathroom when everyone's outdoors. Avoid food poisoning by putting meat, potato salad, beans, cut and cooked vegetables, and cheese in a cooler, which is 41°F or colder, after two hours on the table, experts say.

Health.com: 8 ways to prevent food poisoning

Get your game on
Why let a silly, preventable injury kick you out of that impromptu tennis tourney? "If you're not accustomed to playing sports, muscle strains are common," says Margot Putukian, MD, director of athletic medicine at Princeton University. Solution: Warm up with a few minutes of walking and stretching. Got a bum knee? Wrap it in a brace before you play.