Stay Vigilant: Here are Your Five Biggest Summer Dangers

Summer is the easiest season of the year to just let loose.

There's zero shock that it's the most popular and favorite season of the year for the majority of Americans.

Swimming, BBQs, loads of outdoor events like music festivals, concerts, farmers' markets, and block parties, to name a few.

Those long days filled with sunlight engulf you, making it the happiest season of the year for most, too.

This is why dangers are often overlooked or rationalized away, too.

TOP 5 SUMMER DANGERS

Heat - Kills More Than Natural Disasters Combined

This is nuts, but yes, heat kills more people each year than tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, and cold weather.

According to CBS News, the highest number of people in 45 years died in 2023  from excessive heat. Now that 2,300 people may not sound like a lot, however, just having a heat stroke or dehydration at any level is frightening.

Thousands of people of all ages are affected each year, according to the Cleveland Clinic, with heat cramps, a heat rash, and heat exhaustion.

Sunburn Can Become Skin Cancer

You've had one. I've had one. Who hasn't had a sunburn?

While they will ruin your summer for a few days each and every time, according to the Cleveland Clinic, it's skin cancer that makes them dangerous and possibly deadly in the years to come.

Food Poisoning - Is the Grill Master Washing His Hands?

It's at an all-time high every summer, according to the CDC.

Loving a good outdoor party is natural, but because grilling is at its height in the warm months, the handling of raw meat and fish is also at its height.

While you may wash your hands, others may not, and that includes not wiping down the cooking area and utensils.  This could easily pass bacteria like Salmonella on to you.

Drowning - 4,000+ Each Summer

Drowning takes more than 4,000 lives annually, with 20% of those deaths in children 14 and younger.

Whether it's riptides, big waves, muscle cramps, alcohol, or lack of swimming skills, this is the time of year we're all in the water the most.

Ticks and Mosquitoes - They Carry Diseases

'Tis the season for these dangerous insects.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, both carry diseases that love humans.

West Nile Virus is the most common disease carried by mosquitoes in the United States, and ticks carry Lyme disease. Mosquitoes outpace every other organism as the deadliest in the world.

Please, stay safe and vigilant.