Shortly, nearly 10 million children be going to Summer Camps. But before they go, health experts are issuing strong new advice to both parents and camp directors, and recommending new precautions to protect campers’ health.

The American Academy of Pediatrics along with the American Camp Association created an official policy statement about camper health and Summer Camp responsibilities. Edward Walton, M.D. is lead author of the paper.

the key to this policy is parents need to thoroughly determine whether a camp is right for their child’. Don’t just assume its great because your childs friends are going. One need to assess if it meets their childs mental, emotional and physical well-being, as well as their interests and skills.

That means, Walton says, that camps should provide parents with a complete picture of what their programs involve, whether it’s strenuous sports, rough wilderness camping, horseback riding — or intense music or computer practice. If an activity raises risk for kids with certain medical conditions, for instance scuba diving and asthma, camps should tell parents about those risks ahead of time.

Prevention of homesickness begins long before camp starts. Parents and doctors alike need to be involved.

“If parents discuss camp positively, avoid expressing doubts about a child’s ability to avoid homesickness, involve the child in preparations for camp, and arrange brief trips or sleep-overs away from home, children will be better prepared to go to camp,” says Walton. “Parents should also avoid making pre-arranged plans with their children about picking them up if they get homesick.”

With the new guideline, the AAP also recommends that its members — the pediatricians who treat many of America’s children — get involved with camps in their local area to make sure that health policies and standing orders are up-to-date. They can also act as medical backups to the nurses and paramedic-trained camp health officers on site at camps — instead of the local emergency room or urgent care center, which Walton’s study found was the case 75 percent of the time.

The guideline recommends that parents teach their children how to use rescue inhalers or EpiPens, before the kids go to camp. Parents need talk with camp directors about conditions that might require children to use their devices.

Delay in not having these items handy can have real health consequences for the child.

These guideline are set for traditional summer camps not for those camps with special needs. Yet it is recommend that all camps work with local pediatricians and health professionals to ensure that the best health care is in place for the children.

To learn more about selecting the Right Summer Camp for your child visit a FREE resource Summer Camp Advice at Summer Camp

Swift Nature Camp is a Minnesota Summer Camp for boys and girls ages 6-15. Our focus is to blend traditional outdoors summer camp activities with that of a Science Summer Camp. that promotes an appreciation for nature.

There are some things that you can handle on your own. If you have a cold, you know what you should do while waiting for it to run its course. However, what should you do if your cold takes a turn that you are not use to and things are getting worse? What happens when you are down with the flu and everyone else in your house seems to be getting sick too? What happens when everyone gets a rash all at once and you have no idea what it could be? You have to find a way to ask a doctor what is going on and what you should do, but do be careful of where you get your information.

The best way to ask a doctor is to make an appointment to go into their office for an examination and diagnosis. This is best when you seem to have severe symptoms of something that you do not know and have never seen before. If your cold gets worse than ever before and you find that you can not breathe very well, you should always ask a doctor if you have developed something like pneumonia or bronchitis that might need more attention. You can do that in an office. However, some things may be different, but you are not sure an office visit is required.

The Internet has made it easier than ever to ask a doctor what might be wrong. There are some good web sites out there that have great doctors on staff that answer questions in their spare time. This is not something you should take lightly as there are also sites that are not worth very much. On the other hand, you also want to remember that if you are asking about something serious, you may want to just go to the ER. It could take days to have someone answer and even then, they may need more details before you can give you any thoughts or advice.

When you ask a doctor a question online, they are not going to diagnose you and tell you what you can do to get better in most cases. They can tell you what they think may be going on, and then suggest what you should do to get help. They may say that you should see your family doctor, or perhaps that you need a specialist. They may advise that you go straight to the ER or that you should do some first aid type of things and then go in. Whatever the case, this will never replace seeing a real doctor for a real medical problem, but it can be helpful.

For any medical issues, ask a doctor everything that you want to know. It could be weeks before you can see them again. Make a list of your questions so that you do not forget anything that you want to know. If you are not happy with the answers that you are getting, ask for more information even if you feel that you are being too persistent. If you think that something else is wrong and they are giving you a diagnosis that does not make sense, push until they listen to you. You may be wrong, but they could be too. Doctors are amazing, but they are only human. Your health is essentially in your hands.

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