Staying healthy over the holidays

Keeping healthy and well during holidays

Holidays can be a busy and enjoyable time for many Queenslanders, and it’s common for health and wellbeing concerns to take a back seat.

Knowing how to stay safe and when and where to get help can help your family keep healthy and well during the holiday season.

Where to go if you need help

In an emergency, call Triple Zero (000) and ask for an ambulance.

If you’re not sure if you should go to emergency, you can:

• call 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84) and ask to speak to a registered nurse
• use the online symptom checker to help you find the best place to get help.

See your GP if you have common symptoms of an injury or illness, or you’re concerned about your health.

If you’re unable to see a GP, you can get urgent care at a:

• satellite health centre
• Medicare Urgent Care Clinic
• nurse-led walk-in clinic.

Accidents, illness and injury

Falls, burns, cuts and other injuries are common during Christmas and holiday periods.

Take extra care if you’re doing any of the following:

• putting up lights or decorations
• lighting candles or campfires
• using heat or sharp knives to prepare food.

Keeping kids safe

Toys and gifts that have small parts are a choking hazard for small children. Many popular toys also have small coin-sized batteries that can cause severe burns if swallowed or put in an ear or nose.

Before giving your children toys, check they don’t contain small parts or button batteries. Children under 5 are most at risk.

Remember to wear a helmet and protective gear when riding bikes, scooters and skateboards.

Learn more about keeping children safe from button batteries.

Call Triple Zero (000) immediately if your child swallows or inserts a battery or is having trouble breathing.

Staying safe in the sun

It doesn’t take long for skin to damage in the Queensland sun. The UV (ultraviolet) radiation in sunlight can cause severe burns, especially in babies and children.

Even if it’s not sunny, you should always:

• slip on a shirt
• slop on sunscreen
• slap on a hat
• slide on sunglasses
• stay in the shade
• drink plenty of water.

If you’re sunburnt, have a cool shower or use a cold compress to cool your skin down. You can also apply a gentle moisturiser or take paracetamol or ibuprofen to relieve pain.

See your GP right away if you or your children have severe burns.

Learn more about staying safe in the sun.

Staying safe in the heat

Getting too hot can make you very unwell. It can be particularly dangerous for babies, children, and pregnant women.

When things start to heat up:

• drink plenty of water
• keep cool in the shade or inside in the hottest part of the day
• have a cool shower or splash yourself with cool water
• dress babies and children in loose, cotton clothes
• keep the windows and blinds closed if it’s hotter outside than inside
• use fans and air conditioners, or go somewhere cool like a library or shopping centre
• try to avoid drinking alcohol, caffeine or sugary drinks – they can make you dehydrated.

It’s important to get help if you start to feel unwell, dizzy, nauseous or notice changes to your breathing and heart rate.

Learn more about staying safe in the heat.

Staying safe in water

It’s important to actively watch children carefully whenever you’re swimming or playing in the pool, or at a beach or lake, and keep them at arm’s length. But there are other risks too – many gastrointestinal illnesses are spread and picked up at swimming pools and splash parks after swallowing contaminated water.

If you or your child have diarrhoea, you should:

• avoid swimming for 2 weeks after it’s stopped
• wash your hands after using the toilet or changing your child’s nappy
• keep drinking water to avoid dehydration.

Some diarrhoea illnesses such as cryptosporidiosis can last up to 2 weeks. See your GP if symptoms are severe. You can also call 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84) and speak to a registered nurse.

Keeping mosquitoes away

Mosquitoes carry serious diseases, and you can easily become ill if you’re bitten. Mosquito borne diseases in Queensland, such as Ross River Virus and Barmah Forest Virus can cause fever, muscle and joint pain, rash and long term tiredness.

To keep yourself safe, you can:

• wear loose long pants, long-sleeved tops and closed in shoes
• use insect repellent
• stay inside at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are active.

To keep mozzies out of your home, close windows and doors, check for holes in flyscreens, and empty any pooled water in containers around your home. You can use mosquito coils or insecticide burners to keep mozzies away.

See your GP if you have any common symptoms of mosquito borne diseases.

Staying happy, calm and well

Holiday time can sometimes cause stress, anxiety, loneliness or disappointment. If you’re feeling like this, doing one or two of the following things each day can make a big difference to how you feel.

• Stay active, eat well and get enough sleep

• Learn or try new things to challenge your mind
• Connect with and care for others, and talk about how you feel
• Be mindful and present in the moment
• Go outside to connect with nature

The Dear Mind website explains why, and has practical ways to help you get started.

It also helps to reduce alcohol and other drug use and spend less time on screens and social media.

Learn more about mental health and crisis support services and helplines.