CELEBRATION SEASON & SUN SAFETY

This week we begin the annual September Celebrations season; a time of revelry and remembrance of who we are as a people and the struggles we went though to get and hold on to the Jewel.  The history of having to grab tight and hold on with all our might makes the celebration season even sweeter.  And what with Carnival, School Children’s Rally, and the ultimate in Spectator Sports – an international football game played at home- we will be out in the sun, aving fun, ‘waving we flag’.

But I must throw a wet rag into this mix: fun in the sun can be dangerous , like you Granny used to say:”too much of anything good fu nothing. Too much sun can do the obvious damage to skin

causing sunburn, premature aging, and unsightly spots where alcohol in perfumes and aftershaves react on the skin with the direct rays of the sun. Sunburn can affect any skin color and is even more painful of babies and toddlers who we take out to these Celebrations activities in skimpy tops, shorts and without sunblock or even a cap. Youing children are incapable of assessing the heat and by the time they feel uncomfortable they are already sunburned.  So sunblock of SPF 15 or more , there are the light ,misty spay types around, and spritz the kids and yourself.  Wear a hat, cap or use the umbrella like the older ladies still do but keepthat holiday sun off your face and out of your eyes!

Another  aspect of September revelry is the Carnival Road March.  It begins in the hottest time of the day and as a result, the participants and the spectators are exposed to the sun’s full glory and heart blast. HYDRATION IS A MUST FOR CARNIVAL REVELERS AND THOSE WHO WAIT FOR HOURS to watch it pass.  The practice taken up recently of feeding energy drinks to the younger performance must be kept in check as it has been proven that there are some herbal supplements in these “energy drinks “  that raises the blood pressure and becomes part of a deadly equation when the heat of the sun is added to the mix.  Several deaths in the US football training cicuits have been attributed to heatstrokes brought on and complicated by the intake of a particular supplement that is in the most popular energy drinks that we can see being passed out to Carnival bands while they are on the move.

To get back to the issue of hydration, sugary liquids like Ideals are not the best way to stay hydrated during the daytime holiday activities. The less sugary “sports drinks” hydrate way better and really do relieve thirst. Water is the best choice, of course, and one can freeze the plastic bottles and packages of water overnight and they will remain cold and refreshing throughout.  For those people who find plain water kinda “blah” just squeeze a twist of lime in the water bottle and it tkes water to a whole new level of taste and protectionas the Vitamin Cin the lime will help skin fight sun damage from the inside out. Then again, who can argue about the refreshing, hydrating effect of a cold beer… keep it down to one or two for the event,  dispose of the bottles responsibly and do not imbibe in front of the kids.

Other than that, we too will be coming out to bram! To Jam. To Paaaty!!

This is our Season, our Patriotic Season and the best time in the world to be home and to be A BELIZEAN!!!

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